Is technology making life better or worse?

John: Technology. Patricia, is it changing people for the better or for the worse?

Patricia: I think it's doing both. It depends on the person. I think technology is an amazing tool and resource, but I also think that people can become easily addicted to things.

John: I agree.

Patricia: Yeah, like their phones or social media. So, I mean, it's like anything in life, it has its advantages and disadvantages.

John: What do you think is one of the biggest advantages it has for us right now?

Patricia: I think information. You know, we can access information so easily now. We can look up, you know, anything we can dream of doing; we can Google it and find either a tutorial or a book. There's just endless information about every topic. And then, if you can't find what you're looking for, you can write about what you're looking for yourself online and help other people. So, you know, that is huge right now.

John: Okay. What about a negative for technology? Something you think it's doing to, you know, impact us negatively?

Patricia: I mean, it definitely impacts our relationships, especially if they are more inclined to be introverted; they're not forced to go outside their comfort zone so much. They can stay home and send messages or just stay home and play video games and not really...

John: Engage?

Patricia: ... engage in socializing with an actual human being. And I think while it is nice to be able to exchange messages easily, I also think that that is not, that doesn't take the place of actually talking to a human face to face. I think our society still needs that in-person connection. And I think, you know, some people aren't getting that anymore because they're so involved with their online presence or, yeah.

John: Okay. Now, I think a big part of that is the technological advances surrounding, things like social media. How do you feel about children being exposed to social media or things like that?

Patricia: I definitely think it should be limited for them. Parents really need to be a role model for their children and put boundaries in place for themselves as well. I think that's the best way to be a good role model for children, by limiting their own screen time and what they're doing on social media so that children can learn what is healthy. I think it's all about balance. There needs to be a healthy balance. And if, you know, parents find that their children are spending too much time in front of a screen or on social media, or, you know, they're being bullied, I think they need to be involved and they need to set boundaries for their kids where those things are concerned.

John: Okay. Last question for you. What do you think is the most important and beneficial technological advance, sorry, beneficial technological advancement that we've seen? Doesn't have to be today, you can go all the way back to whenever.

Patricia: Probably, I mean, technological advancement in medicine is probably the thing that has seriously affected our society and our world the most, you know, being able to mass produce vaccines comes to mind or, you know, robots who can perform surgery. Things like that I think have actually really made a big difference in people's everyday lives around the globe.

John: Nice. All right. Well, that's all the questions I have for you. Thanks again for coming.