The Uses and Abuses of Technology: Technology has its downfalls, but ultimately it improves our daily lives.

Every morning, the first thing I do when I wake up is check my phone. It is part of my daily routine and I feel incomplete if
I don’t. We all have these technological habits that make us feel incomplete if we don’t follow them. But is this necessarily a bad thing?

Both technology and social media have a significant impact on our day to day lives. They influence our actions, even when we don’t realize it. Before I got my phone I wasn’t checking anything daily, I watched the news with my mom but it was
not a habit I needed to follow to continue on with my day.

Technology has the ability to connect us with others even when we’re not physically together, and especially with the pandemic, it has been more difficult to connect with people without technology. I know for me, I did not see my friends for most of 2020, but I was still able to connect with them through technology and maintain my friendships with not much of an impact.

Technology also allows us to communicate with people that we may not have the opportunity to otherwise. Without technology I may not have the chance to meet people who live across the country, and especially not across the world, but thanks to technology I have a group of friends I can talk to that live far beyond my Pennsylvania bubble.

This is not to say that technology does not have its downsides, as it can be very addictive to use social media every day, but when it is used properly, the pros tend to outweigh the cons. Technology is not a good resource to abuse, but it can be a great resource to connect ourselves with others.