Information technology has progressed in leaps and bounds over the past few decades. New devices are being designed and upgraded all the time, and it is inevitable that society will want to use them; what is important is how they are used. I believe that if they are employed for the right purposes, their benefits outweigh their drawbacks.
No one can deny that CCTV makes many public places safer for people. If youngsters need to travel by train or underground on their own, for example, their parents feel happier knowing that the public are being monitored on the platforms. This type of surveillance also reduces anxiety for those travelling in the evening and has certainly been welcomed by staff working in shops and cafes at night.
Like CCTV, scanners are also used in many situations where the public welcomes the heightened security that they provide. Flying is the form of travel that makes people most nervous, so body and luggage scanners can help ease this concern. Although it can be time-consuming, most passengers do not mind the additional wait as long as the process is efficient.
Having made these points, it is true that every invention receives some criticism, and perhaps this is a good thing. It is perfectly possible that the huge amount of data gathered by CCTV and scanners could be misused by authorities or passed on to other organizations without people’s knowledge. Such uses would amount to an abuse of personal privacy. If this were to happen, I would agree with the view expressed in the task.
In the end, it is up to us to ensure that technology is used wisely. Generally, this is what happens, and people who complain are often too impatient or too short-sighted to see the advantages that it offers. However, that does not mean that we should become complacent about it.