Field report

Sumaya Yeasmin

ENGL 21002

Professor Robert Birdwell

Interview Essay Final Draft

Interview on Challenges that Come with Technology

The Interview

The impact of technology on people’s and corporate’s wellbeing in today’s society

cannot be underestimated. Technology has enhanced interpersonal communication that has, in

turn, enabled individuals to stay connected. Technological revolution has also been instrumental

to business enterprises, improving production efficiency and marketing. However, technology

has also come with several challenges that have compromised people’s wellbeing. As such, I sat

down with Jeremy Jonathan, an information technology (IT) specialist at one of the leading IT

companies in my hometown to inquire about the dangers associated with technology. The

interview was brief, but covered crucial facts of technology, especially its dangers that include

cyberbullying, child pornography, and arms trafficking. As such, technology has been a major

driver of crime in today’s society as it enhances connectivity and anonymity. Below is the

interview’s transcript.

Me: Hello Mr. Jonathan, thank you for agreeing to talk to me on this sensitive issue.

Jonathan: Hello too, it is my pleasure to sit down with you and address today’s subject due to its

significant impact on people’s lives.

Me: To begin with, do you believe technology has had a positive or negative impact on people’s

wellbeing?

Jonathan: I believe technology has significantly enhanced people’s wellbeing, especially from a

communication perspective and production perspective.

Me: It appears that you believe technology is a good thing to people, yet we see several problems

caused by technology. What do you believe is the major driver of the challenges that result from

technological use?

Jonathan: People’s lives would be almost perfect if they used technology appropriately. Thus, I

believe that the misuse of technological devices is the reason for the dangers associated with

technology.

Me: May you please expound on what you have just stated?

Jonathan: I believe that misusing technology endangers people’s wellbeing. For instance, people

abuse social networking sites by bullying other users. At the same time, some individuals use the

internet to undertake criminal activities on the dark web, such as hacking, child pornography and

drugs and arms trafficking.

Me: Do you believe monitoring the use of technological items would neutralize some of its

threats?

Jonathan: I do not believe that would be an ideal approach of mitigating the dangers of

technology use. Instead, people should be educated on the ideal ways of using technological

tools at an early age. For instance, children should netiquettes that would enable them to treat

other social media users with respect and dignity. At the same time, learning appropriate ways of

using the internet would provide children with knowledge and skills to avoid websites that

engage in criminal undertakings.

Me: Thank you for the detailed response. Now if I may ask, what according to you is the biggest

threat of technology to contemporary society?

Jonathan: To me, the two most dangers of technology is information security and social media

misuse. Cloud computing has significantly enhanced management and safety of data, yet the

technology can be breached. At the same time, social media has enhanced people’s connections

across the globe but it can also lead to inter-cultural conflicts if misused. Thus, finding answers

to the two dangers would significantly lower the negative effects of technology on people’s and

corporates’ wellbeing.

Me: Intriguing remarks there. Thank you for your time and I believe your insights into the issue

will enhance my usage of technological tools.

Analysis of the Interview

My interview with Jeremy Jonathan enhanced my understanding of the dangers that come

with technology. From the interview, I learned that most if not all problems caused by

technological tools are man-made. They are caused by misuse of the inventions for personal

gain. For instance, cyberbullying is a major challenge for social media users, yet it can easily be

resolved if people integrated netiquette into their online behaviors. The approach would enable

social media users to understand everyone deserves respect. Accordingly, they are unlikely to

take advantage of the internet anonymity to abuse or discriminate others. At the same time,

Jeremy supported my belief that technology drives crime by claiming that revealed that

technological tools facilitate illegal access to people’s and companies’ confidential data through

hacking. Cloud computing has altered data storage in today’s world. Firms and individuals do

not have to store their critical data in physical servers located in their premises. Instead, they can

store their data online and access it easily. However, cloud computing is susceptible to

unauthorized access. Jeremy stated that, “people’s selfish desires drive them to misuse

technology, and subsequently, facilitate illegal activities.” This viewpoint supports the

interview’s thesis that technology compromises people’s wellbeing if utilized wrongly. The

outlook implies that all threats associated with technological tools can be solved by ethical use of

the internet.

In conclusion, it is evident that the dangers that come with technology result from

people’s unethical behaviors that drive them to abuse technological tools. The outlook implies

that technology is crucial to people and corporate wellbeing due to its ability to connect people

and improve workers’ productivity. However, people misuse technological tools and, in turn, use

them to hurt others. The outlook is supported by the use technology to engage in criminal

activities, like arms trafficking and children pornography. These discoveries illustrate that

technology is not a bad thing as some people tend to believe. Instead, adverse effects on people’s

lives result from being misused.