OUR VIEW: As technology grows, so do threats around it

Flashback 20 years to the year 1993 and try and visualize the world in which we lived.

Sure, computers existed. But they were operated by this software called DOS – a complex program that involves codes and other computer jargon unable to be understood by the common person.

We had TVs, too – that’s been around a long time.

But the sets weren’t flat-screen – they were large and bulky.

The picture was in color, but it was still a little fuzzy. It’s not the high definition image we now see today that can bring the finest detail of a scene into a family’s living room.

In 1993, a Facebook would have been just that – a scientific book detailing the inner workings of the human face.

Now, it’s a multi-billion dollar phenomenon that connects billions of people worldwide with the simple click of a mouse or the simple touch of a button on our phones.

Indeed, technology has taken us a long way.

Information that used to seem impossible to attain is now at the doorsteps of anyone accessible to a public library or any desktop computer.

Solutions to problems that were once a daylong headache are now able to be fixed instantaneously – sometimes before the technology owner even realizes a problem has taken place.

But as with any situation, too much knowledge can be a bad thing – if placed in the wrong hands.

Because so many people can be made available to so much information, we are all vulnerable to possible viruses, spammers or hi-jack attempts that can lead to identity theft or other nuisances that can affect both individuals and businesses alike.

Just like the new products we have today, these threats that come with them should be handled with caution and undivided attention.

As we move into the middle of the decade and beyond, there’s surely going to be more and more advances in technology – we’re too far along the bridge to go back now.

When we look back 20 years from today, we will scoff at our current flat screen TVs in lieu of whatever the latest and greatest gizmo of that time will be.

But for now, just be careful and be weary of the movement going on around you.

Technology is great – it’s changed the way that every, single one of us live.

But as with anything else, too much of anything can be bad for you.

No matter how good a limited dose of that thing may be in a person’s life.