by B.Smith 73, CCB Contributor

The following essay was an argumentative writing assignment from Ms. Gartside’s class:

A lot of people do not know the harm that technology does to everyone. Many think, “There is nothing bad about technology” , and “What harm could technology do to us?”. The truth is, technology does a lot more harm than you’d initially think. This essay will explain why.

When someone says, “Technology is bad for you”, people tend to think they are saying this because they want you to get off or stop using technology. They also tend to think that when people say this, their reasoning will be something along the lines of, “It rots your brain” or “It hurts your eyes”. That may be their reasoning but technology isn’t just bad for you, it’s bad for everyone and everything on this planet. When I say technology harms everyone and everything on Earth, I mean the resources and where you get the resources are harmful. Though without the resources, there would be no technology!

“Although a lot of people use cars, they are extremely harmful to the environment.”

B. SMITH-73, CCB Contributor

An example of technology that is hurting everyone are cars. Although a lot of people use cars, they are extremely harmful to the environment. Cars are made of aluminum, steel, plastic, glass, etc. As you know from reading the previous paragraph, glass is made of  ash, sand, and limestone. Quarries are found in many places such as Egypt, Italy, Texas, Indiana, Georgia, etc. Once quarries have no more (in this case) limestone, they are usually abandoned. After a while of them being abandoned these empty quarries become landfills or become dangerous quarry lakes.  If it becomes the former then it will be very bad for the environment. If it becomes bad for the environment, it is damaging the Earth. If it is damaging the Earth, it is damaging our home, ourselves, and animals.

Another example of technology that is hurting everyone is computers. Computers are made of many things, one of these many things is glass. Glass is used in and/or for many things, including technology such as phones, tablets, and computers. Glass is made of natural materials such as soda ash, sand, and limestone. Limestone can be found in many places but the most common is a quarry. Quarries are found in many places such as Egypt, Italy, Texas, Indiana, Georgia, etc. Once quarries have no more (in this case) limestone, they are usually abandoned. After a while of them being abandoned these empty quarries become landfills or become dangerous quarry lakes.  If it becomes the former then it will be very bad for the environment. “The most pressing environmental concern regarding landfills is their release of methane gas. As the organic mass in landfills decomposes, methane gas is released. Methane is 84 times more effective at absorbing the sun’s heat than carbon dioxide, making it one of the most potent greenhouse gasses and a huge contributor to climate change.”

Technology isn’t all that bad though. Hospitals, governments, police, firemen/firewomen and so much more use technology and without it, many more lives would be lost on a daily basis. Technology is needed for modern day life. Without technology, how would people who live far away stay in contact? Many jobs would no longer exist. How would the people who have these jobs survive? Technology might do more good than bad.

“So what” you may ask, “why should we care what happens to anyone but us?”. You don’t have to care what happens to anyone else,but the earth is dying and if the Earth dies so do you.In conclusion, technology is both good for humans and bad for animals, Earth, the environment and people. There’s so much bad that technology does but there’s also a lot of good that it does. In my opinion though, technology does more bad than good. Thank you for reading.

Edited by A. Diggs-Speach-62, PAWS Print editor