The Growing Dependence On Computers

Computers have been very helpful to society over the last few decades. Nowadays laptop and desktop computers are used in almost any place, at home, at work, at school, in a car and even in the kitchen. Computers help us in our everyday tasks; they let us socialize with friends from around the world, work from home and even allow us to relax watching a movie or playing a game. However the reliance on them has grown greatly in the last couple of years, as statistics show that the percentage of households with internet and desktops or laptops has increased almost 80% over the last twelve years, which begs the question: is dependence on computers a good habit or should we be more serious about its consequences? Computers make our lives easier and give us the possibility to connect to the Internet and learn new things. They make it possible for us to keep in touch with our friends, shop online or even receive classes online. Machines nowadays make it simpler than ever to organize digital media with only one click, instead of organizing physical discs, which is more time consuming and frequently get damaged. This gives us more time to do more creative or productive things in our life. Additionally, the modern communication system is fully based on computers; we cannot imagine any of this electronic communication without them, for example cell phone networks. This is essential to most of us, since we are always online in chat rooms interacting with our friends or downloading music on the go. So, as computers get better and better, communication and download speeds will increase to enhance our lives. In addition, science and medical research is fully dependent on computers, which help process mathematical calculations quicker and more precisely, for instance cures for HIV and cancer are now being calculated by hundreds of computer so one day there exists a successful treatment for these diseases. Moreover, science experiments like the building of spaceships will be improved because computers will be able, in the future, to compute better ways of building space rockets, which can go farther and quicker to planet like mars which therefore can be tested by astronauts to see if life can continue on that planet. Science and medical research will be more developed as computers become more intelligent and faster. However, on the other hand, there are several arguments against computers. For example, when someone has become addicted or obsessed with a computer. If a person spends too much time in the cyber-world they can become lazy, develop anti-social tendencies and sometimes experience a negative change in behavior, and in severe cases the person will no longer be able to function properly without it. It is common to see the side effects of someone who has spent a long time in front of a screen; they might develop weight gain, strained eyes and headaches, along with other unpleasant effects. Although, it can be argued that it is the fault of the person, rather than of the computer. Nevertheless, most importantly is the safety issue. Social communities like Facebook that allow people to post personal information and photos to the internet can be really dangerous, since anyone with a basic knowledge of computers can see your photos and information. However, probably the most important issue is that our comfort level with computers grows, so everyday we do more things like buying online with a credit card, which again can be accessed by a smart hacker and then use all your money. Yet, these are just a few common examples of issues with computers, which are not harmful or threatening to our own life. In a few decades, however, cars will be driven by themselves, obviously controlled by computers, and what if something goes wrong inside the chip of our car at a high speed? This would be a deadly mistake caused by a computer. Thus, why do we rely so much on computers, which still after many years in the market have still got errors in programming, bugs and threats to new viruses? In my opinion, computers do indeed make our lives easier more often than making it harder, but as we depend more on them it puts ourselves at risk because of the evilness of others. Nowadays, we should only rely on computers when our life is not in danger, since both computers and malicious people can be a threat for any human being, now and probably in the future as well.