Examples of Technology are cell phones, computers, PDAs, laptops, telephones, internet, e-mail, television, MP3 players, electronic books, videocassettes, etc. The use of Technology is so pervasive in our daily lives that we hardly notice it. However, Technology is not always good. We need to use it in a way that it enhances our lives and does not cause us grief or create unnecessary problems. Some things just are not worth the use of Technology.
For example, I believe that there is a great difference between using technology for entertainment and using it for a structured procedure that enhances the process and makes it more efficient. For example, movies can be entertaining, but I would rather watch the sun rise in the morning over my computer than reading the newspaper. Similarly, one could use technology to answer my questions, but that would be a rather unusual educational situation and not in the best interest of high technology. A school system in the Midwest might benefit from a more systematic treatment approach. Some people may prefer electronic books over books with printed covers.
High-tech items, such as automobiles, television, computers, helicopters, airplanes, and several other technological items can make our lives much easier, but they do not necessarily solve problems and some people are irritated by them. Technological change can bring some wonderful advantages, such as the electric refrigerator, but when people are using them they will complain about the lack of space, poor power, lack of storage, slow running computers, etc. Others are opposed to certain technologies because they believe they will cause severe negative consequences. These people do not want to use the latest automobile or ride on the newest helicopter.
One problem that faces the modern technology industry is that its customers cannot get enough of the latest innovations. In fact, many customers insist that their needs must be fulfilled even if the technologies are new and that new products cannot possibly be old enough to qualify. New products often become obsolescence after a very short time. This means that the cost of the product becomes higher and the longer it remains on the shelf, the worse it becomes. The situation is made worse by the fact that some consumers demand obsolete technologies even when there is no longer any use for them. The result is that we have reached a point where, although there are always new and useful technologies, there are also a lot of waste and a shortage of resources.
Technological change has created problems for society because some people depend too much upon modern technologies for their material means. They need to eat, drink, cloth their clothes, and so on, but they have no place for the more primitive means of living. Some people blame this on a limited view of nature and of the world around us, but this is also a product of the way people have lived in the past. Moreover, it is not clear what science can do to solve these problems when we are already dealing with the consequences of technological change in the form of pollution, environmental degradation and other such problems.
We might say that technology is nothing more than a series of abstractions based on various scientific knowledge. But it has been noted that even in fields as diverse as computer science and engineering, people have been unable to agree on a unified field of technology, despite the many years of research and experimentation. Thus, the definition of technology is still at the edge of scientific knowledge.