The Dangers of Technology

       Society’s mistrust of technology is deep-rooted. Fear of technology’s misuse has been exploited in popular horror and science fiction for hundreds of years. Mary Shelley’s monster Frankenstein for example, was the embodiment of an unnatural use of technology leading to horrific results. Stories such as these cemented the fear that technology, particularly an unnatural use of that technology, would generally do us no good in the end. The theme that technology has the ability to harm through its unknown side-effects or properties has been repeated not only in popular fiction but in the public sphere, especially the media. In the course of history, no new technology has been introduced without an accompanying public fear that the use of that technology would cause the user harm. It should come as no surprise then that the use of this narrative has been used repeatedly in reporting the dangers of technology use by children. The list of harms that will befall children using technology is extensive but ranges from increasing incidents of speech defects, increasing obesity and a greater likelihood of brain cancer.