A–B. Health and Safety; Technological Development, Impacts, and Careers · Technology Fundamentals, Safety and ConnectionsImpacts of Technology on People and Everyday Life
B2.1About 65 minutes
Learning goals- I can identify short-term and long-term impacts of technological innovations on individuals and societies.
- I can sort impacts as positive or negative and intended or unintended.
- I can explain how technologies change everyday life, including uneven impacts like the digital divide.
Words to know
impact
An effect a technology has on people, communities, the economy or the environment.
short-term impact
An effect that appears soon after a technology is adopted.
long-term impact
An effect that appears over years or decades.
unintended consequence
An effect that the designers did not plan or expect.
digital divide
The gap between people who have good access to digital technology and those who do not.
society
A large group of people who share communities, institutions and ways of life.
Hook: a day without it
Imagine waking up tomorrow and refrigerators had never been invented. You could not keep milk for a week. Your family would shop for fresh food almost every day, and food would spoil quickly in summer. Grocery stores, food delivery and even the way cities are planned would be different.
Technologies change everyday life so completely that we stop noticing them. In this lesson you will learn to identify the impacts of technological innovations on individuals and societies, both short-term and long-term.
Ways to sort impacts
An impact is an effect a technology has on people, communities, the economy or the environment. You can sort impacts in several ways:
- Positive or negative. Most technologies have both.
- Intended or unintended. Intended impacts are the reason it was made; unintended ones were not planned, like traffic jams from cars.
- Short-term or long-term. Short-term impacts appear right away (faster travel). Long-term impacts appear over years or decades (cities spreading out into suburbs).
- Individual or society. Some impacts affect one person; others change whole communities, countries or the world.
Case study: the automobile in Canada
Short-term, individual: a family can travel when and where they want; trips that took a day by horse take an hour.
Long-term, society: Canadian cities spread out into suburbs; governments built highways; car manufacturing became a major industry in southern Ontario; daily commuting became normal. There were also long-term negative impacts: air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, collisions and injuries, and land used for roads and parking instead of homes, farms or nature.
Responses: these long-term impacts led to new technologies and rules, such as seatbelts, emission controls, public transit, cycling lanes and electric vehicles. (You will see in a later lesson how impacts shape the next technology.)
Impacts on everyday life
Ordinary household technologies changed how people spend their time. Washing machines, vacuum cleaners and microwave ovens cut many hours of daily housework. Video calling lets families who live far apart, including newcomers to Canada, see each other often. Online banking and shopping changed how people use money and time.
Notice that impacts can be uneven. A technology that helps most people can leave others behind; for example, services that move online can be hard to use for people without reliable internet. This gap is called the digital divide, and it affects some rural, remote and northern communities in Canada more than cities.
Worked exampleLet's analyse video calling
Identify short-term and long-term impacts of video calling on individuals and on society.
- Short-term, individual (+): see family and friends far away; join a class or appointment from home when sick or during a storm.
- Short-term, individual (−): screen fatigue after long calls; privacy concerns about what is visible in your home.
- Long-term, individual: new skills (online communication); some people find it easier to stay in touch, others feel more isolated if calls replace in-person time.
- Short-term, society: schools, businesses and health services kept working during disruptions.
- Long-term, society: more remote work changes where people live and how much they commute; fewer business trips; video health appointments help people in remote communities; but people without good internet are left behind (digital divide).
Video calling has strong positive impacts, especially for distance and access, along with negative ones (fatigue, privacy, isolation, the digital divide). Both short-term and long-term impacts matter.
Just for funThe first handheld cellphone call was made in 1973 on a prototype phone that weighed about 1 kg. Phones like it were nicknamed "the brick." Today's phones are lighter than a hockey puck... well, close: a puck is about 160 to 170 g.
Hands-on activityTechnology diary and interview
You need: a notebook, a pencil, one day for the diary, and an older relative or neighbour for the interview.
- Diary: for one day, list every technology you use (product or service), from your alarm to bedtime. Aim for at least 25.
- Choose three from your list. For each, write one short-term and one long-term impact on you, and one impact on society.
- Interview someone at least 50 years old: What everyday technology did not exist when you were my age? How did you do that task back then? What changed for better and for worse?
- Record their answers and sort the impacts they describe into the four views (short-term/long-term, individual/society).
- Write a paragraph comparing their life at 14 with yours.
Your turn
1What is an impact of technology?
An effect a technology has on people, communities, the economy or the environment.
2Give one intended and one unintended impact of cars.
