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Neo Luddism (negative impact of technology)

The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes is growing day by day. Technology solves problems with various inventions. Technology has both negative and positive impacts. The pace of technology is transforming society which has made life easy but also created inequality between people. The rise of technology (such as nuclear technology, automation) has raised many questions doubting technology. Neo-Luddism or new Luddism is an ideology opposing many forms of technology. This ideology was active in the early stage of the 90s. People having the same ideology is called neo-Luddite. Neo Luddites oppose technology that is materialistic or destructive of society.

Rise of technology 

As a student of information technology, I have seen Technology has a big impact on the industrial revolution which has caused a large scale of urbanization. The technology was enhancing productivity with various inventions which helped industries work fast, easy and profitable. Due to this reason technology created many workers unemployed and in this period the labor wage started decreasing. This has created a big economic gap between people. Neo Luddism ideology is critical about technology. Neo Luddite is growing and cautious to adopt rising technology. Technology may be great but it can be harmful too. Technology is changing our society day by day. During my research I have found data from 1979 to 2008 U.S population has increased by 35% and manufacturing employment has dropped 31% from 19.4 million jobs to 13.5 million jobs. Technology invention has eliminated the jobs of humans by reducing the price of production. The adoption of technology has created huge unemployment for blue-collar jobs such as labor. It has also created a fear of losing jobs towards workers in various fields. Everyone is working very hard even when productivity has increased because of the fear of losing the job.

Internet 

The Internet is one of the popular inventions of Technology. It is a great source of information but every source is not reliable and trustworthy. I found 40% of the world’s population is using social media. Technology has reduced distance between people but it has also created distance of social relationships between people. The Internet has grown and every new generation is now involved in social media. Social media is very addictive, people on average spend two hours every day. Using computers for a long period can cause burning the vision. The screen of a computer can generate radiation that can harm the eyes. According to me, Social media has a good impact on society but it also has a toxic environment. People have too much involvement in their life in social media. It can cause distractions while we are doing focused work. As more users are using the internet everyone may not have good intentions. 

 Increasing the use of computers has increased computer crimes. Technology is growing rapidly and breaching our privacy. Nowadays, privacy issues are also rising as a student of information technology. Privacy of an individual is very important. Tracking location and spying information of an individual can be very easy for professionals because of electronic devices connected to a network. Big corporations are collecting data of people and data can be the next source of income. Many websites collect data and use them for advertising and marketing. Websites collecting data can track location and know users' likes and dislikes. Every individual has a different experience in social media but as I have seen social media it can influence people's perception. I have seen a piece of news about Cambridge Analytica which has collected millions of data of American citizens without their concern which helped Donald Trump to elect as a president of America. From this scenario, I can tell social media can influence and manipulate people. Mental health professionals are getting concerned about the impact of social media on mental health.

Digital divide 

According to me, technology has created a Digital divide between people. Aleph Molinari described the digital divide as,” The Digital Divide is the gap between individuals and communities that have access to information technologies and those that don’t”. Mobile, internet, computer, etc are technologies creating a digital divide. The Internet has been a great source for information but everyone can’t access the internet because of poverty which creates information poverty. Every day new inventions are coming into the market and everyone can’t afford those inventions. Technology is made for the betterment of human life but it is causing enormous negative effects on human life and creating division.

Technology impact on the environment

Technology has a negative impact such as climate, energy, water and creates waste. The industry is consuming energy heavily. As the population is increasing use of vehicles using energy such as fuel is also increasing which is increasing air pollution. The usage of energy is affecting the earth’s climate. I have seen so many articles about global warming .Technologies releasing carbon dioxide can be one of the causes of the greenhouse. Even in the field of agriculture, it uses technology which has a negative impact. Using pesticides, fertilizer and such chemicals can harm the soil. In the context of Nepal I have not seen waste management from industry which is polluting the environment.

I found neo-Luddism is a philosophy that opposes technology that hampers human life. It shows the technological influence on people's life. People should know what they are using and how they can impact our lives. I found that while using technology people should be aware about how its working and its impacts in the long term. During my research I found various impacts of technology.