What Makes Technology Good or Bad?

Jenna Clark answers this question and gives us examples of the good and the bad.

Behavioral researcher Jenna Clark wrote an article in Greater Good Magazine that started with a headline with a basic question: What Makes Technology Good or Bad? She starts out with some of the negatives shown from studies including short attention spans, increased results brain cancer, and increased loneliness. Technology provides us with so much information that it all begins to sit in our heads. This often creates spans because you're caught up on what you were reading about or listening to. Studies show that brain cancer has strong correlations with cell phone radiation, especially with very long exposures. An increase in loneliness occurs because you're not around people very much whenever you over-consume technology, and most of your "social life" exists on social media. Researchers have also seen increases in depression and suicide from the effects of social media, especially amongst girls.

Yet, she counters the article by including positive factors that technology provides, such as helping others build stronger connections with others. Often times, it's tough for those that are socially anxious to make friends in-person. Social media and other tech platforms can help these individuals show more about themselves than what they show with their first impressions face-to-face. Overall, Clark's article is a great source that digs deeper into the pros and cons of technology.