18+ Risks and Disadvantages of Technology

BY SAROSH WAIZ

With such a rapid technology adoption that we’ve witnessed in the past few decades, we should also be wary of the many disadvantages of technology on our lives and our society.

As we all know, too much of something can be harmful. Same is true of technology, and the many benefits it brings to our lives.

Here are some major disadvantages and risks that technology can lead us into.

Table of Contents

• Disadvantages of Technology on Privacy, Security, and Information
• Risks of Technology Associated with Lifestyles and Social Behaviours
• Negative Impact of Technology on Work Life
• Technology and its Hazards to Life

Disadvantages of Technology on Privacy, Security, and Information

1. Too much data is being circulated, and not all companies take full responsiblity of handing user data – this leads to many data breaches and privacy issues
2. Anonymity, split personalities, and fake personas
3. Technology and access to information in a central location has given rise to new kinds of crimes and terrorism

Risks of Technology Associated with Lifestyles and Social Behaviours

1. Reliance on technology has increased social anxiety, where people are more comfortable communicating with others through messages and chat apps, but not physically
2. Too much content, gaming, and indoor activities have impacted how people live their lives – in turn leading to high obesity rates, more health issues, and new kinds of addictions
3. Over dependence on gadgets
4. Our attention spans are dropping – the average attention span of humans recently dropped to 8 sec from 12 sec in the last few years. Companies like Facebook and Snapchat argue that a 2 sec/3 sec video watch time should be considered a “valid” view because attention spans on their platforms are very less. Isn’t that scary?
5. Family distancing – people in the same room don’t talk to each other, but only to their devices
6. Social isolation and loneliness
7. Laziness and lives of convenience
8. Technology is wiping out contentment – where everyone is running towards acquiring more, and not being grateful for what they possess (Here are some life quotes for motivation)
9. Virtual experiences are taking preference of real physical experiences – with technology advancements, we’re moving in an era where we will forget to decipher between what’s real and what’s unreal.

Negative Impact of Technology on Work Life

1. A large part of the workforce get replaced with new technology causing unemployment in some cases (computers was a term that referred to job titles that people possessed)
2. With people carrying their work laptops home, and checking work emails at home, while sleeping, when waking up, in the bathroom, there is gap left between family and work life
3. Too much information but no knowledge, people browse through thousands of news items everyday, but none of it is retained to a point where it becomes knowledge.

Technology and its Hazards to Life

1. More accidents on the roads due to accessibility of vehicles and ease of movements
2. Nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction are at a point that they can wipe out humanity if a global conflict escalates to a point of no return
3. Commercial production of food, and daily household items, is causing many health problems, and creating a sick and a weak work always in need of the healthcare system
4. The industrial age has lead us to climate hazards, global warming and a polluted environment

Like everything in life, technolofy should be questioned and looked at from a moral, ethical and a human lens. We need to take responsibility and ownership of where we steer the technological advancements to continue to be beneficial to the goodness in the world.