Does technology help us save time or waste time?

Save time

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by Daniel Zatarain

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Merriam Webster defines technology as a "manner of accomplishing a task". While technology is in fact a way to accomplish a task, this is not all it does. Technology exist as a way to accomplish a task differently than in a conventional manner. Technology can make a task easier, simpler, less time consuming, or simply more amusing. But the greatest advantage technology has in today's modern world is its ability to save time. Forty years ago, solving the equation 4 x 46 x 5 would have been a long and lengthy process. The person trying to solve this equation would have to sit down with paper and a pen, solving the equation over a span of several minutes. But today, all one has to do is pull up a calculator, whether it be in a bag, wallet, or keychain, and enter the equation. People who own computers can solve this equation in less that thirty seconds. All I have to do is pull up my calculator widget on my Macintosh computer to find out the answer is 920. This i a simple example, but no less relevant. Technology can make great wonders with math, since they are accurate and fast in the world of numbers, calculating how fast a car can go in a given amount of time, to how much thrust the space shuttle should exert to clear the Earth's stratosphere and make into orbit in outer space.

Technology's great ability to save people time is also demonstrated by how it allows people around the world, of all different ethnicities and cultures to communicate quickly and easily. Communication was revolutionized by telegraph, then the telephone, and finally, the greatest modern communication tool, the internet. Anyone can get access to the internet, and it lets people come together and communicate easily and together. Through the internet, you can send e-mails in a fraction of a second, contrary to the days of snail mail. People can open discussions in chat rooms on particular subjects. Scientists can express their findings, and news can spread quickly and easily. Jobs can be found, consumers can seek customer service, and singles can find partners through dating websites. There are just a few of the unlimited possibilities the internet poses, and the internet is just one of the many branches of technology.

Technology can also save time by making transportation faster and more efficient. Thousands of years ago, though it may be a drastic example, all people could do was walk from location to location, or ride animals. Then there was the invention of the wheel, and transportation was revolutionized. Many years later the motor was invented, and so now people could travel by train, boat, and even cars. Then airplanes by the Wright Brothers, and so people could now travel by air! What could have taken months before, now take merely hours. What more proof do you need to prove that technology saves time, and does not waste it?

Technology is one the greatest tool mankind has to save time. It can accurately solve mathematical equations it would take humans months to complete in seconds. Technology allows people to communicate quickly, and with ease. Finally, technology also makes transportation quicker, and more efficient. In the end, technology is a great too to mankind, which without a doubt helps man save, not waste time.

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