Dakota Dyer

4/12/15
Technology and Life
In todays society modern technology has become an enormous part of our everyday
lives. We go to sleep with music from our iPod playing while laying on our automated sleep
number bed, and wake up to our iPhones loud alarm. Then if you are like most individuals who
are plugged in this first thing you do when you wake up is check your social media. All of this
use and borderline abuse of technology begs the question of, is modern technology a help or
hindrance in our lives? In my opinion the answer is clear, I believe that technology has
enhanced our lives. It has made the business world more efficient, cost effective and therefore
cheaper for the end consumer, (aka. You and I). It has advanced our schools. By putting iPads
and computers in the students hands we have opened a world of near endless research potential.
Not only endless research but also endless current research. The internet is constantly being
updated with the most current information, ensuring that our students and those who use the
internet alike always have Intel that is current and relevant. Modern technology has also made us
more mobile. The horse and wagon have been replaced by engines and tires. Planes make world
travel possible within a day. These are just some of the many advances our society has made due
to modern technology. Now I will dive deeper into the implications of technology on more
specified topics.
There are many effects of modern technology on the world of business. I believe that the
good majority of these affects are a good thing. According to "Electronic Transportation

Marketplaces: a Transaction Cost Perspective." (1) Electronic transportation marketplaces

(ETMs) are Internet-based mechanisms that match buyers and sellers of transportation services.
With claims of reducing the administrative costs of transportation procurement to virtually
nothing, the allure of ETMs is considerable. This shows how technology is constantly making
businesses more and more cost effective. This is a very good thing for the population because the
end result is cheaper prices for the end consumer and greater profit margin for the producer. Also
technology has taken small growing businesses and connected them to form large corporations
with greater production rates. E.g. Carolinas Healthcare System. One of the largest growing
healthcare institutions which saves lives every day due to its cumulative size, assets and
connection with its brother/ sister branches. One last side note of the effects of technology on
business is that it tends to accelerate almost every process involved. Letters are replaced by
phone calls, paper mail is replaced by emails. Advertisement is replaced by advertisement
websites. The list can go further.
Also, technology has impacted the medical field immensely, both clinically and the
business side of the field. Technology has helped understand and learn to treat illnesses.
Technology enabled knowledge translation for eHealth : principles and practice says Rapid
progress in health research has led to generation of new knowledge and innovative practices in
management of illness. This has resulted in a significant challenge for health professionals: if
today we discovered a new therapy through research, when will this discovery be regularly
prescribed or utilized to treat all patients suffering from this condition? Knowledge translation is
the non-linear and often complicated process of translating knowledge into routine health
practices. Technology enabled knowledge translation (TEKT) is the use of information and
communication technologies (ICT) to accelerate knowledge translation. With the ubiquity of the

internet, the proliferation of different approaches in communication and social networking, and
the continuously improving technologies from netbooks to smartphones, there are rich
opportunities for TEKT in health education, service delivery, and research. (2) I myself work in
the medical setting. I see how greatly beneficial that technology is to our lives and overall health.
In my hospital we now have portable ipads that connect to a translator twenty-four hours seven
days a week if we have an individual who does not speak English. I have seen technology save
lives. By this I mean that I have seen pacemakers keep a heart beating. I have seen troponin and
CG4s yield results that let the doctor know what medicines need to be administered in order to
keep an individual from dying. I have even seen a simple heart monitor read an individuals
vitals that were going to the bad, and then alert me to alert the nurse that something was not
right. Technology has saved many lives. Technical challenges and future directions in lead
reconstruction for reduced-lead systems says Reduced-lead electrocardiographic systems are
currently a widely accepted medical technology used in a number of applications. They provide
increased patient comfort and superior performance in arrhythmia and ST monitoring. These
systems have unique and compelling advantages over the traditional multichannel monitoring
lead systems. (3) This helps prove my point that technology has impacted the medical field in
very a beneficial way.
Technology also has a great impact on our personal lives. As the point was made in the
beginning of this paper, we are always plugged in. This constant connection has dramatically
sped up our lives. We are constantly moving about in our vehicles, talking on the phone, sending
emails and text messages in order to set up more meeting times with our friends that we will in
turn once again use our vehicles to drive to. A constant cycle has begun, however I believe that it
is a beneficial cycle of productivity for the most part. This constant cycle has not only sped up

