Technology, good or bad?

By Vatapuia Maiava and Sarafina Sanerivi 14 November 2016, 12:00AM

“Technology nowadays makes everything more complicated, “ said forty-four year old mother-of-one, Onolata Su’a of Lefaga in an interview with the Village Voice.

“In many families these days, nobody knows to communicate anymore because everyone is too busy on their phones, facebook and other social media.

“Now we see lots of cyberbullying problems and those land in court because we misuse the technology especially those devices.

“Personally, telephones and other social media are very useful but dangerous at the same time.

“Parents should focus and push their children to go to school but not give them those phones.

“They should also advise their children that nowadays, it’s way harder to get a job, they need to put more time and effort into their school work.

However, Mrs Su’a said that despite the changes that have taken place because of technology many good changes have also occurred the last ten years.

“To start with, people were not able to travel such long distances in such short period of time because vehicles were not that popular then because they used to be a very expensive means of transport. 

“Today, we have fast and comfortable cars and many families have their own car to use instead of taking long hours walk to where they want to go.

 “Also, in the past people had to work much harder as they did not have tools which made their work easier. 

“For example, many farmers used horses and cows to do their work and it is now done by heavy machines and computers.

“Moreover, many families lived in a faleo’o, they had no bathrooms and running water in their houses, many could not afford household appliances like TV sets, fridges and many more.

“The other good thing about today is the fact that nowadays access to education is much easier.

“I still remember back in the days, there were fewer schools and the quality of education provided was much poorer. 

“All we needed was one pencil and a book to write on for one year, that’s it.

“Besides, nowadays it is much easier to find the educational materials that children need at any level.

By Vatapuia Maiava and Sarafina Sanerivi 14 November 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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