So we control technology or does technology control us?

Who controls who? Do we control technology, or does technology slow gain control of their creators? Of course, most people would think that humans are the one controlling technology because they created them and knew how to use them. However, is this really true? Maybe to a certain extent, but I feel that as technology advances, the possibility of technology controlling us one day is getting higher and higher...

Now, technology is so advanced. We wake to an alarm clock, use a toaster to toast our bread while listening to the news on the radio, or watching TV. You either take a bus or a train or your parents drive you to school. In this age, we couldn't live without technology. We've all grown up with it and we've become so dependent, we wouldn't know what to do without it. It is a two headed monster as it makes our lives easier but is also making us very reliant on it quickly. Technology is advancing very swiftly indeed. More inventions are made to make our lives more comfortable, vaccines are created to help fight against diseases.

So, how can technology control us? I feel that technology can control us through many ways. One of them is through our mindset -- computer games.

Nowadays, computer game is an essential necessity that every teenager needs. Almost everyone plays computer, but most of us do not know how to control ourselves. And even if we know how to control ourselves, we may still be affected by the computer games. Although playing computer games can release stress and is relaxing, we may get affected in the long run. Let me give you a few examples.

Firstly, we may get addicted to the game and only feel like going home to play instead of going out with your friends to socialize. This would rob us of your real life experiences. Instead of hanging out with our friends or taking a trip with our family which can bear long lasting friendships and memories, we will choose to stay at home and fix our gaze at the computer screen. As computer games are becoming more addictive, they are becoming more expensive too. Many avid gamers spend all their money on games. For example, it's not uncommon for a gamer to have 50-100 games that cost $40-$50 each. Hence, we can see that technology is slowly gaining control of our lives. It is ironical because we are the ones who created it, yet we are slowly getting controlled by it.

Moreover, if technology becomes so advanced, what would happen to our future generation? Would they only know how to rely on technology and nothing else? What if they relied so much on technology that they do not even know how to write even a Chinese character? They would become lazy with technology and eventually, technology would control them as they do not train their minds to think, only relying on technology.

With so advanced technology, we also would not be able to socialize. For example, we can chat on MSN, send emails and share our thoughts through face book. However, these are all in the internet and we are not meeting up face to face to really socialize. When we use the internet to communicate, we do not meet with them, thus there is no emotional feelings like when friends meet up. The relationship between friends also become more distant and we will slowly become unfeeling.

As said earlier, we are all dependent on the internet. When we need to get information, we search the internet. When we need to do research, we do the same. Internet is so efficient that we become reliant on it. If this becomes worse, what would happen to us? We would only use the internet; we would not read any books because everything can be found on the internet.

What happens if one day, technology becomes so advanced that robots are created. First, if something does not go wrong, we will become lazy and uncritical as we only rely on the robot to do what we want. Secondly, what if the robots turn against us? (This is only a possibility).

In conclusion, I would say that technology is slowly gaining control over us, knowingly or not. We, the creator of technology, are slowly becoming too dependent on technology, which may lead to it controlling us in the future.