AMEY JOSHI

Can we survive a day without our cell phone? well, we do feel being shipwrecked on an isolated island without it. The technology has advanced so fast and rapidly that our mobile phone which was launched just to receive calls on the move, now has features which makes it as good as a computer. With the evolution of internet and different social networking apps such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, people don’t just communicate but also stay connected regardless of the distance.
We are leaving in an era where the internet is no longer a luxury but a necessity. We have many telecom companies coming up with free Internet schemes. Well, not just free internet, some telecom companies have even announced unlimited calling also.
The evolution of technology as well the upgradation of technology which innovates the existing technology have picked up speed in the last two decades.
This ever evolving and unstoppable process can be related to the ideas which one gets through imagination. Leonardo da Vinci sketched a design of the first ever working model of a helicopter in the 15th century, something really unimaginable at the time, but today, when we see an airplane or a helicopter flying, we don’t really get fascinated. Hundreds of years ago something that was just a mere imagination or an idea, is a reality today.
Can you imagine talking face to face with a person on the other side of the globe, just using your cell phone?, it would have sounded like a gadget from the James Bond movies, if I had to say this in the 1980s. Even science fiction films have played a unique role in the process of technological evolution. Well let’s hope that genetic engineering to create dinosaurs as shown in Jurassic Park is not turned into reality. Science fiction films have even taught us that, if used for wrong purposes, science can be an unforgiving destructive force.
When it comes to the innovation of military technology, we often have mixed thoughts. When we talk about military technology the first thought that comes to our minds is laser-guided missiles, drones, high-tech sniper guns etc. but military technologies to prevent any danger and to avoid loss of lives have also been developed. Gadgets such as x-ray vision cameras help our soldiers to detect hidden weapons and also movements of terrorists hidden in a room. The need to be safe and the urge to be powerful are the two factors that determine the innovation of military technology. However, one cannot deny that it is the entire humanity which pays the price whenever such technology has fallen in the hands of wrong people.
There are many arguments whether this ever evolving innovation of machines and gadgets is making us very dependable on them, to an extent that we cannot survive a day without them. Well, we do feel paralysed when our cell phone gets damaged or lost. Parents complaining about their child spending hours on TV, cell phone or internet is a common scene. Many of us may even not remember the phone numbers due to quick dial facility on the phone. But, some may even argue that, why do things in a hard way when you have a smarter option. It is also true that because of technology there is also a fear of growing unemployment, as works which used to be done manually are now being done by robots.
However, this debate will be never ending due to unlimited pros and cons of the technological evolution and it pace. But, it is us who have to realise how to use it wisely. When a person uses a lift, just to reach first or second floor of a building, it means either one is totally dependent on machines or has no faith in his body.
So, the best way to conclude will be to say that, technology is a gift “HANDLE WITH CAUTION”.