Technology affects people all over the world, both positively and negatively. While I agree that advances in technology have made our lives easier, they’ve also negatively affected our lives.

My mom and dad didn’t grow up with cellular phones and computers. Instead, they went for walks and spent a lot of time playing outdoors. To this day, Mom and Dad try to teach my brother and me the importance of balancing our time using our electronics. They want us to understand that a phone needs to be used more for a source of communication rather than for entertainment.

Allie Kaufman

Allie Kaufman

At times, I feel like people have started to become less aware about the simple things in life. Everyone used to go to the library, even if it was just for an assignment. Now kids hardly want to read a book. Instead of playing outside or having snowball fights, kids are playing video games for hours.

It is true that technology has taken us to the moon. Many crimes no longer go unpunished due to the innovative technologies that help criminal investigators find the people responsible. Technology isn’t just helpful, it’s becoming an unmatched part of how we find balance and efficiency in our daily lives.

It all depends on how we use this powerful tool. You can find it everywhere around us. How we use it is important. We just need to remember that rather than looking at technology as the downfall of society, we should consider it as a way to improve our lives. It can actually help us make more time to spend with people we love the most. I personally love that technology helps my mom keep in touch with her family who live so far away. We can video-chat or Skype with our grandmother in Panama. And in our home, technology has given my mom the flexibility to work from home so that she can achieve work life balance by being more active in our extracurricular activities. We should never replace walking, reading and socializing with real human beings. We still have to be in control of our own lives.

Allie Kaufman is a fifth-grader at Liberty Elementary School. She enjoys reading, biking, fishing with her papa, crafts and arts, helping others and spending time with her friends and family. Allie is the daughter of Brock and Millie Kaufman and granddaughter of Kent and Bernadette Kaufman, who are members of Capital Electric Cooperative.