For instance, in one of his articles: “Is Google
The Role of
Technology in Our
Lives Today
By Victoria Couto
Norwalk Community College
Introduction
Can you imagine yourself in a world where
there is no such thing as technology? No
smartphones, no laptops, no internet or any
other technological device that we know
today? It is a difficult image to picture;
however, there were times when society had
no access to the technology we now have. In
spite of its clear efficiency and helpfulness,
some might target technology as today’s
antagonist for isolating people, creating
invisible barriers between societies, and
modifying radically our lifestyle. Although
this has some weight of truth, the debate
between whether technology is beneficial to
us or not raises a handful of arguments from
those who oppose and those who approve our
daily relationship with it. In comparison to
the past centuries, or even closer to our days,
the past decades, it is evident the
advancement of technology, followed by the
increase in benefits and /or harms offered to
us, depending on different views.
The content in this report debates the effects
as pros and cons, the importance, usefulness
and need of technology in our daily lives.
Expert Opinions
The topic technology may generate
controversial opinions about its effects on us
as a society, some of which represent the
negative arguments.
The Role of Technology in Our Lives Today
Making Us Stupid?”, the well-known writer
in technology and culture Nicholas Carr,
claims that along with increase in technology
development, there is a simultaneous
decrease in brain development: “They found
that people using the sites exhibited ‘a form
of skimming activity,’ hopping from one
source to another and rarely returning to any
source they’d already visited.” (Carr 427) In
other words, he argues that our growing
relationship with the internet and all that it
contains, has been responsible for
jeopardizing our reading and critical thinking
skills.
In addition, the journalist Carole Cadwalladr
debates in her article “Google, Democracy,
and the Truth about Internet Search” the fact
that our searches on Google, our current main
online search source, are biased a large
portion of the times. In fact, she claims that
websites in which we navigate, collect
personal information that are used “against”
us, in order to persuade us in the most discrete
manners, especially when it comes to life
decision choices, such as political matters.
Although these points are true up to a certain
degree, some renowned writers specialized in
technology writing present an opposite view
to this discussion.
For instance, poet and writer Kenneth
Goldsmith, in his article “Go Ahead: Waste
Time on the Internet”, approaches the
relationship we have with our digital devices
from a positive perspective. In his article, he
claims that, although many might criticize
our constant use of social media by claiming
that it is a waste of our time, he argues that
the internet provides us both leisure and
knowledge.
“The internet has been accused of making us
shallow. We’re skimming, not reading. We
1
lack the ability to engage deeply with a There was a total of 25 responses. From one
subject anymore. That’s both true and not extreme to the other, the majority of
true: We skim and browse certain types of respondents were female, totaling 76%, while
content and read others carefully.” male respondents totaled 24%. Moreover, the
majority of respondents had ages between 21
Goldsmith also states that while some might to 29, totaling 44%; in the other hand, 4%
see the internet as a tool to waste time by totaled the number of people below the age of
searching insignificant topics or to inflict our 17.
social relationships, a large portion of the
time we use of the internet in order to assist
us. Results
The majority of respondents suggested that
In addition, when it comes to our relationship technology has a major role in their lives,
with technology, journalist Clive Thompson based on their responses on the 10-question
debates the bright side of using this tool. In survey.
his article “Smarter Than You Think”, he
approaches the subject technology in an When questioned about internet usage
eloquent manner, by demonstrating through a frequency, 36% claimed they spend at least 3
Chess game example, how a relationship hours per day online, as can be seen in figure
between humans and technology in general 1, and 100% affirmed that they find
can be beneficial to us: “…Which is smarter themselves surfing through the internet more
at chess – human or computers? Neither. It’s than once a day.
the two together, working side by side.” (448)
According to Thompson, when combined AV E R A G E T I M E
and used in a smart way, technology can
improve our brain processing capacity, and
SPENT ONLINE
therefore, enhance our critical thinking 40%
36%
ability. 35% 32%
30%
When studied in depth, technology can be 25%
found to be both beneficial and detrimental to 20%
20%
us; nevertheless, technology is present in our
daily lives and activities; therefore, having a 15%
larger effect than we might think. 10% 8%

