16 Essays About Technology For Your Next Writing Project

Consider these 16 ideas for essays about technology to write your next paper.

Technology is central to almost every task performed in daily life, today. Using an alarm clock on a phone to wake up. Preparing a presentation for work. Relying on your laptop to present the slides. Liaising with clients, students or peers. Even researching and writing essays! The list is endless.

Technology also makes an interesting starting point for an essay topic. If you are assigned to write a technology essay, decide what type of technology you wish to write about, and pick a topic within a specific area. To help, here are 16 ideas for essays about technology that can jumpstart your thinking to get you started on your writing.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers.

1. Is Artificial Intelligence Safe?

With many movies that show robots taking over the world, people may have a little bit of fear of artificial intelligence. In your essay, you can explore whether AI is safe technology or not. You can explore the modern gadgets that have AI and are already a part of people’s lives, and you can discuss the potential ethics of improving artificial intelligence and machine learning technology.

If you decide that artificial intelligence can be safe, look at ways to protect humans from technology as it develops. If you decide that it is risky, consider what people can do to protect themselves from the existing AI. Consider concluding that artificial intelligence is already here, and the real answer to this question is what can we do to keep it safe. You might also be interested in these essays about video games.

2. Can Video Games Make People Smarter?

Are video games a waste of time, or do they have potential benefits? You may be surprised to know that many video games actually have cognitive benefits. They can improve attention span, decision-making skills, problem-solving skills, and overall learning.

This topic is a great persuasive essay because it goes against most people’s thinking. In your essay, show some of the benefits of gaming, and how people can choose games that will have this cognitive benefit.

If you need help, learn more about what is persuasive writing.

3. How Technological Advancement is Improving Daily Life

Think about your average day. How many times do you rely on technology? Chances are, the number is quite high. Do those technologies improve your daily life?

The impact of technology on daily life can be quite positive. It can make simple tasks easier, faster, and more efficient. Explore how technology makes your everyday life easier in this easy.

4. How Modern Technology Makes Communication More Difficult

Social networking and social media sites are supposed to keep people more connected, but it is actually making communication more difficult. Many people are becoming so connected to social media and the instant feedback it provides that they struggle to stay connected during in-person conversations. You can explore this phenomenon in your essay.

Not only that, but modern technology involves a lot of texting and typed conversations. These can be difficult to read because they do not contain facial expressions or tone of voice. This fact leads to miscommunications regularly, and you can weave this into your essay as well.

5. How the Rise in Smartphones Impacts Education of Today’s Children

More and more kids are carrying cell phones today than ever before and at younger ages. How is this impact them on the educational side? Is it making it easier or harder for kids to learn?

On the one hand, smartphones make it easier for students and teachers to stay connected, and phones can also be a research tool to access study materials when writing a research paper or working on another project. On the other hand, mobile phones reduce attention spans and impair learning during educational lectures, so this can hurt educational outcomes. Explore the positive and negative sides of smartphones in the classroom in your essay.

6. The Effects of Technology on Nature

Does technological progress have a positive or negative effect on the natural world? You will find research on both sides of this question, so consider this as you write your research paper. Some technology today focuses on preserving and protecting our natural resources, but some technology actually creates more emissions and pollution that impact the environment negatively.

In this essay, you can also discuss how to choose new technology that will positively impact the environment. Remember, technology is a central part of 21st-century life, so the best solution to this question is finding technology that positively impacts nature.

7. How Social Media Impacts Mental Health

Social media is supposed to be fun and relaxing, but it actually negatively impacts human life and relationships. In your technology essay, you can explore how social media and depression, anxiety, and loneliness are linked. The more time people spend on screens, the less happy they are with life.

Yet social media is here to stay, so what can you do? In your essay, consider exploring ways to set up boundaries around social media use, so that people can enjoy this aspect of technology without damaging their mental health.

