What is Technology? – Definition, Types, And More

Definition Technology

We are surrounded by it, and we think that today more than ever throughout history, but how do we define the term technology? Analyzing and breaking down the view of the RAE, we can raise two questions. On the one hand, the understanding of devices -appliances- that use technological advances to offer greater functionality, and on the other, understanding technology as something immaterial, but which materializes as knowledge through devices that take advantage of and extend said knowledge.

Technology is the coordinated app of a set of knowledge (science) and skills (technique) to create a (technological) solution that allows human beings to satisfy their needs or solve their problems.

Technology Types

Traditionally, there are two types of technologies:

Hard Technologies

These are those linked to the “hard” or exact sciences, with the more specific scientific knowledge. Such as the transformation of matter or energy, such as physics and chemistry.

Soft Technologies

On the other hand, these aspire to modify the functioning of the world in perceptible ways, but that does not imply the same level of concrete scientific application, being able to be derived from the social sciences or other forms of scientific knowledge like psychology or economics.

Advantages

• One of the main advantages of par excellence is that it helps people manage their time and tools much better. That translates into a considerable increase in productivity in the short and long term. People may feel freer to be creative than wasting time on repetitive activities that some machines can handle.
• More exhaustive quality processes can carry out where access to information, analysis, and processing is more straightforward.
• It encourages and allows the creation of digital communities focused on achieving common objectives that benefit a profitable sector of society. In this sense, global problems or events become local and vice versa. There is the opportunity to use free software programs and systems.

Disadvantages

• Perhaps one of the most overwhelming is the replacement of man by robots, therefore eliminating jobs. It also contributes to the decrease in human interaction to resolve doubts.
• Going through techno-stress situations, health problems occur by the excessive use of technological devices such as computers or cell phones.
• It encourages social isolation and lack of empathy, the experiential factor of some activities disappears. It can also create addiction and loss of track of time. Create new psychosocial pathologies.