5%
Methods 0%
In order to demonstrate the presence and 1-2 hours 2-3 hours 3-4 hours > 4 hours
effects of technology in our lives, I have Figure 1: Usage of the Internet
designed a survey with a total of 10 questions
that question the relationship of each person Furthermore, according to the survey, 60%
with any kind of technology. The survey was affirmed that their main usage of the internet
available online to whoever felt interested in is devoted to social media, followed by a total
answering. The only criteria in answering the of 24% who claim they spend their time
survey was having any technological device online searching for any source of
that allowed you to have access to it, since it entertainment, such as music, games and
was only available online.
The Role of Technology in Our Lives Today 2
videos. In addition, 8% claimed that their
main usage of the internet is devoted to
activities related to their jobs, as is showed in
figure 2.
Usage of the Internet
Entertainment
24%
Social
Media 60%
Work
8%
Shopping
4%
Research
4%
Figure 2: Purposes of Using the Internet
In terms of communication, the majority of
33.3% affirmed they use SMS as the major
medium, followed by voice call.
When asked on a scale from 1 to 5 how
important people considered the usage of the
internet, 72% answered “5”, demonstrating a
strong relationship with this technological
tool.
Discussion
In sum, most people who completed the
survey demonstrated a strong relationship
when it comes to technology usage in
general. Out of the 10 questions, 7 questions
were directed towards technology usage in
general, and all 7 had positive statistics
regarding the strong relationship between
society and technology, which reaffirms
Thompson’s idea that people and technology
combined together generate a positive
outcome. Most respondents suggest, based on
The Role of Technology in Our Lives Today
their answers, that technology has an
important role in their lives, being present in
the work field, school activities and simple in
entertainment.
Although the survey itself had a small
sample, it suggested that a large percentage
of respondents spend a reasonable portion of
their time online using a technological
device. In addition, when questioned about
the purposes that drove people to use the
internet, there were various responses that
lead us to believe that the internet is part of
people’s lives, either for leisure purposes or
for major activities in the work or study force.
This statistic supports Goldsmith’s claim that
we do indeed skim through the internet, but
also use it for intellectual purposes.
Conclusion
The debate regarding technology and its
positive or negative effects on us as a society
tend to continue; nevertheless, it is important
to stress that, whether the arguments defend
a positive perspective or not, technology has
been present in our lives more each day, and
this relationship between human and machine
tends to become stronger as the days goes by,
since technology development increases by
the second. Therefore, technology indeed has
been shown to have an important role in our
lives.
References
Cadwalladr, Carole. “Google, Democracy
and the Truth about Internet Search.” The
Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 4 Dec.
2016,
www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec
/04/google-democracy-truth-internet-search-
facebook.
Carr, Nicholas. “Is Google Making Us
Stupid?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media
Company, 13 June 2018,
3
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/200
8/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/.

Goldsmith, Kenneth. “Go Ahead: Waste

Time on the Internet.” Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2016,
www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-
goldsmith-wasting-time-internet-20160812-
snap-story.html.

Thompson, Clive. Smarter than You Think:

How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for
the Better. William Collins, 2014.

The Role of Technology in Our Lives Today 4

1. What is your gender? 7. For what purposes do you most use the
Female internet?
Male Social Media
Research
2. What is your age? Work
17 or younger News
18-20 Shopping
21-29 Entertainment (Music; Videos; Gaming;
30-39 Web Browsing)
40-49
50-59 8. Where do you mostly use the Internet?
60 or older Home
School
3. What is the highest level of school that Work
you have completed? Mobile Phone
Primary school
Some high school, but no diploma 9. What is the main way of communication
High school diploma (or GED) with others (family, friends, coworkers,
Some college, but no degree Etc.)?
2-year college degree Voice call
4-year college degree Video call
Graduate-level degree SMS
None of the above Email
Instant Messaging
4. How often do you use the internet? Gaming Sites
More than once a day
Once a day 10. On a scale from 1 to 5, how important
Once a month do you consider your usage of the
Less than once a month internet?

5. On average, how many hours per day do

you spend on the Internet?
Less than 1 hour a day
1-2 hours
2-3 hours
3-4 hours
More than 4 hours a day

6. Regarding your technological skills in

general, would you consider yourself:
Learner
Basic
Proficient
Advanced

The Role of Technology in Our Lives Today 5