8. How to View Technology as a Useful Servant

Technology has clearly defined negative effects, but the importance of technology can’t be ignored. These negative effects don’t mean you need to throw away your iPhone and laptop computer. Yet balance is necessary.

So how can people strike a balance? Your essay can discuss how technology should be a “useful servant,” not a dictator. People can use technology more effectively when viewing technology as something that helps go about daily life more conveniently.

9. Is Automation Helping or Hurting People

More and more daily activities can be automated using modern technology. Your essay can discuss whether you view this as a good thing, or a bad thing, for people. Are we forgetting how to do things for ourselves when we rely on technology to do it all for us, or is his simply a way to make life easier, so we can focus on less mundane tasks.

Your essay needs to look at automation and determine if it helps or hurts people. Then, back up your answer with your research to show why it was what you chose.

10. How Communication Technology Helps Non-Verbal Individuals

The impact of technology on communication has much research behind it, and much of that impact is negative. However, for non-verbal individuals, communication technology can be a huge benefit. Communication devices can give these individuals the ability to communicate their needs and wants with family members, significantly improving their quality of life.

This informative essay topic will look at what communication devices are and how they work. It will discuss the positive effects of these devices on non-verbal individuals. You can even look at the future of communication technology for this particular population of people.

11. The Use of Virtual Reality in Education

Virtual reality is a fun video game, but it can also have an impact on education. With virtual reality, teachers can take students to far-off places and help them experience those locations more intimately than simply with pictures or video. On the college level, virtual reality can assist with letting people practice hands-on procedures, like delicate surgeries in medical school, without risk.

Your essay can explore different uses of virtual reality in the classroom. You can indicate whether or not you think this is a positive change. However, like all technology, there are potential drawbacks to this as well. You may find teachers fighting against VR in the classroom because they fear being replaced by technology, so you can also address this side of the technology.

12. How Technology Impacted the Industrial Revolution

Technological innovation is not really new. It was technology that created the atmosphere for the Industrial Revolution. Steam engines, electricity, and communications technology all came into the scene during the 1800s, and each of these contributed to the Industrial Revolution.

Your essay can explore different technologies that led to the Industrial Revolution. You can explain why these technologies transformed the economic scenario to change the face of the economy.

13. Does Modern Technology Help or Hurt Our Quality of Life?

This essay question has multiple answers. Modern technology has the ability to hurt and help your quality of life. Explore both of these in your essay to create a well-rounded argument.

For example, modern technology can reduce the amount of work people have to do each day. This can improve the quality of life by making work more efficient. However, it can make people lazy, which can hurt your quality of life. Explore examples like this, and then draw a conclusion about whether tech helps or hurts.

14. Is Cell Phone Addiction Real (And Is It Dangerous)?

Cell phone addiction occurs when people turn to the cell phone for an endorphin or dopamine fix. The instant feedback that people get from social media and other apps can be addicting. Explore this fact in your essay, and then discuss whether or not this is dangerous.

Why is it dangerous to use a cell phone excessively? At what point does cell phone use become dangerously addictive? These are the questions you can answer in your essay as you write about this important topic. You can also discuss the warning signs of cell phone addiction and when treatment is necessary.

15. Is Artificial Intelligence the Last Human Invention?

Artificial intelligence is a definite technological advancement, but some have argued it is the last human invention. When AI becomes smart enough, it may replace the work of humans and drive innovation… or will it?

Use your essay to discuss this theory and decide if you agree with it, or not. Will AI replace the need for innovation from people, or will there always be a human component to innovation? Answer these questions, and back the answers with research, as you craft your essay.

16. Technology in the Car Industry

In the transportation industry, technology is taking center stage too. From the complex computers, GPS, and safety systems on vehicles to the advent of self-driving vehicles, innovation keeps coming to this industry. You can discuss some of these innovations in your technology essay.

You can also explore whether these technological advancements have helped or hurt the safety of drivers. Do GPS and infotainment systems distract drivers or keep them safer? The answers to these questions can make an interesting essay.

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips!