Author: Li Man Fong Amy
Class: 5A
With the advance in technology, life has become much more convenient for us. Emails and social network sites allow us to keep in touch with people easily. Online shopping enables us to have goods delivered to our door. Has the convenience brought by technology really made people lazy?
There is no denying that technology is so useful that it helps people complete various tasks effectively and efficiently. However, people gradually lose their willingness to think due to the progress of technology. Thanks to the advance of technology, people just need to press a button to find resolutions on the Internet. They are over-reliant on technology now. On the contrary, they had to figure out ways and resolutions by themselves before. Now, people are less willing to think of ways to deal with problems. For instance, people used to read books in the library to acquire new knowledge so as to think out solutions to a problem. But now libraries are abandoned since people can find out answers directly and efficiently on the Internet. Thus, people are not required to think proactively and creatively owing to the convenience of technology. They miss out on some important steps in the thinking process. As a result, people are getting too lazy to think from different perspectives for answers.
Undoubtedly, technology is appealing and interesting. However, people addicted to the use of technology are becoming less willing to do sports or other work. People love to devote all their time and energy to their electronic devices, which provide a great variety of games and entertainments to them, such as Candy Crush and Towers of Saviors. People seem to be stuck with their electronic gadgets and their willingness towards doing exercise will decrease. With the addiction to technology, people are getting lazier.
However, there are convincing arguments suggesting that technology is not making people lazy. Technology is continuously evolving and being innovated in a fast pace. For instance, we used to use cell phones ten years ago whereas we now use smart products, such as tablets and smartphones. This shows the fast pace of change of technology. As a result, technology requires people to keep learning so that they can keep pace with others. People have to read books, watch informational videos and receive training to acquire knowledge and polish their skills of using technology. People have to work hard to learn the use of technology, otherwise they will gradually lose their competitiveness. As a consequence, technology is requiring people to acquire different knowledge but not making people lazy.
In addition, technology is not making people lazy due to its restrictions. Technology is programmed by engineers. Therefore, technological use has been limited by the companies. The launched technology is only able to handle easy tasks but people are still needed to complete complicated tasks. For instance, computers are used to search information while people are needed to plan, to comment and to evaluate. Therefore, people are still needed for some complex work which cannot be completed with technology. As a result, people are not getting lazy due to the advance of technology.
In a nutshell, technology does make life more convenient. However, in most cases, technology will not make people lazy. Should people be educated about the appropriate use of technology, they can definitely benefit. For this reason, I believe technology will not make people lazy, but education is needed to teach people to use technology properly.