How Technology is Changing Our Lives

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Introduction

The era of technological innovation has resulted in constant changes across different spheres of life. Education is one of the primary areas that have been directly affected by changes in the machine age. This situation has given rise to a race between education and technology. The everchanging technological front is continually altering the job market and the hiring requirements among many employers. This situation has compelled many young people to pursue an education that aligns with current labor demands in a technologically-biased employment sector. Pervasiveness in the use of smartphones and social media has also been seen as a primary cause of distressful mental states among youth. This state of affairs has resulted in increased suicidal cases, especially among female adolescents. In light of this knowledge, the essay provides objective arguments on how technology is continuously changing the way of life.

The Race Between Education and Technology

There is a significant variation in the way experts think about the effects of technological innovation on the labor market in the future. Claims that current trends in industrial technology will transform the nature of work stand out because the world is already experiencing pervasive developments in automation and artificial intelligence (Brown & Keep, 2018). In view of this scenario, many job-seekers with advanced education meet challenges searching for new opportunities due to the replacement of human labor with machines.

Nonetheless, there is a feeling that the current educational system is lagging behind technological innovation; hence, it fails to supply the labor market with the required higher-level skills. Anticipations about future digital development and its influence on learning will undoubtedly change views on new educational and economic policies that are needed to shape future industries. Brown and Keep (2018) classify opinions on the expected future direction of the labor market into labor scarcity, job insufficiency, and end of work.

Labor scarcity is growing with the current pace of innovation and the increased use of machines to execute basic tasks. Today, technological advancement is a primary driver of aggregate economic growth and long-lasting enhancement of living standards (Brown & Keep, 2018). While technological progress has burgeoned in the last three decades, shortcomings have been experienced in cases where machines replace human labor. Automation and artificial intelligence are two scientific developments that have resulted in a significant reorganization of economies and social structures. More robust technologies are continuing to encroach areas where human abilities have been indispensable, gradually rendering cognitive skills in the workplace less useful (Brown & Keep, 2018).

The pace of discoveries in numerous bunches of scientific breakthroughs in machine learning is quickly creating a need for revolutionizing the education sector. Curriculums should be developed to align with technological progress in a bid to match modern labor demands. The race between education and technology has led to a disruption of labor markets, income inequality, and social conflict. The future of employment is characterized by the demand for workers with advanced skills, which implies that education will be the driver of economic and social policy (Brown & Keep, 2018). Although there are expectations that new positions and professions may emerge, there will be a need to develop more advanced skills to align employability characteristics with the future labor market.

Effect of Smartphones and Social Media Use on Mental Health among the Youth

The development and explosion of smartphones had led to increased use of social media among youth in recent years. In the United States, it is evident that two out of every three teenagers own or have access to a smartphone (Turkle, 2014). The increased dominance of these mobile devices among the youth has resulted in ripple effects across every aspect of their daily lives, ranging from social interactions to mental health. Teenagers and young adults aged between 16 and 24 years have been revealed as the most active users of social media (Abi-Jaoude et al., 2020). The benefits of socialization platforms include the enhancement of friendships and the circumvention of loneliness. However, there is substantial evidence showing that the overuse of social media leads to severe effects on self-esteem and satisfaction among the youth.

Snowballing cases of mental distress and treatment for related health conditions have become common among youth in North America. This situation resonates with the increased use of smartphones and access to social media by children, adolescents, and young adults. Abi-Jaoude et al. (2020) report that the number of teenagers with either developed or developing mental conditions is increasing across many states in the United States. For instance, psychological distress among teenagers rose from 34% in 2015 to 39% in 2019. This characteristic accounts for the pervasiveness of suicidal ideation (8.1%), attempts (4.3%), and non-suicidal self-injury (8.8%) among children and adolescents aged between 14 and 17 years (Abi-Jaoude et al., 2020). The mushrooming use of smartphones and social media is a primary cause of mental distress among the youth.

Access to online socialization platforms influences individual perceptions and shapes interpersonal relationships based on comparisons and depraved interactions, such as cyberbullying (Abi-Jaoude et al., 2020). Various studies have also shown that students who spent a lot of time on social media platforms such as Facebook stand higher chances of becoming envious or developing perceptions that other peers in their social circle were better off than them. The fear of missing certain events on social media has also been associated with mental distress among the youth.

Technology Use by Parent and Family Educators

Continued innovation in information communications technology (ICT) has continued to play a unique role in shaping family lives in the twenty-first century. The proliferation of smaller, mobile, multifeatured, and fashionable gadgets have revolutionized how people gather and share information. Walker (2019) reveals that 90% of adults worldwide have access to the internet. A growing number of futurists believe that the internet, like electricity, will be available everywhere by 2025. The possession of smart devices by families is growing larger every year. Some reports indicate that the ownership of smartphones in the U.S. rose from 35% in 2011 to 85% in 2018 (Walker, 2019). Tech-savvy tools for outreach, learning, tailored instruction, and new information have become essential in disseminating parent and family education.

Technology integration is not a new phenomenon informal education. Professional teachers use adaptive expertise to keep abreast of scientific innovations in family education. The use of integrationist models plays a critical role in ensuring that family educators are well-equipped with supportive tools to deliver knowledge that meets current demands in technology-driven life circles. Novel ICT is continuously integrated into practice using creativity-stimulation software to bridge the gap between pedagogy and educational needs at the family level. A 2016 survey indicated that 42.3% and 31.5% of educators in the United States had average and advanced proficiency, respectively, in the use of educational technology. 6.9% were rated as experts, 9.8% were beginners, and 8.6% had were unacquainted.

Conclusion

The development and use of technology have become inevitable in the execution of tasks. Many changes have been seen in family education, employment, and socialization. Although the era of machines has come with many benefits, numerous pitfalls have led to job scarcity in cases where robots replace human labor. This situation has called for the need to adopt integrational models to assimilate technology in teaching. Overuse of technology has also increased mental disorders among the youth, a condition that is causing depression and suicidal characteristics.

References

Abi-Jaoude, E., Naylor, K. T., & Pignatiello, A. (2020). Smartphones, social media use and youth mental health. CMAJ, 192(6), E136-E141.

Brown, P., & Keep, E. (2018). Rethinking the race between education & technology. Issues in Science and Technology, 35(1), 31-39.

Turkle, S. (2014). How computers change the way we think. McGraw-Hill Companies.

Walker, S. K. (2019). It depends: technology use by parent and family educators in the United States. Education Sciences, 9(4), 293.

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How Technology is Changing Our Lives

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