In the 21st century, technology has progressed in many different ways. The definition

of technology is defined as a collection of machines and devices that are in the

process of being developed scientifically. Technology nowadays includes phones,

computers, washing machines and more. The development of technology has both

benefitted and harmed human beings. This essay will focus on the 3 advantages and

disadvantages advancement of technology including –communication, dependency on

technology, loss of jobs.

One of the key disadvantages with the modern advancement of

technology is the dependency in which people have for their gadgets or smartphones.

According to an online article written by (Belcher, n.d.), the level of dependency and

the advancement of modern technology are strongly correlated. This means the more

advanced technology is, the more likely people will depend on the technology. If

technology breaks down, people will not know what to do. Many jobs that were done

before the advancement of modern technology such as research and washing clothes

have been replaced by computers and washing machines. According to a research

article done by the American Census department (U.S. Census Bureau, 2013, p.2),

71.7 % of the American citizens use internet at home while 75.6% uses computers at

home. These figures show that people are becoming more and more reliant on using

the computer. This will be a disadvantage as people need to be able to work without

the use of technology just in case it breaks, however, people are getting more and

more reliant on technology due to it’s simplicity and its convenience.

Another disadvantage of with the modern advancement of technology

is the availability of jobs in which will be given to people. The potential in which jobs

secured by humans will be taken over by robots. According to an article written in the

Huffington Post, (Tencer,2014), states 1 in 4 Canadians are worried they will lose

their jobs in the near future due to the advancement of modern technology. Research

shows that for every 10,000 manual workers, there are 98 robots. This is an increase

by a significant 72% compared to 2013. This trend shows that many people will be

loosing jobs in the near future due to the progression of technology. The role of

technology has also eliminated many middle class jobs. According to an article

written in the Huffington Post (Condon& Wiseman, 2013), have written that 7.5

million jobs were lost in America during the last 5 years due to the recession and the

advancement of modern technology. Furthermore, across Europe, there are over 4.3

million underpaid jobs. These figures shows that many of these jobs are either cut or

low paid or replaced by technology. These figures will only increase throughout the

development of modern technology. This means more people around the world will

lose their jobs as more jobs are replaced by technology, which can hence be negative

in the future. However, the modern technology has also brought forward many job

opportunities such as web designing, app designing and mechanical repair.

One major advantage in the advancement of modern technology is the

way in which technology improves the ways in which one could communicate with

other people: such as the use of social media, cell phone, and e-mails. Through these

uses of communication, we are able to communicate with one another more

efficiently. (Nyab, 2014) has written that with devices such as cell phones and emails,

we are able to communicate across the world in a matter of minutes. Facebook is one

of the most popular social media platforms that many of us use to communicate with

one another. According to an article written in CNN (Gross, 2014), one of the

advantages of the advancement of technology is the ability to connect with past

friends and work collegues easily. Connecting with people has never been done more

easily than ever before.. According to an online article, has written the development

of social media has changed the way businesses communicate with us. Many

companies nowadays use social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to

interact with their customers. With over 1.2 billion people using Facebook and other

social media platforms, businesses use this as an opportunity to publicize themselves

to the public. An online article written by (Say, 2013) states those Facebook

advertisements are able to bring 2713 views per day to the company over the span of a

month. Without the advancement of modern technology, companies will not be able

to publicize themselves as much.

To conclude, there are both positive and negative aspects about the

advancement of modern technology. The positive aspects include the improvement in

the way in which we communicate with one another. However, the negative aspects

include the losing of jobs and an over dependence on technology.

Reference

Belcher, L. (n.d.). Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology Advances |

Chron.com. Retrieved November 2014, from

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-technology-

advances-12579.html

Condon, B., & Wiseman, P. (2013, January). Millions Of Middle-Class Jobs Killed

By Machines In Great Recession's Wake. Retrieved from

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/23/middle-class-jobs-

machines_n_2532639.html

Gross, D. (2014, January 31). 5 ways Facebook changed us, for better and worse -

CNN.com. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/31/tech/social-

media/facebook-changes/

Nyab, N. (2014, October 24). How Has Technology Changed Communication?

Retrieved from http://www.brighthubpm.com/methods-strategies/79052-

exploring-how-technology-has-changed-communication/

Tencer, D. (2014, April 9). 1 In 4 Canadians Fear They'll Lose Job To Technology:

Survey. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/09/04/job-losses-

automation-technology_n_5766104.html

U.S. Census Bureau. (2013). Computer and Internet Use in the United States.

Population Characteristics, 1-14. Retrieved from

http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p20-569.pdf