Technology abuse/technology problems
the rapid advancements in technology in recent years have brought about numerous changes in fields such as education, communication, and medicine. many processes that used to be done manually by humans can now be undertaken effectively by computers and other devices which are supported by strong technological infrastructure and networks. we are not just active users of technology, we are dependent on it. however, as glamorous as technology may sound, there are some cons with it, and unfortunately, any people misuse and abuse it to benefit themselves. today, I will be blogging about how technology is abused in certain ways and the flaws of it.
how technology can affect us
- social skills/social disconnect
the use of technology and communicating online may result in a lack of social and communication skills. With technology so advanced nowadays, you can just pick up your phone to message or call someone to socialise.this reduces the need for communicating face to face. social and communication skills are needed in our daily lives, in school, and at work. despite vast advancements in technology, we still need to learn to communicate despite how advanced technology might be.
When we replace real-life interaction with online communication, we lose the ability to read social cues like tone of voice, facial expression, body language, and direct wording. social skills are needed to present, in interviews, meetings, and in school, oral examinations, class presentations and maybe even giving talks as prefects or leaders in the hall. Thus we can see that technology cannot replace communication and social skills, and they are still necessary for our daily lives.
2. education
The internet has become a great tool for learning. Many schools and teachers are incorporating online learning and e-learning into their lessons. If you wanted to find information, you can just google it up instead of having to go to the library to find related materials or have to scan through the dictionary to find the meaning. With face to face interactive apps, courses and lessons can now even be conducted online. Yet, technology involvement dosent always guarantee the quality of education, Plagiarism and cheating have increased while analysis and critical thinking have declined. This puts young generation thinking abilities in jeopardy.
3.physical effects on our health
Among the most dangerous physical effects is addiction.Once you started, you cant stop. Adolescents and teenagers are glued to their mobile devices, be it in public, on transport, while eating, or even in the toilet. As a result, they move less as they stay at one spot constantly. And while they are playing games or scrolling through their mobile devices, it can be tempting to snack. Being absorbed by a laptop or a tablet, people tend to snack a lot, keep late hours and exercise less. The more time you sit in front of the PC, the lesser is the blood circulation in your body, not to speak of the neck and head pain. Moreover, sedentary life is the reason why many people have a curved backbone and bad posture as a result, as many like to lie down or sit in a relaxed position. This can lead to long term health issues such as eyesight problems, headaches, and long term health issues.
4.Cyberbullying and cybercrime
with the internet being so big with countless information and things out there, there is always a misuse of technology.
Cyberbullying has become even more common and bullies make use of social media apps to shame and bully people through the internet. And what is worse is that those bullies are able to create an anonymous account without the victim knowing who it is. The offenders either use text messages, social media or forums to reach out to the victim. The offenders may threaten to shame and post things that may not be true on the internet about the victims.
The internet is also a place where cyber crimes can take place. Many are unaware of fishy and suspicious sites that try to access our personal information. cams, hackers, phishing, have all become common on the internet. The suspects tried to phish and get access to our personal information by threatening us or giving a false excuse to give our personal and banking details to them. hey often target our user data,
including login credentials and credit card numbers. thus, when we are using the internet, we need to be vigilant and cautious about who we leak our personal information to.
5.technology creates dependencies
The evolution of technology in today’s world has created dependencies on our devices, tools, appliances. We have become so dependent on technology that sometimes it even reduces the need to learn skills. technology is incorporated into many aspects of our lives, in work, play, eat, and maybe even sleep. We always look for the fastest and most convenient ways to do things, and thus we rely on technology to get our tasks done fast and in an easy way. technology has made everything so convenient and easier. For example, teenagers nowadays might not even learn the skill to cook, as with a tap on our mobile devices we can get food delivered right to our doorstep.
Because of this new reliance, we are losing the ability to perform tasks in an organic and all-natural way.
how to be safe on the internet
with so many suspicious sites, websites, cyber-crimes, and cyberbullying online, it is hard to avoid all these especially when the internet is such a big site. thus, we will learn what we need to avoid and be precarious against through the internet, and what we need to be wary of. false information is everywhere, and we might not even know what we are reading is truthful or not. this is because this piece of information or news can be posted so easily on the internet, either on social media or fraudulent websites. we will learn how to identify these sites, and how to stay safe from them.
