Is Technology Dependent on Man or Is It Vice Versa?

“Is the net working?”, one of my colleagues asked and I before I could reply, pat came the reply, “No”. And with this announcement all work stopped all of a sudden. While some of us rejoiced at this unintended break from work, others who were doing something more important banged their fists on the workstations and mumbled something to give vent to their anger. Soon the entire office, which usually resounds with the noise of key presses, was abuzz with murmur as people started gossiping with their friends and other colleagues. And there was no objection from the bosses as the work requires the employees to have access to the internet 24*7.

And, it was during one such phase in my routine day at the office, when I realized that how far mankind has reached. Today we can do things which could not have been imagined by our grandfathers. Science has gifted us with the technology to reach our loved ones within minutes which was a dream till about a century ago. The developments in the field of IT are squeezing out distances rapidly. We are advancing in space technology and medicinal and engineering fields. Nanotechnology is changing the concept of the way we look at things. And the journey has just begun. We still have many more milestones to cover and many new heights to achieve.

But are we only gaining from this rapid development in science and technology. Are we as humans, not losing our basic humanity in this unending race. Today the world is divided into two major parts, an ultra modern and rich part and a shabby and extremely poor part. Somehow the technology is being used for the further development of the former class but what about the other half of the world? People, who do not get a square meal a day, don’t really care what they can do with internet. A mother who has lost her child to a disease like TB cannot understand the benefit of nanotechnology. Is the death of a six year old child, worth the millions of dollars we pump into the development of new weapons for warfare? No, absolutely not!

But what are we doing about it? I say we are doing nothing. We are just waiting with open blinded eyes as the rich become richer and the poor become poorer. Now if you are wondering what you can do about it, there is a lot! But for that we have to take some initiative. We have to take the initiative of helping people and organizations that are working for the good of other people. Maybe it will not be enough, but doing something is definitely better than doing nothing at all!