Well...you decide and tell me. . Review on Technology, Boon or Bane

My apologies dear friends for my inexcusable delay in writing on this wonderful website. I was recently captured by a group of marauding monkey and taken to Transylvania. From there I escaped only to confronted by Dracula, with whom I became good friends.

But alas, our friendship faltered due to my love of garlic and consequently I ran away to Egypt and was accused of stealing the Sphinx?s nose. Weeks of interrogation followed, and after close scrutiny of my own nose, the authorities concluded that it did not once belong to the Sphinx, and I was returned to Australia. Upon arrival, it was discovered I had been bitten by the scarab beetle and spent some at the hospital. When leaving the hospital, I was told that I had exams coming up and that I would have study for, or risk facing a fate worse then death. Unwilling to do so, I buckled down and studied. Now for the review?

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Technology; Bane or boon??

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This morning I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock screeching, turned on the radio to hear the latest forecast, brushed my teeth with an electric toothbrush (which has a head that oscillates so my hand doesn?t have to), warmed my breakfast in the microwave, slipped into the car and opened the garage door with a remote control. I arrived at the train station and bought a ticket from a ticket machine, was informed by the electronically preprogrammed voice over that my train would be arriving punctually in 1 minute, and while boarding the centrally heated train, I checked my schedule on my electronic organizer that simultaneously informed of the time in New York, Genoa, Puerto Rico, New Delhi and Jakarta.

Exiting the train and the train station (by slipping my ticket into an electronic barrier) I elected to walk the remaining distance to my college, however the image of the sun rising over the sky scrapers which form Melbourne was so beautiful, I pulled out my mobile phone and used its camera function to capture this spectacle. All this use of technology occurred before 9 AM, and let it be noted, I was on the way to college to receive an education that was supplemented with computer/laptops, overhead projectors, innumerable photocopies and elevators.

Phew!!! I?m an average student in Australia, and have ordinary tools, so my use of electronics is by no means exceptional.

It is believed by many that we are the dominating species on this planet as we constantly desire change and improvement (ie, you don?t see chimps building bridges because the don?t feel like swinging from tree to tree anymore). However, has this use of technology reached a stage where it?s almost ludicrous? Certainly the ease of lifestyle now is very desirable, but at what cost?

Obesity is a growing epidemic in developed countries (no pun intended!), and it is largely blamed on our fast paced lifestyle. But fast paced doing what? Cruising down a F1 track in the Mediterranean at a 138km/h on a video game? I see young kids who have barely hit puberty that are grotesquely overweight. They feast on the commercial junk food that is constantly advertised on the televisions they sit in front of instead of going outside to play.

Just simple things such as walking up stairs instead of using escalators and throwing away remotes and doing things manually burn calories. However I think people are becoming more diet conscience with new advertising campaigns on TV and research that concludes obesity is linked with impotency. (TV advertising and research both require the use of technology ? ironic!)

Don?t me wrong though. Technological advances in medicine and science is awe-inspiring. I saw images broadcast from Saturn recently, isn?t that amazing? While our ancestors gazed up at the stars and planets, we now explore them. I know I wouldn?t be alive today if it wasn?t for penicillin. Modern medical technologies such the MRI and EEG are simply astounding.

And I don?t oppose the TV. I love the fact I can watch cricket matches live from India, and roar in delight with a billion unknown comrades each time Sachin scores a century, observe a lion cleverly stalk his prey in the wilds of Africa and watch with delight the many Hollywood (and bollywood) offerings.

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