More and more people work at home and study at home with the development of computer technology. Do you think it is a positive or negative development?

It is true that the Internet has become an important part of modern life. Telecommuting, which means working from home with the help of telephone lines, and, online and distance education have become very common. This situation has both, advantages as well as disadvantages.

The most important benefit is that it saves time and money of employees and students. They don’t need to waste time going and coming from work or college. They save on the fare also. What is more, they can set their own timetable of work and study. On top of that, people find more time for their hobbies and family commitments. This situation also benefits the physically challenged and those living in remote areas. You can get online education from any university in any part of the world and you can work for any office in any corner of the world. So, technology has given birth to many opportunities for many people for whom none existed earlier. In this sense it is narrowing the bridge between the rich and the poor.

Another big advantage is to the environment. As less people have to move out of their homes, less petrol and diesel is used and less pollution is caused. Traffic congestion, which is a big problem in the cities, is also lessened. We all know that at peak hours, traffic moves at a snail’s pace because of which people are forced to slow down the tempo of life even in this fast-paced world.

On the negative side, there is a decrease in face to face communication which is isolating us socially. Working alone from home can be very boring at times. When you are in a proper office, there is a work atmosphere which keeps you going. Moreover, I do not think it is possible for a computer to be as effective as a real teacher. Many jobs and subjects involve physical action. For example, it would not be possible to study dance or drama without contact with others. If everybody worked and studied from home, imagine how unhealthy and lazy they would become.

To put it in a nutshell, I pen down saying that technology has eased our life in many ways and this is both a negative as well as a positive development but on the whole the positive side outweighs the negative side.