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Theresa's Tidbits: Computers have been a boon
Theresa Seraphim
for Spotlight
Try, if you will, to imagine life without computers. Hard, isn’t it?
Yet, who could have foreseen, a few decades ago, that these machines would become so entrenched in our society?
From taking up an entire room, to now fitting in the palm of one’s hand, computers have revolutionized the way we do business, the way we research, and way we keep in touch with family and friends, to name a few functions.
Of course, a lot of this is due to the Internet, which has gone from a U.S. military project to a worldwide phenomenon in the space of a few decades.
Indeed, it’s hard to think about computers without including the Net.
Before, a chicken recipe could be found only in a cookbook. One had to go to an encyclopaedia to look up anything about, say, Nigeria. News? Well, it wasn’t instant – one had to look at a newspaper, or listen to the radio or television.
Now, all that information – and much, much more – is readily available, literally at one’s fingertips. This means there’s no excuse for not knowing about any particular topic. Indeed, the phrase “Google it” has become entrenched in our lexicon.
Some people, for whatever reason, choose not to have computers. It’s easy to admire that decision – they don’t have to worry about crashes, or higher electricity costs, or wasting a few hours in front of a screen and then putting drops in their red, crossed eyes.
But, these people are also missing out on a lot. Society is now at the point where a person not “plugged in” is, in reality, “tuned out” – on a social level, at least.
Also, many teachers are now asking students (yes, even in elementary school) to submit their assignments via computer, rather than hand-written. As a journalist whose handwriting tends to look like chicken scratches, I can safely say that writing stuff is much easier, and more legible, on a machine where you can backspace to get rid of errors, rather than having to pull out correction fluid. It’s important that children be given every advantage they can get, and that does include access to a computer.
The cost of the machines is no longer an objection to having one, as lower prices have made computers accessible to most, if not all, consumers.
Some would say the Internet is a dangerous place full of misinformation.
Yes, it can be, but there are ways of checking things out for truth and accuracy. The opportunity for learning through the sheer volume of information available, far outweighs this risk.
What kind of advances will be made in computers in the future, we cannot say. But one thing is certain – these machines are here to stay.
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