Internet of Things

There are many pros and cons that come with connecting physical objects to the Internet. Examples of such physical objects are security cameras, thermostats, cars, vending machines etc. In the article “As Objects Go Online,” the author discussed some benefits of connecting physical objects to the internet such as with health care, “shelves and pill bottles connected to the Internet can alert a forgetful patient when to take a pill, a pharmacist to make a refill, and a doctor when a dose is missed.” Being able to have that opportunity is a step in the direction of solving the mismanagement of medication. This also saves people and businesses money because the electronic objects are communicating with each other which saves energy and in turns produces faster results and helps improves people’s daily routines. They won’t have to worry about spending money to communicate with patients via letter or face-to face, everything will be virtual. A great example of an object that can save the lives of the elderly is Life Alert. It is always being advertised when I watch TV and it looks like a necklace that you can press if you were to get into an accident at home and fall or if you are facing a home invasion as an elderly person live on your own. It is said to have saved lives every 11 minutes.  Another example would also be with buildings and it is beneficial to them because it can help decline the “one-third of three-fourths of all electricity use going to waste” because the building would become smarter and begin to use sensors to improve its organization. In buildings, a lot of energy is wasted because lights, cooling/heating systems are kept on even when people are not in a room. These internet of things can help save all of this wasted energy and put it towards more beneficial uses. However, there are negatives/cons that come with connecting physical objects to the Internet. The two main cons/negatives is that we lose security on privacy and we become over-dependent on technology. In the article “Thermostats, Locks, and Lights: Digital Tools of Domestic Abuse, there has been ” a new pattern of behavior in domestic abuse cases tied to the rise of smart home technology. Internet-connected locks, speakers, thermostats, lights and cameras that have been marketed as the newest conveniences are now also being used as a means for harassment, monitoring, revenge and control.” This technology has brought some concerns about the safety of many people because their information and data can all be found on smartphone apps and objects in their home. This is dangerous because you don’t know who is out there hacking into your systems and watching you (stalking in serious cases), listening in on your conversations, or messing with the objects in your home to frighten you and cause harm. We have become too dependent on these very technological advancements that we fail to realize that we put our lives in danger every time we connect something of ours to the internet with millions of strangers. Someone can hack into your system and disable your alarms and cameras so when they break into your home, you would never know. Also, the overly dependency is a negative thing because the Internet is not always a guarantee, and if we rely a lot on it, we won’t know how to do anything if it was shut down or having difficulties. Another important point to make is that people will begin to lose their jobs since daily activities will become automated and there will be no need for human workers to do or create anything.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.