Technology only has benefits? Why?

[Francois Nel]

Hi there. My teacher asked this today, and I need some help with this statement, I would like to be against the statement.

Thanks a lot!

[A.A.]

Informational technology has made it easier for people to steal my identity, my money, and my information. And, now my mailbox (physical at my home) gets filled with tons of junk mail (former trees from the rainforest) because companies are passing my information around in an attempt to try and get me to purchase their junk -- this also reduces my privacy.

Everyone is using the buzz words of solar and wind power. I do not have a clothes dyer, so I hang my clothes on a line outside where the sun and wind dry them for free.

My dishwasher recently broke and I have been washing dishes by hand. Rather than live like a slob, tossing dishes into a washer and not bothering to clean the kitchen. I know start washing a sinkful of dishes, and before I know it I am sweeping the floors, cleaning the counters, dusting the cabinets, cleaning the gas stove (not electric), and making my living space cleaner and more sanitized thanks to not having a dishwasher.

I still use a cold-air sink (not the kind you put dishes in) to keep bread, spices, potatoes and dry goods fresh (no energy required).

I do not have television, nor do I watch stuff online. Hence, I have tons of spare time in my day and evening for work, professional pursuits, hobbies, bettering myself by reading, exercise (using weights and going for walks, no treadmill), time to cook great meals, and all sorts of things.

I have an orno (oven that uses firewood) in my exterior porch with a cooking shelf and a grill that allows me to grill steaks, bake bread, and roast large cuts of meat. I cut the firewood with an axe, which is awesome physical exercise.

This may seem complicated, but in fact these aspects of my lifestyle have allowed me to lead a simpler, far less stressful way of life, that has added quality to my life. This lifestyle removes the following pieces of technology from my life: television, VCR/DVD player, dishwasher, clothes dryer, microwave oven, gas powered lawn tools (chainsaw mostly), electronic exercise machines (I am thinking treadmill), and has reduced my monthly bills as I pay a lower electric bill and do not pay a monthly bill for cable or satellite T.V.

I do enjoy some intellectual pursuits and am forced to get my news online (no t.v.), but I attempt to keep a low profile online to avoid identity theft (no online shopping, no facebook or twitter, limited e-mail for business purposes (I still write cards to relatives and friends)).

So, the benefits of not having technology are largely personal lifestyle benefits. If it were possible to ride a horse to work and stable the animal while I was at work, that would save me gas money, car insurance, the tens of thousands of dollars to buy a car, and I would trade out car maintenance for oats and hay expense and vet bills.

In terms of health, setting a broken bone has not changed in a thousand years, nor stitches for a cut. There are alternatives just as good as penicillin for the treatment of infections, if taken in good quantities. In order to avoid being overweight, diabetes, cancer, and many other modern day illnesses, I have attempted to take my diet backwards to the quality and wholesomeness of the foods available before our foods were industrialized for mass consumption (no hydrogenated oils, no junk food or fast food, no processed foods, no corn syrup, etc.,etc.,); and the result is that I feel awesome and am in excellent shape and have not been to a doctor in almost ten years.

On that note, I have a vegetable and an herb garden. I do not raise animals, but know many farmers and ranchers who do and I purchase meat and other things I cannot grow or produce from them. I only purchase organic meat and organic eggs, so no pesticides or antibiotics and the meat tastes amazing. I preserve my vegetables at harvest time, and dry out the herbs for long term use.

All of this effort is the same as when civilization was first getting going.

Now, of course, I imagine living in an apartment in the city. I would be practically forced to live by technology alone with a far different lifestyle. And there are too many people on the Earth, thanks to technology, to be able to return to a simpler, and more healthy, lifestyle. Thus, the cycle of sickness and dependency gets worse -- another argument against technology.

Of course, flipside, you are using the advanced technology of the Internet to read this.

[Big Gryph]

I don't know why your teacher would think this. It is not true. If this is the exact sentence used your teach can't write a sentence either.

Hers a link to sites regarding advantages and disadvantages of technology.

Technology was unchecked throughout it's development and gave us pollution and CO2 for starters so it certainly isn't always beneficial