Intended: faster, more flexible travel. Unintended (any one): pollution, traffic jams, collisions, suburbs spreading out.
3Is "a family can talk to grandparents overseas tonight" a short-term or long-term impact of video calling?
Short-term (it happens right away) and individual.
4What is the digital divide?
The gap between people who have good access to digital technology and the internet, and people who do not.
5Name one positive and one negative impact of smartphones on society.
Positive: fast emergency alerts, news, new jobs. Negative: misinformation spreading, e-waste, privacy concerns, digital divide. (Any one of each.)
6How did washing machines change everyday life?
They cut the hours of hard work needed to wash clothes by hand, freeing time for other work, school or rest.
More practice: warm-up
1Give one positive impact of refrigerators.
Food stays fresh longer, so it is safer and people shop less often.
2Name the four ways to sort impacts in this lesson.
Positive/negative, intended/unintended, short-term/long-term, individual/society.
3Is air pollution from cars a positive or negative impact?
4Which Canadian province became a major centre of car manufacturing?
Ontario (southern Ontario).
5What ring of the ripple diagram comes right after "you"?
More practice: on your own
1Explain how one technology can have a positive short-term impact and a negative long-term impact. Use an example.
Example: fast fashion clothing is cheap and lets people buy new styles right away (short-term positive), but over time it creates lots of textile waste and pollution (long-term negative). Other good examples: cars, single-use plastics, social media.
2Why might a technology affect people in a remote northern community differently from people in a big city?
Access and conditions differ: internet can be slower or more expensive, deliveries take longer, and repairs are harder to get. A technology that depends on fast internet or nearby service may help less, or a technology that removes distance (video health appointments, drone delivery) may help even more.
3Analyse GPS navigation apps: one short-term individual, one long-term individual and one long-term society impact.
Short-term individual: you can find your way easily in a new place. Long-term individual: some people may rely on it so much that they become less practised at reading maps or remembering routes. Long-term society: delivery and ride services became possible on a large scale; traffic is routed through neighbourhoods; location data raises privacy issues.
4Explain the ripple effect of a new arena opening in a small town.
You: a place to skate and play hockey. Family: less driving to another town. Community: jobs, events, tourism, local businesses get customers. Society: healthier, more active people. World: more energy used for ice-making, unless it is efficient. Impacts spread from individuals outward.
5Why should an impact analysis include both positive and negative impacts?
Almost every technology has both. Listing only one side leads to poor decisions; seeing both helps people use the technology wisely and improve it.
Challenge
1Choose a technology that changed everyday life in Canada (for example, the snowmobile, the internet, the microwave). Write a full four-view impact analysis with at least two impacts in each view.
Sample (snowmobile): short-term individual: fast winter travel; recreation (+); risk of injury (−). Long-term individual: new jobs as guides or mechanics (+); noise exposure (−). Short-term society: easier travel and emergency access in northern and remote communities (+); trail conflicts with landowners (−). Long-term society: a winter tourism industry and trail networks (+); fuel use, emissions and noise in natural areas (−). Look for at least two per view, both + and −.
2Some people argue that labour-saving technologies did not give people more free time, because expectations rose (for example, cleaner homes, more clothes). Explain this idea and say whether you agree.
The idea: when a task becomes easier, people often do more of it, so total time does not fall as much as expected (washing machines made laundry easier, but people began washing clothes more often). Students may agree or disagree, but must give reasons and an example.
3Design a short survey (five questions) to investigate the impact of one technology on students at your school. Explain what each question would tell you.
Sample for phones: 1. How many hours a day do you use your phone? (amount of use) 2. Do you use it after 10 p.m.? (possible sleep impact) 3. Has your phone helped with schoolwork this week? How? (positive impact) 4. Has it distracted you in class? (negative impact) 5. Would you support phone-free times at school? Why? (social response). Look for a mix of positive and negative, short- and long-term questions.
Quiz
1. Which is a long-term impact on society of the automobile?
2. An unintended impact is one that...
4. "Video calling lets a student join class from home during a snowstorm" is mainly a...
5. Which statement is most accurate?
6. Fast emergency alerts sent to phones are an example of...
Your teen's interview with an older relative or neighbour is often the highlight of this lesson; it makes "long-term impacts" real. Encourage them to ask follow-up questions.
The most common gap is listing only short-term, personal impacts ("it's fun", "it's fast"). Ask: "And in 20 years? And for the whole town or country?" Also watch for one-sided answers; most technologies have both positive and negative impacts.