The World We Live In…..by Ciara Fitzgerald
I was thinking about the world we live in today and how far we’ve come as regards Science and Technology. There is no doubt that our technological advances have brought many benefits, but might this knowledge also bring problems that may eventually negate those benefits?
Many of us have reaped the benefits of genetically modified foods for example. This scientific breakthrough has allowed the food industry to grow perfectly formed aesthetically pleasing vegetables and fruits for us to eat. And because foods can be grown in manufactured conditions, we can have what we want, when we want it regardless of the season. Costs can be reduced and food production is certainly fast!
But are we paying a price? Surely food grown in a manner, not created naturally by nature, has its disadvantages? How do we know that pumping chemicals, toxins, stabilisers, enhancers, E numbers and other biological molecular enhancements, are for our overall good? The answer is we don’t. Not yet. Science has developed the technology to create the world’s food supply, it just hasn’t advanced the technology to know, if it’s safe yet.
What about Aspartame? This very widely used product that replaces sugar and is used as a sweetener in thousands and thousands of foodstuffs. It’s a wonderful invention to help tackle obesity by replacing sugar, which is bad for us; we can still enjoy the foods we love, but quilt free. Or should we be guilt free? Aspartame is now on the ‘is it dangerous’ list, and it is believed that this highly addictive chemical food can cause illness and toxic reactions in the human body. Again research capabilities are not advanced enough to confirm the allegations, but in time Science and Technology will define what chemicals are good for us, or bad for us…if the food doesn’t kill us first!!
Food production is not the only major advance for mankind. The World Wide Web is now more or less in every home and business across the world. It has never been easier to book a holiday, buy some music, or talk with friends via social networks suck as Facebook, Bebo or Twitter to name but a few! We can text instead of calling, we can email instead of calling, and we can even Skype without paying for calling! The Internet has been the biggest technological advance in the past 10 years. And the pros are terrific. No queuing at the store to buy what you want, when you can do it with a click of a mouse. Nobody needs to get dressed and go outside when you can go online and chat to everyone you know; location is irrelevant! Is this really beneficial to our lives? You can be a complete hermit and have hundreds of friends on Facebook, who you chat with and play games with. And with today’s economic climate, ordinary socialising….you know that old archaic way of meeting people face to face…well it’s expensive…..way cheaper to go online!
However, is it the case that people no longer talk? Is the art of conversation becoming a thing of the past? I myself occasionally feel the urge to say LOL instead of actually laughing!!! (Laugh Out Loud…to you dinosaurs out there!! J) And don’t get me started on text speak. Seriously this is a major pet hate of mine. It’s understandable while texting, as there are only a certain amount of characters you can fit into a message, but anywhere else is just WRONG! So no more ‘ur
As a huge fan of social networking I’m not going to give out about it, in fact if the editor would give me more space I would happily write more about it…maybe next month I will! Dat wud b gr8, I hear u say!
Science and Technology have advanced the human race in many wonderful and life saving ways, but at what cost? Time will tell. Until then, mind what you eat and be careful who you invite on your friends list!
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