Question

Technology can be a faithful servant and a cruel master . Explain

Answer 1

technology serves and connects us it provides any information that you need but the problem is in persons who misuse it. so it is a cruel master

Answer 2

Technology is a great servant, but a bad master.
This take on Francis Bacons quote “Money is a great servant but a bad master” could also be replaced with the words the internet, social media, device, smart phone or any number of those things in life that we love and yet hate. Those things we need and yet don’t always want. Or want but don’t always need.  That which offers us so very much and yet takes away in equal measure.

When it comes to learning to live in a world dominated by technology, we are opening ourselves up to a world of opportunity, connection, experience and learning at a pace and scale unprecedented.  At the same time, we are exposing ourselves to a world potentially dominated by overuse, disconnect, fraud, vile and inappropriate content, predators, haters and a depreciation of self worth.

As people and parents of this digital age our role is to help our children ensure that the technology, the internet, the social media and their devices remain a servant to them, and not their master.

When technology is a master…..

We don’t know when to put away the device.

We bully others as a way to work through our own issues and lack of wellbeing

We are bullied

We can’t put down the game controller to come to the dinner table

We use the screen to anonymously hurt and harass

We constantly look for loopholes in someone’s status update to get ourselves heard

We wait desperately to count every ‘like’ on our latest Instagram photo

We measure our self worth by the accumulation of likes, comments and shares

We become intimidated by the online gamer who viciously attacks our strategy

We forget to enjoy the moment or smell the rose, too busy checking emails or newsfeeds

We become depressed at witnessing the happy holiday updates of others or the achievements of those in our feeds

We compare

We disrespect others

We disrespect ourselves

We have no control

When technology is our servant however……

We find joy in seeing what our friends are sharing and relish in their achievements

We have our sense of social injustice ignited by the plight of those less fortunate

We are able to use connections and content to help make a difference

We create where we may not have before

We are shy and introvert, yet we find a place to be heard

We make a movie or compose a song

We are comforted by the sense of community and support from an online group or forum

We find empathy from others for a shared experience

We use video streaming to see the face of a relative overseas or a grandchild’s first steps

We relish in the stress release as we battle out a computer game

We develop skills of analysis & spatial functioning and thinking outside the box as we create whole cities with minimum resources and fast approaching enemies

We view live footage from a part of the world we only dream of visiting

We study artefacts or artworks from museums and art galleries around the world

We can work from home

We can connect with people in our field of work at the touch of a screen

We can easily seek out the expert

We can learn, connect and work in ways that our disabilities had previously made impossible

We can continue to thrive in our relationships and our face to face interactions

We know when and how to get back to nature and enjoy our surroundings

We have control

We need technology to be our servant and not our master, and of course we want that for our children. Most of us will continue to experience elements from both sides of the ledger. But being aware of the level of good and bad influence is imperative in order to make a change.

This is why we need to teach kids the skills and the behaviours to get the balance right. To maximise the great stuff, whilst minimising that which threatens to overwhelm.

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