Technology and Lifestyles
Technology with its rapid growing speed is influencing old ways of doing daily affairs. We don't need to do much effort to handle different tasks and chores since all of them will be done in a matter of pushing a button. While it is true that technology has brought comfort to our lives, nearly all of us can confess that technology by itself has got a lot of disadvantages that in long term can cause a lot of side effects either physically or emotionally. Due to the spread of wide range of webs (Internet) and other services provided by mobile phones, ipods, etc., the concept of time and distance has been vanished and therefore people can keep in touch with each other in a much easier way. The negative side lies on the fact that people keep in touch in a virtual world, not natural. Furthermore, it is safe to state that Internet and other means of communication usually fail to transmit and transfer emotional feelings and thoughts. People can convey their attitudes and thoughts much more effectively when they are face to face rather than by simple objects that only serve to send messages and communicate people without the complexity of human feelings and emotions. What is technology? The World English Dictionary states that it is “the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science and pure science”. Other definitions also establish that it is the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a preexisting solution to a problem, achieve a goal or perform a specific function. What is a lifestyle? The same dictionary states that they are “the habits, attitudes, tastes, moral standards, economic level, etc., that together constitute the mode of living of an individual or group”.