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There are many solutions to the human, environmental and economic impacts. For technology addiction, apps are created to limit the amount of time one can be on their device. These apps can also create a filter online, solving the issue of unlimited access to NSFW content. An organization called CircleIT is taking old phones and recycling them, while also promoting recycling. This does not entirely help the issue, but it is an improvement. Due to CircleIT, companies have been holding on to old phones, which causes landfills to have less e-waste. Major companies have also been developing technology to test microplastics in food, which solves this problem. For the nuisance of advertisements, ad blockers have been developed to prevent ads from appearing. Also, workplaces will continue to hire humans, so the problem of AI taking over jobs is unlikely. There are things you can do to fix these human, environmental and economic impacts. To prevent e-waste from building up, it is necessary to hold on to your device until it dies. Once it does die, send it to CircleIT to have it recyled. To help with tech addition, set a time limit on how much you use your device. Doctors recommend that you only use screens for 2 hours per day. You should also download an adblocker to prevent ads. Another thing you can do is set a time limit for how much you are on social media. You should also take good care of your device so it lasts longer. Legislations have been passed to improve these impacts. The Digital Fair Repair Act was passed on February 27, 2023. This act mandates adding instructions to repair a device to help with the build up of e-waste. In late 2022, China passed a bill that limits individuals under 18 to one hour per day of screen time. Technology has it’s pros and cons. The human, environmental and economical issues are damaging, and if nothing is done about them, then life on earth will be permanently changed.

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The Impacts of Technology on Our Economy

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The Impacts of Technology on Our Economy

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Technology greatly impacts the economy, both positively and negatively. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is able to do tasks in jobs like programming, art, building, writing, journalism, legal jobs and even teaching. AI can do these tasks quickly with little to no error, which will eventually lead to it taking over human jobs because humans are prone to error, while AI isn’t. The tech industry is worth approximately 1.8 trillion USD, which makes it the largest industry globally. It employs about 4 million people per year. Major companies associated with tech include Google, Apple, Samsung, Meta and Microsoft. Technology impacts finances in many ways. One way is advertisements. Advertisements spread through devices, usually on social media. They are used to promote products by showing them in a positive way, and usually modifying it, which causes more people to buy them. Advertisements also boost company sales by mass promoting the products. Because of the constant spending, the individual's bank account is depleted. But that is not the only way technology depletes one's bank account. Every year, major tech companies like Apple and Samsung produce a new model of devices. Individuals buy that new phone, even though their old one is working just fine. This is because having a new phone makes you seem rich, which is a sign of status. So, they spend thousands of dollars on something they will only use for a year. Technology also impacts politics. Politicians use advertising to boost their campaign, which results in more people voting for them. Similar to products, they show themselves in a good light, and make promises that they usually never follow. Dictators in corrupt countries use software to restrict the outside world because of fear of citizens reading about the atrocities they are commiting. While technology impacts humans, the environment and the economy, there are some solutions to these issues.

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This is an image of a landfill filled with phones, showing how much we discard.

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% of UK teens who have self-harmed in the past year by hours of time on social media

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In a single year, 5 million metric tons of e-waste is produced. The main cause of this is people disposing of their old devices for the newer, better models. Better models are a sign of wealth, which makes people gain popularity. Devices contain non-renewable metals such as lithium, graphite, cobalt and gold. These materials are limited due to them taking millions of years to form, and they only function for a certain amount of time. Instead of spending a bit of money and recycling those precious metals to make more phones, major companies would rather trash the phones and mass produce more because of how much easier it is to dispose. When phones are trashed, they end up in massive landfills due to how easy it is to dispose. As rain falls, toxic chemicals and microplastics from the waste seep into the ground. As a result of the rain, the chemicals end up in a stream, which takes them to a river, then an ocean. Those chemicals are consumed by the wildlife, so they end up poisoned. Predators eat the poisoned corpses, which poisons them. Eventually, the chemicals make their way to us. Lithium has a pH of 10.0, and it dissolves in water, resulting in major difficulty to remove. When consumed, it causes lack of appetite, vomiting and seizures because of how basic it is. Wildlife consumes the other materials in the devices, like glass. The glass causes major internal injuries, which leads to death. Technology is a huge factor in global warming. As more technology is developed, cities industrialize. The technology helps cities grow in size and population, which leads to a high demand for power. Due to this, more power-plants are created; typically coal plants. Coal releases an abundance of greenhouse gasses when burned. Overall, technology seems to harm the environment as much as plastic and non renewable energy sources, yet it is still overlooked.

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Technology is an important part of life nowadays. However, scientific research states that there are many negative health impacts caused by it. About 43% of teenagers and 31% of adults are addicted to their phones. Phone addiction causes one to be less active due to the sheer amount of time one spends on their phone. At a young age, children are exposed to technology. Parents use this because the bright, flashing colors and sounds are appealing to kids, which keeps them occupied. However, this prevents them from staying active, as the younger you start something, the easier it is to develop an addiction. This can eventually lead to child obesity and in some rare cases; fatty liver disease. There is also no filter on what people see, so individuals have full access to NSFW content. Due to this, children can be exposed to content that they should not be watching with nothing stopping them. It also teaches people that the NSFW content they see is normal because of how much and how often it appears. Another issue is social media. On social media, influencers only post the positive of their lives. Because only the positive parts of life are posted, individuals can feel insecure with their imperfect lives, as no one has a perfect life. Social media also sets certain beauty standards for both men and women. Men must be tall, muscular and have a strong jawline. Women must be skinny with an “hourglass” body shape (Tiny waist with large hips and chest,) shorter, and have a higher voice. This can cause more insecurity because these traits are very rare. Men over 6 '0 only have about a 5% chance of happening, while an hourglass body shape only appears in 1% of the population. The pressure on women to be skinny can cause deadly mental illnesses, called eating disorders, where one starves themself due to an obsession with losing weight. Science has proven that technology is detrimental to one’s physical and mental health, but for some inscrutable reason, little has been done about it.

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For centuries, people have been using technology, whether it was in the Industrial Revolution, the Roman Empire, even in caveman times! However, digital technology has only been around for a few decades. It all started in 1950, when the Digital Revolution began. This is when technology swapped from analog to digital, and modern technology emerged. It stopped in the late 1970s. However, technology would still be developed far into the future. Around 1980, modern video games gained popularity. Games like Super Mario Bros, Tetris, Pac-man and The Oregon Trail were played by millions of children daily. The games were specifically targeted towards children because their prefrontal cortex (part of the brain that makes decisions) has not developed. If a child sees something they want, they will get it without thinking. In the same decade, devices became the norm in households. This was due to manufacturers decreasing the amount of parts used. In 1989, the World Wide Web was invented by Tim Berners-Lee. He wanted a way for people to connect and socialize digitally that would stay for generations. Following that in 1991, digital mobile phones like Nokia became the norm. By then, modern gaming consoles were also invented. In 2007, Steve Jobs created and released the first iPhone. It was a small, flat phone with a singular camera and a few buttons (volume, on/off, central.)  By 2015, 50% of the world had constant internet connection. Around this time, social media platforms started to become the next “thing.” Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook seemed to be on everyone's phones. In 2020, Covid 19 hit. The virus restricted others from socializing, or going in public. At this time, social media peaked. Technology was being used for socialization, schoolwork, shopping and work. Recently, the World Mobile Meeting took place. On February 27th, 2023, The Digital Fair Repair Act was passed. This act required manufacturers to make devices easier to recycle and repair by giving out instructions. Currently, 1.3 billion devices are manufactured per year. This activity causes many human, environmental and economic impacts.