In recent decades, technology has transformed to a level unimagined earlier, and digitization is the new face of our generation. Digital technology has brought a revolution in almost every aspect of society. From shopping, office work, movies, music, television to travel, transport, photography and long-distance communications, everything has transformed in a positive way. You won’t find an electronic device or a machine that doesn’t include digitization in a way or another.
Technology has made things easier for us. Be it net banking, Uber rides or the e-wallets and dating apps, executing a task and fulfilling needs is not a big deal with evolving technology.
However, like every other thing. Technology also comes with its own share of downsides. Yes, there are disadvantages of technology that we don’t easily realize, but it exists.
This blog is all about throwing light on the disadvantages of technology in our daily lives. We have also discussed the negative effects of technology on education and students.
Disadvantages of technology
Data security
Digital technology involves the collection and storage of huge amounts of data. This data can also be private information of organizations and individuals. With the advancement of technology, hacking and breach of data have also become a common thing and as such, data security is one of the biggest concerns for individuals and companies. A single breach can result in losing a large amount of crucial information going to the wrong hands. Those can be foreign enemies, business rivals, criminals, malign entities or even terrorists.
Complexity
How often do you interact with your devices and machines these days? We do not understand these devices like before as getting a car repaired is like interacting with a computer. Things are not confirmed to mechanical. Even handling a phone involves a lot of complicated settings. A minor glitch in your laptop can cost you both money and time.
Crime and terrorism
Along with being an essential and useful medium, the Internet is also a fertile place for the operation of malevolent. And this is all because of its large scale, international nature and the relative anonymity people can enjoy. Some of the many negative actions that can take place on the Internet include the drug dealers using the dark web to sell stuff, terrorist encouraging others for hatred and promote themselves on social media. Other than this, there are platforms that involve sharing of information like photos, texts and videos. Technology is one of the reasons for increasing crime and terrorism.
Privacy concerns
Personal privacy is the thing of the past in today’s modern world. The evolution of technology has made it difficult to maintain personal privacy and the most threatening fact is personal data of individuals being sold or stolen.
There are employers who search for people online, look for their controversial photographs or opinions in blogs or social media. You will find digital cameras in public areas that record movements. Any little indiscretions can now be haunting for a person, not for a day or two but for his entire life. Things posted on the Internet are sensitive and can be sued in the wrong way with the help of technology.
Social disconnect
This is a very important concern of medical and psychological experts on how the Internet, digital devices and socializing on these platforms have made people lose real-life contact. There is isolation and a real social disconnect in society. A group of people sitting in a room is more occupied in their mobile phones than talking to each other.
Thousands of years ago, humans were evolved to have real contact, and that is being taken away with technology. According to studies, losing real-life contact is one of the reasons behind depression and other types of mental illness in many people.
Work overload
Many modern workers spend their days try keeping up with huge number id emails that are sent each week, all of which are to be read and some even need action or replies. People are never off work, be it on weekends or weekdays. Organizing massive amounts of digital data, such as training videos, duration of meetings, photographs, reports, etc is also an extra headache for employees.
Job insecurity
This one relates to machine learning and artificial intelligence. Like a few years back or a decade ago, it is no more important for an employee to be physically present at the workplace. There are tasks that can be performed remotely through the Internet. It indicates that your work can be done through a third party which is an economy cut for the company and can possibly take away your job. Nowadays, workplaces require automated machines more than humans. One of the main examples is driving jobs, as vehicles will soon turn into self-driven machines.
Digital Media Manipulation
Manipulation of media on digital platforms is no more an impossible task. Photos, videos, audio are easy to edit. Identifying what is fake and what is real has got difficult today. Photographs, audios and even videos can be morphed and altered using the various editing tools online, such as Photoshop.
Copyright and Plagiarism
Digital media has made things easy to reproduce and copy. Enforcement of copyright laws has become difficult, as the movie and music industries have undertaken it to their cost. Now, students can copy and paste their homework and assignment without getting real learning.
Fake personas and anonymity
Digital technology has made it easy for people to hide their identities. According to surveys, people can behave anti-socially when it is evident that they will not face any consequences. Bullying, stalking, trolling and insulting others on social networking platforms has become increasingly common, which is not a good sign for our society. Individual fake identities to carry out fraud and scams on the Internet. Pedophiles take advantage of the digital technology and the Internet; fake personas and harm young children.
Over-dependency on gadgets
As compared to the times we lived a decade ago, we are more dependent on electronic gadgets like smartphones, laptops, tablets, computers, etc. We have got all the important information on our mobile phones that if we lose it, there’s going to be a lot of trouble. We are so dependent on our gadgets that even asking ways to people us changed to searching the destination on Google Maps. With time, we are replacing everything with smartphones and this is dangerous.