our lives but it has also connected us with our friends more often and has given us more time to
spend with our families. Also, research tends to show that technology is making us smarter.
Smarter than you think : how technology is changing our minds for the better says It's
undeniable-technology is changing the way we think. But is it for the better? Amid a chorus of
doomsayers, Clive Thompson delivers a resounding "yes." The Internet age has produced a
radical new style of human intelligence, worthy of both celebration and analysis. We learn more
and retain it longer, write and think with global audiences, and even gain an ESP-like awareness
of the world around us. Modern technology is making us smarter, better connected, and often
deeper-both as individuals and as a society.(4) This lends a had to my previous point and really
speaks for itself.
Although I believe that technology has improved our lives, like many other things, when
certain technology is abused, it can become a problem. E.g. social media. Social media was
created to connect friends and families. And while it does do that, it also has a darker side where
people are fake and cyber bullying is rampant. The recent study Longitudinal Associations
between Cyber-Bullying Perpetration and Victimization and Problem Behavior and Mental
Health Problems in Young Australians." Says that To investigate associations between Grade 9
and 10 cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization and Grade 11 problem behavior and mental
health problems after controlling for risk factors for these outcomes in the analyses. The sample
comprised 927 students from Victoria, Australia who completed a modified version of the selfreport Communities That Care Youth Survey in Grades 9-11 to report on risk factors, traditional
and cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization, problem behavior, and mental health.
Complete data on over 650 participants were analyzed. Five per cent of Grade 9 and 10 students
reported cyber-bullying perpetration only, 6-8 % reported victimization only, and 8-9 % both

cyber-bullied others and were cyber-bullied. Results showed that cyber-bullying others in Grade
10 was associated with theft in Grade 11, cyber-victimization in Grade 10 was linked with Grade
11 depressive symptoms, and Grade 10 cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization combined
predicted Grade 11 school suspension and binge drinking. (5). this shows how devastating cyber
bulling facilitated by social media can be to our lives. People become brazen and ruthless behind
the screen, and become calloused to the feelings of others who cannot fight back? Furthermore,
problems associated with social media is online relationships that result in cheating or catfishing.
(Catfishing is when an individual pretend to be somebody they are not, in order to create a real
but fake relationship with another individual.) Online catfishing has become so popular that
MTV has made a show all about it!
Furthermore technology has had great effects on our romantic lives. In most cases it can
be argued that modern technology, specifically social media, can make or break romantic
relationships. A person example of this point is a man that is close with my family. This man was
married for many years and one day he walked in on his wife while she was on the computer. His
wife was on the social media website of Facebook. She was direct messaging a man whom she
had never met and telling him she was leaving her husband for him. Which she eventually did.
While these cases are multiple in number there are also websites devoted to arranging a romantic
encounter between individuals. Such as e-harmony. These websites are a very effective tool to be
used in todays society. If the number of marriages that they boast come from their website are
true, then their website is also proven to be very efficient. In the end technology has made a great
impact on our romantic lives.

In summary, I believe very strongly that technology has impacted our lives in a very
beneficial way. Some might argue that technology has caused harm. While this is true in some
cases, the good has outweighed the bad overwhelmingly.

Works Cited
I.

Goldsby, T. "Electronic Transportation Marketplaces: a Transaction Cost Perspective."

Industrial Marketing Management. 32.3 (2003): 187-198. Print.

II.

Ho, Kendall. Technology Enabled Knowledge Translation for Ehealth: Principles and
Practice. New York: Springer, 2012. Internet resource.

III.

Feild, D.Q, S.H Zhou, E.D Helfenbein, R.E Gregg, and J.M Lindauer. "Technical
Challenges and Future Directions in Lead Reconstruction for Reduced-Lead Systems."
Journal of Electrocardiology. 41.6 (2008): 466-473. Print.

IV.

Thompson, Clive. Smarter Than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for
the Better. , 2013. Print.

V.

Hemphill, Sheryl A, Aneta Kotevski, and Jessica A. Heerde. "Longitudinal Associations

between Cyber-Bullying Perpetration and Victimization and Problem Behavior and
Mental Health Problems in Young Australians." International Journal of Public Health :
International Journal of Public Health. 60.2 (2015): 227-237. Print.