What kind of world would we live in without technology? Before we answer that question, we must ask: what is technology? When you think of technology, you may think of iPhones and robots, but technology also includes machinery that tries to solve problems using science. It includes light bulbs, microwaves, stoves, cars, and elevators. Now, imagine a world without all of these things. We would have to cook food over fires and walk long distances to get resources such as clean water and fresh food. Even though technology has a few drawbacks, it has opened up new opportunities and has transformed our once hunter-gatherer society to a developed and complex civilization. Thus, technology has greatly improved the quality of our lives.
Electricity is one form of technology that has greatly benefited us. It powers our homes, pumps fresh water, builds houses, and helps heat our food. However, some people are not as lucky to share such conveniences. In India, roughly 300 million people do not have electricity. It is a struggle to keep food fresh without refrigerators, and many don't even have light bulbs. People have to cook their food by burning raw coal and other fossil fuels, which is why one of the largest industries in India is coal mining. Some people criticize the Indian government for not addressing global warming; however, it says that it must focus on getting coal to its people. Additionally, in Sudan, many girls have to walk a long way to find water for their families. They don't have running faucets and sometimes consume contaminated water to prevent suffering from heatstroke. I was terrified that some young girls would have to walk eight hours a day or more to bring back water to her home. When a person came in and helped Sudan by using technology to create wells, it changed communities and opened up the area for industrialization. Since girls didn't have to work all day to fetch water anymore, they could go to school. Because of electricity, lives were saved and people had opportunities that they never had before.
Mass production is another revolutionary breakthrough. Thanks to the invention of tractors and other agricultural tools, farmers are better able to feed the growing population. Now, we have a greater amount of food at a lower cost. Another example is in an assembly line, in which workers are more efficient and more items are made. Instead of each worker making individual products, they would perfect one step of the process and pass it on to the next person. During the early 1900s, Ford perfected the process of an assembly line and made millions of identical cars that were affordable to the middle class. As a result, the common folk could travel longer distances faster. Before, people would rely on horse drawn carriages to visit their relatives. Mass production made the production process more efficient, made goods available to almost everyone, and revolutionized transportation.
Finally, computers are another amazing technological advance. Before the iPhone, people had to pay expensive fees to talk to their relatives in another country. Now, we have good connection and we can talk to our friends or family almost any time, at any place in the world. In addition, computers make it possible for people to access news and information all around the world. Anyone, whether they're young or old, can look up information and can teach themselves anything that they want to learn. When I was learning coding on my own, I looked up the things that I wanted learn and applied it to my website. Without the Internet that taught me how to create tabs, slideshows, and pictures in coding, I would have never accomplished creating my webpage.
In conclusion, electricity, mass production, and computers have transformed our society. Without technology, the world would not be the same.