How is our
technology dependency affecting our lifestyles?
My goal is to inform how too dependent we all are on
technology and how it is effecting us and things around us and to acknowledge that it is problem . I’ll be covering
how our strong dependency on technology affects our lives in terms of security,
environment, and health and well being. I chose this
topic as everyone, no matter what difference anyone has, is affected by our
high dependency in technology. This blogs purpose is to emphasize the negative
effects of being too dependent on technology.
In war, military forces all over the world have turned to
utilising technology to the best they can to get the upper hand on the enemy
with tanks, radars and missiles. Even though all this technology gives us
immense power, it also leaves us very vulnerable to any cyber terrorist
attacks. If we are too dependable on technology, the ever growing threat of
cyber terrorists could threaten our safety and security even within our own
walls. This evident in the radar sys
tems in which the cyber terrorists could
hack and render attackers invisible or show a fake threat (“Military too
dependent on computers,” 2013).Also with combat units like aircraft's and
warships, there was evidence shown that those combat units could be rendered
completely useless is hit by a cyber-attack (“Military too dependent on
computers,” 2013).
Our dependence on computers can also leave us
vulnerable/unsecured against hackers. ‘Hacker’ is a term that was originally
used to refer to individuals who had an average level familiarity with
computers and could create efficient and “elegant software solutions” but as
years changed, hackers are now often depicted as people who knowingly achieve
unlawful access to a computer systems. Which brings me to how we depend on
computer systems. Many people are dependent on computers for essential things
like banking, social networks, healthcare, transportation, etc. (Furnell & Warren, 1999) It would be
a catastrophe if the computer were to suddenly cease to exist let alone be
hacked.(Furnell & Warren, 1999)Cyber hackers
have the ability to hack almost any computer and manipulate however they wish.
There have been incidents where hackers have infected other computers viruses,
cause financial loss, committed fraud etc.(Furnell & Warren, 1999) These attacks have forced
us to tread more carefully on the net, and spend money on anti-virus programs
because of how easily our security can be compromised. (Furnell & Warren, 1999)
The environment has probably paid the biggest price from our
dependency on technology. Most notably our dependency on vehicles as a form of
transportation. Because we are too dependent on vehicles, the gases from
emitted our vehicles have had a massive effect on climate change negatively.
Why only transportation alone is responsible for “26% of global CO2
emissions”(Chapman, 2007)and is one of the only industrial sectors where CO2
emissions are still increasing. (Chapman, 2007). Naturally, the earth has
always had changing climates through natural processes, but, “during the last
century, anthropogenic (human) activity has threatened significant climate
change over a relatively short time period”. (Maibach & Steg , & Anable,
2009). Because we are too dependent on vehicles, the pollution emitted effects
our lifestyle by making our climate temperature change drastically in a short
amount of time.
\Just about all types of technology can have effects on your
health and well being. One of the most
common health risks related to technology is the use of computers and industrial
machinery. During the 1990’s their was increase in lower back pain and neck
pain. A survey was taken by the University of Tampere to investigate and the
results showed that 2-3 hours of daily computer use “seems to be a threshold for lower back pain
and exceeding 5 hours for lower back pain” (Hakala & Rimpela & Saarni
& Salminen, 2006). Industrial machinery are usually large, complex
machinery invented for the purpose of easing the labour. Although they are
useful, these machines have shown that they are prone to accidents leading in
the injury and death of the people who work with and alongside them. A study
taken by the National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities and the Current
Population Survey had shown that between the years of 1990 and 1994 the
occupation with the highest mortality rate was the electrical repairers and (96.6
deaths/100,000 workers) and the least being
construction supervisors (392 deaths). Therefore, because the we depend
too much on technology, it effects our lifestyle in terms of our health and
well-being by putting us at various risks like lower back, and neck pain, and
risk of injury or death at your work place.\
In conclusion, the effects of being too dependent on
technology can affect our security by leaving us vulnerable to cyber hackers/
cyber terrorists. It affects our environment by causing pollution that causes
climate change. It affects our health by encouraging lower back and neck
problems and also putting you at risk of injury or death in industrial areas.
Bibliography:
. Military 'too dependent on computers'. (2013, January 09).
The Yorkshire Post
Retrieved
from:
. Furnell, S.M. &
Warren, M.J. (1999). Computer and Security: Computer Hacking and Cyber
Terrorism: The Real Threats in the New
Millennium?, 18, 28-34. doi:10.1016/S0167-4048(99)80006-6
. Chapman, C. (2007). Journal of Transport Geography: Transport
and climate change: a review, 15, 354-367, doi:10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2006.11.008
.Maibach, E. &Steg, L. &Anable, J. (2009). Preventive
Medicine: Promoting physical activity and reducing climate change:
Opportunities to replace short car trips with active transportation, 49,
326-327, doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2009.06.028
. Hakala, P.T. & Rimpela, A.H. & Saarni, L.A. &
Salminen, J.J. (2006). EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Frequent computer-related activities increase
the risk of neck–shoulder and low back pain in adolescents, 16, 536-541, doi:
10.1093/eurpub/ckl025
. Chen,
G.X. & Fosbroke, D.E. (2010). Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An
International Journal. Work-Related Fatal-Injury Risk of Construction Workers
by Occupation and Cause of Death, 4, 1371-1390, doi: 10.1080/10807039891284721
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