Argumentative Writing

Topic: We are becoming overwhelmingly dependent on computers. Is this

dependence on computers a good thing or should we be more suspicious of their
benefits?

Introduction
Computers are, without a doubt, a useful tool that many of us use every day. Since
their invention, people far and wide have become increasingly dependent on
computers. Computers have found their way into just about every aspect of our
lives, and in most cases, they make things easier for us. They allow us to work
from home, socialize with our friends and family who live too far away to visit,
and they provide an ever-welcome stress relief when we come home from school
or work and just want to have some fun. But as we increasingly rely on computers
to get through the day, the question begs to be asked: is this dependence on
computers a good thing or should we be more suspicious of their benifits?

It is good for us
Computers make our lives easier and give us new ways to learn about the things
we're interested in. They make it possible to do many things from the comfort of
our own home -- we can shop online, keep in touch with our friends online, even
go to school online. They make it easier to record and organize information and
entertain us with a nearly endless variety of games. Medical science and space
technology are fully dependent on computers. All medical operations and space
missions are controlled by computer. Computers have importance in economics
and agriculture. Financial organisations and banks use computers to accomplish
their transactions. The modern communication system is fully based on computers.
We can’t think of a communication system without computers. Today, we are able
to chat and see anyone from anywhere of the world. So, the more we will use
computer, the more easy will be our life and our science and technology will be
more developed.

It is evil for us
Despite the many benefits of computers, there are also a number of arguments
against them, one of which is the negative effect some believe they are having on
children's education. In the past few years, many teachers have taken to shuffling
their students off to a computer to type out short, quick assignments that could
easily be written out by hand. While this isn't much of an issue for older students, it
is an issue for the younger students who are just learning to read and write.
Regardless of how much we're coming to rely on computers, printing and
handwriting are a necessary skill to have. But typing out assignments has an affect
on more than just the ability to print -- it can also negatively impact on their
spelling and grammar. While most programs now have spell- and grammar-check,
they are not infallible; they cannot differentiate between homonyms and will often
suggest corrections that are not, in fact, correct. Furthermore, information is often
more easily and accurately remembered when children have to spend a little time
writing it out by hand, rather than a few quick minutes typing away at a keyboard.
Because of these factors, computers in school should be reserved for older
students, longer assignments, or classes which specifically teach how to use a
computer.

Another case against computers crops up when a person's interest in computers

goes too far and becomes an obsession. However, it's still important to maintain a
life outside of the cyber world; a life spent attached to a computer screen isn't a
real life. When a computer becomes the central point of a person's life, they
undergo a change in behaviour; they become lazy and develop anti-social
tendencies, and, in some severe cases, simply cannot function without a computer.
It's a common thing to see with children who have been allowed to spend too much
time on the computer, watching movies, or playing video games: when it comes
time to walk away, they throw temper tantrums. But it's not just a matter of
behavioural changes -- when a person can't tear themselves away from the screen
long enough to take part in any other activity, it can take a toll on their comfort and
health. They may experience weight gain, strained eyes, and headaches, among
other unpleasant side-effects. However, it can also be argued that this is not the
fault of the computer, but rather the fault of the person.

Perhaps the most convincing argument, however, is the issue of safety. Aside from
the issue of sharing personal information such as full names and addresses, there is
also the bigger issue of stolen personal information. As our dependence on
computers grows, so does our comfort level with them, and we are more likely to
save personal information to our computer. While it would be nice to think that it is
always perfectly safe to do so, the fact is that there are people who have any
number of ways to gain access to your personal files, and therefore, any personal
information stored on your computer. Even if you don't knowingly keep any
personal information on your computer, if you bank or shop online at all, it's
possible for someone who knows what they're doing to gain access to delicate
financial information.
But these are just examples of issues with household computers. What of the rest
of the world? Instead of writing a cheque, we whip out our cards to pay for things
when we're short on cash. What happens when the internet goes down and you're
stuck in the checkout line with $200 worth in groceries, and no way to pay for
them because you don't have a blank cheque? What happens when everyone is
driving their fancy, futuristic cars that run on a computer chip and something goes
wrong? In a few hundred years, will anyone know how to drive the cars that we
know today? Why are we really relying so much on computers? People put their
computers through a lot of grief because they don't quite know what they're doing
when they decide to fix a problem or clean up their hard drive, but there are also
errors in programming, bugs that need to be fixed long after the product is out on
the market, and there are always people trying to ruin a perfectly good thing with
viruses and the like.

Own preference
Our argument topic was – Is too much dependence on computers a good thing or
should we be more suspicious about their benifits. We prefer the second one. That
means, too much dependence on copmputers is not a good thing, because it can be
threatening for us. Games and web-sites with obscene content have immense
effects on small children which turn them into computer addicts. Anti-Social
elements like terrorist use computers for unlawful purposes. Hacking into e-mail
accounts and personal computers and accessing and using personal information are
also on a rise because of computers.

Conclusion
Computers do indeed make our lives easier more often than not, but as we come to
rely more and more on them, we are also putting ourselves at greater risk from the
malicious desires of others. In this computer era, we must be dependent on
computer. But, we should not be too much dependent on computers as it causes
threats for human being.