Addiction
The advancements of technology such as smartphones, social media, dating apps, messengers, etc. are not just used for need. People are getting addicted to these devices and digital services. Children spend more time gaming than studying or playing outdoor games. We don’t understand that the games we play and the websites we browse are encouraging us to waste both our time and money. The addiction to technology is more harmful than alcohol or tobacco, but it is not yet realized by a majority of the world population.
Second-hand living
Yes, we are living a second-hand experience of almost everything and all because of the advanced technology. Do you remember when was the last time you went to a live music concert? No, right? It is because we know the video will be released soon on YouTube and you can watch it in the comfort of your house. We are experiencing life through the prism of digital media.
Technology [is] the knack of so arranging the world that we don’t have to experience it.
— Max Frisch, Homo Faber (1957)
Depersonalized warfare
With digital technology, weapons can be easily deployed to distant places around the world without any human interference or military presence. Today, wars are turned into a computer game by drones. The intercontinental missiles follow landmarks and streets remotely in foreign countries. Moreover, satellites take photos and shoot a video from space!
Storage and organization
Sometimes, it gets very difficult to store and organize digital media. Photos, videos, audios, music, etc can be stored in devices like smartphones tablets, laptops and hard drives. But, finding individual items gets difficult and the chances of losing them are also high. And, what if you lose the device with all the stuff? It is not easy to store important data for a long time.
Longevity
As technology is advancing at a fast pace, digital devices and machines have become less durable. Your digital gadgets have a short lifespan and they turn archaic within a short time. The devices and machines turn unusable easily as they are incompatible, slower or just superseded.
Social depersonalization
Society is getting increasingly depersonalized as digital devices and machines are replacing humans eventually. People do online banking, shop online, pay bills online and even work online.
Now, it’s time to focus on the disadvantages of technology in the education field. Read on to know how it affects the children of this generation.
Disadavantages of technology in education
Lack of interest in studying
As everything is now found and accessed online on mobile and computer, students are no more interested to attend school or college. This poor studying habit is because they know the answers and explanations of all the subjects can be accessed online. Why do we need teachers when we have got everything served by Google? Students are making education lightly, which is not a good sign.
Vulnerability to potential pitfalls
Even though sometimes misused by children, computers and mobile phones are an essential and efficient educational tool. However, the gadgets can be a source of problems. Technical issues and malfunctions of a computer can lead to loss of assignments, study materials and ongoing assignments, which can lead to high levels of stress. If done manually, these problems wouldn’t have arisen in a student’s life. They wouldn’t have faced this situation if there was no scope of using computers for education.
Slow Internet speeds can also be a reason behind the demotivated minds of children. Moreover, they will also find stuff online that is totally unrelated to their studies. These vulnerabilities are all negative distractions for students and will eventually harm their education.
Negative views on technology
For this, consumerism is to be blamed. Because of negative consumerism, students know about the entertainment uses of computers and smartphones, rather than educational uses. We know that a textbook is a mode of learning. However, when given an option to choose between a textbook and a tablet, students go for tablets. Not for studying, but playing games and investing time on social media.
Raise instructional challenges
Teachers and professors need to be trained to use educational technologies for teaching. Most teachers are used to the traditional methods of teaching and it gets difficult fr them to learn using modern educational tools, such as a computer, projector and other devices. Many even see it as a negative impact on students, which is right in some ways.
Not just this, the technical advancements in teaching is seen as a threat to their job security. Although there are these threats in their minds, scholars, teachers and professors agree on the fact that technology has changed the face of education completely and the way students learn.
Diminishing the overall value of in-person education
Although online classes and tutorials are gaining popularity these days, it is impacting student’s performance. According to the data collected, the students who enrolled in online courses have higher chances of dropping out of classes, failing, etc. They are less likely to benefit from those classes. The reasons behind this could be anything from lack of face-to-face interaction to the poor interest of students in the classes.
No matter what, technology is affecting the way education is perceived. With the digital platforms opening up for education, in-person education is losing its importance and it will also impact students’ learning process.
Conclusion
Technology has been a boon no doubt, but like every other thing, it also comes with its own disadvantages. There are several disadvantages of technology that we discussed in this blog – from affecting our daily lives to the conventional education system, everything is being affected. We need to use the positive aspect of technology for our betterment, but at the same time, avoid getting in the loop of its disadvantages. We need to make sure of staying safe from its addiction.
