Technology

St. Paul's School
St. John's, Newfoundland

By: Matt (Grade 8)

Technology. Where can I start? By the time I am done this paragraph, whatever is current or most up to date, will be considered old or out dated. Well, maybe not that fast, but pretty close to it. Our world's technology is getting better and better as we approach the 21st Century and who knows what will happen after that. The reason for such fast change is when big companies such as Magnavox, Sony, Panasonic, and Microsoft put a new product out on the market, you can bet the next week there will be something better and more hi-tech. This is because these companies, and others, are competing against each other to be number one, and every company wants to have the best and most hi-tech product compared to their competitors.

Just look how technology is continually changing our social life. There are so many ways of communicating without speaking other then talking or using a telephone. Now you can fax your pen pal in China, e-mail your best friend in Halifax, etc. You can also play cards, hockey, basketball, and much more with anybody who has access to a computer and modem, anywhere in the world, anytime of day.

While there are so many great things happening in this area, a concern of some doctors is that staring at a computer screen is hard on your eyes, although now there are special screens you can put over your monitor to cut down on the strain.

Technology isn't only changing our social life, it is also changing our homes. It is changing our homes in many ways even in the way we dress. Now we know that the sun's rays are harmful to our skin, so we wear hats and sun screen to protect us. Another example of how it is changing our home is by computers. Ten years ago it was unheard of for someone to have a computer in their household, but today more and more people are getting computers. Now, instead of buying a cookbook, all you have to buy is a cd-rom disk full of recipes or download them from the Internet. Your parents can check out the stock market twenty-four hours a day. There are endless numbers of things to do with World Wide Web. While you're surfing on the web, you can check out the latest sport scores, top songs, or even go shopping. Look what is out there when considering buying cars, gadgets, collectibles, music, books, videos, kitchen appliances, clothes, televisions, stereos, satellite dishes, toys, plants, food, and a whole lot more, all from your home, all for your home.

That's not all that is changing - our schools are changing drastically. Today, more and more schools are getting their students online and interacting with the Internet. Teachers are now getting students to design newspapers and putting them on the web, and other schools are getting students to make their own home pages and putting them online. With students developing their computer skills at such an early age this will prepare them for the workforce.

For the future of technology, who knows what will be invented next, but there will probably be more hi-tech and sophistication in things then anything we have today. Maybe in twenty-five years computers will be a thing of the past or considered prehistoric to kids. Well, where ever it leads us, it'll probably be in the right direction and it can only get better.

As technology keeps on improving, I guess so will everything else. Hey! The computer companies aren't doing too bad with Bill Gates making THIRTY MILLION dollars a day.


Front Page Soapbox