1. phishing and online scams
phising is a way to obtain private or personal sensitive information data, passwords, login details and banking credit details, by disgusing oneself as a truthsworthy entity. they might want to obtain this information for their own usage, to be able to gain access to your banking details,or to gain acesss to your other accounts, which is usually for your money . here are some examples of phishing and tactics they might use.
Phishing websites, emails, or messages may look like they’re from a corporation or company that you would know and trust. They may look like they’re from a bank, a credit card company, a social networking site, an online payment website or app, or an online store.this is to usually gain your trust first, as you would know they’re from a trustable company.
Phishing emails and texts often give you a reason to trick you into opening a link or opening an attachment. this is done to get your attention to the email and so that you wouldn’t just ignore it. the emails and texts are often free offers or free stuff, or they might say that you have some problems with your banking details. they usually threaten you by saying that it is only for a limited time, so this would get you anxious to get it done faster. here are some common examples and tactics that scammers use:
- say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts
- claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information
- say you must confirm some personal information
- include a fake invoice
- want you to click on a link to make a payment
- say you’re eligible to register for a government refund
- offer a coupon for free stuff
here is an example of another email:
-they will use the names of trustable websites(sometimes even the logo)
-they will urge you to hurry and do it(this will expire in 24 hours)
-says that your password will expire in a limited time(trustable sites will usually give you time to change your password and it wont expire)
While, at a glance, this email might look real, it’s not. The scammers who send emails like this one do not have anything to do with the companies they pretend to be. Phishing emails can have real consequences for people who give scammers their information. And they can harm the reputation of the companies they’re spoofing.
2.false and fraudelent news
fake news, also known as junk news, hoax news, is a form of deliberate news spread through digital media, or through traditional media. the internet and the digital media has brought back and increased the usage of fake news. these news can be about what is going on in the world, or something that might be threatening, and cause a lot of commotion and anxiousness in the community. these news may be often posted on social media, or on frauldent sites that may be imposting other truthful news sites.Propaganda has been around for centuries, and the internet is only the latest means of communication to be abused to spread lies and misinformation rapidly to many other groups of people.
What Is Fake News?
There are two kinds of fake news:
Stories that aren’t true. These are entirely invented stories designed to make people believe something false, to buy a certain product, or to visit a certain website.
Stories that have some truth, but aren’t 100 percent accurate. For example, a journalist quotes only part of what a politician says, giving a false impression of their meaning. Again, this can be deliberate, to convince readers of a certain viewpoint, or it can be the result of an innocent mistake. this may result in others interpreting it wrongly, thus it is also harmful.
Social media platforms now give everyone the ability and power to post whatever they want, and whenever they want. Thus, this might be dangerous as many might abuse and misuse this ability. Often, many people do not check the source of the websites before forwarding it to people.
3. online privacy
when you sign up for social media platforms or apps, you may be asked to put some personal information about yourself, or you may want to disclose some information about yourself to others. every day, people give away their personal information online, whether it be their name and address, or their payment information. You need to know what’s going to happen to it, and that it’s not going to be used for anything other than the intended purpose.
If you’re relatively new to using the internet or don’t use it very often, then you might not be up to date on how platforms like social media sites work. Basically, when you sign up to a site like this, you have to give a certain amount of personal information, and information that you want to share with people. When you do this, you need to make sure you’re aware of what others can see, and what you don’t want to share isn’t being shared.
Solution and Conclusion
with the internet being so huge, and with tons of information and things posted every day, we cannot possibly wipe out all these false and fraudulent information on the internet. However, we can take precautions and steps to prevent these from happening to others, our friends, or ourselves. We should be aware of what we post, see, find on the internet, and not immediately trust these websites, emails, or texts. we need to remember that not everything on the internet is truthful, since it is so easy to gain access and post something on the internet.
In conclusion, the invention of technology has its pros and cons, good and bad. it is up to us on how we want to use the internet. thus, let us all work together to make the internet a better place, and let us make the internet a truthful, trustable, good place to learn, work, play for everyone.
