Reading Passage

Read the text below about technological Advances and answer the questions from the text

We have entered the digital age. Scarcely no corner of the globe has been left untouched by its influence and we all, young people especially, love technology.  Those who have the money rush to get hold of the latest games or gadgets as soon as they come out. However, are we thinking carefully about this revolution in our lives, or just letting it happen? Years hence, will we regret our embrace of digital technology?

Even if, in principle, you enjoy the benefits of technology, there are many problems associated with its use. To begin with, it is expensive, particularly for people in developing countries. If you set up an office today, you have to spend millions of birr on computers, printers and photocopiers. Worse, it is not just a one-off payment. They have built in obsolescence, which means they are not designed to last more than a few years. As soon as the guarantee has run out you face repair bills and then, when they can’t be repaired any more, you have to buy new ones. By that time anyway, new models have come along and you are informed that the old ones are not worth buying, or no longer available. New machines require training, and this can take time. Then, there is the problem of viruses which can destroy files and thereby cause enormous damage. Not only is all this expensive and time consuming, it is also irritating.

Eye strain, wrist strain, back ache: these are common complaints of people who spend all day in front of a computer. Our bodies are not designed for such a life, but rather for physical activity: hunting and collecting berries in the forest. When we move about so little, not only do we suffer from aches and pains, but we become fat, our hearts are weakened and we are more inclined to bad moods and stress. These are all medical facts: computers are bad for your health.

Perhaps the most serious consequences of the computer age are social and psychological. Computer work is essentially solitary. Rather than play with their friends, children spend hours in front of a screen playing computer games. What impact does this have on them in terms of their ability to communicate and connect with people face to face? Is there not a danger that they will become de-cultured and, in fact, de-humanised? A further point concerns access to the Internet: source of every kind of information, some of which is educational, some entertaining and a lot of it harmful, particularly for children.

It strikes me that by running blindly into this new age we are creating problems for the future, some of which we can predict and possibly others we can’t.  It is unlikely that the digital revolution will be stopped, but will we at least find ways of limiting the damage? I hope so, but I fear not.