In a society that relies heavily on gadgets and new technology, are all these items really making our lives easier or more difficult? The demand on the Earth's resources is getting bigger and bigger - do we really need new mobile phones every year, new TV's, new PC's? Should items be designed to last as long as possible to minimise how much energy we put into making them?
2006-09-12 01:27:42 · 18 answers · asked by Charlie Brigante 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
They make our lives easier but at the same time make us lazy. Why learn math when a calculator will do it for you. Why learn to spell when few really write anymore. Why learn to cook when all you have to do is pop a frozen meal in a microwave. I could go on and on. Why worry about the environment when we have enough for the now generation. Why make a product that will last for years when people are willing to buy something new every year because they get bored with the old, or feel the need to keep up with what the neighbours have bought. We are a materialistic country ( not just us) Values and forthought are becoming a thing of the past. I really do think we are losing more than we are gaining.
2006-09-12 01:51:48 · answer #1 · answered by Red 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gadgets and technology are having both a negitive and positive effect on our lives. They help get information out to the masses, help you keep in touch with friends and make your free time more enjoyable. The down side is they do require more resources, but they are becoming more and more efficient and there are plenty of places that will recycle old gadgets or pass them onto places and people who need them, they might be out of date but they are better than nothing to those who get them.
People who buy a new mobile every year are just show offs who want to have latest gizmo, but they also suffer when they are subjects to the bugs that are missed out. As for new TVs and PCs, if you use on then yes you do need them when they break down. Some people live around a PC and they do need to update there computer regularly.
2006-09-12 08:39:24 · answer #2 · answered by earthangel_ghost 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gadgets definitely make some aspects of your life easier. For example, look how easy it is to communicate with other people compared with 50 years ago!
On the other hand it does create difficulties like laziness and as you rightly pointed out places strain on our resources.
I don't think it's so much making life easier or more difficult - just different.
As far as making things last longer - would it really make a difference? So many of the items people buy are bought to satisfy fashion trends or desire to have the biggest/best
2006-09-12 08:43:13 · answer #3 · answered by LostHippo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most of us love gadgets and whilst many do not make life easier, they mean that we can cram far more into our lives and do several things at once. People used to be happy just to walk to work or jog for exercise, now they listen to their ipod while doing it. Mobile phones mean that we need never be out of touch so we can arrange the day or evening ahead whilst commuting. There is a tendency for everyone to want the latest technology but that has always been the case even more so now that technology changes so quickly. My kids have the latest mobile phones and regard mine as an antique - it is 3 years old but works fine. On the final point, we do need to be more conscious of the environmental impact of forever changing our technology but the suppliers are competing for business and so long as the customer wants the latest gadgets, they will develop and sell them
2006-09-12 08:42:14 · answer #4 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The acronym PEST is a good guideline
P-Political developments
E-economic developments
S-social developments
T-technological advances
all these go hand in hand and yes technology is making life easier however there is a bigger burden to bear environmentally but with the introduction of science and technology law things are not bad.
2006-09-12 08:39:53 · answer #5 · answered by wakili 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They can make life easier, but you have to be selective. If you have every gadget/appliance available you have to work like a dog to be able to chase your tail and keep up with the newest and latest. Not to mention the repair/maintenance/insurance bills for them all. ( Was a bit on radio today, saying all this fast change in everything is messing up childrens minds, I can believe it.) Much of the younger generation has grown up thinking everything is there to be had, on demand, buy one, throw it away, buy another,....not good.But as the world revolves around money, and people BELIEVE the advertising they see, there's not much hope of things changing in the near future.
2006-09-12 08:45:05 · answer #6 · answered by Dick s 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I see what you are saying about us making new phones ect every year and it is putting strain on the Earth, BUT all these new gadgets do make life easier
2006-09-12 08:32:14 · answer #7 · answered by Atheist 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Make em last.
My gadgets are all over 5 years old and i don't intend to replace any until they are totally dead.
I'm on my third mobile phone since they came out.
The last two died of old age.
I know people who are changing every few weeks(idiots)
2006-09-12 08:38:27 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Without technology and gadgets you would not have been able to ask this question of so many people all at once.
So I guess it is making your life easier!
2006-09-12 08:32:16 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't we all want bigger and better, that's what technology has done for us, its a case of you can't live without it so you have to live with it.
2006-09-12 08:43:48 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