THESIS
STATEMENT: Technology has negatively affected how we communicate and
maintain human relations ships.
INTRODUCTION:
Throughout the 21st century, there
have been many advances in technology. Technology has given us cellular phones,
laptops and the Internet. With the new means of operating our lives, we also
have changed the way we communicate and maintain human relationships. We hear
text message beeps instead of the phone ringing. Love letters and pen pals are
things of the past. Plans between friends are now made without hearing familiar
voices. Social networks have also become the new way we connect and maintain
relationships.
BODY:
Texting, instant messaging and social networks
are the new and popular ways people communicate. The rise in popularity is due
to the fact that these communication methods provide quick interaction, which
works perfectly in this busy world. I remember when I was a kid and my ways of
communicating were through phone calls, letters and faxes. Today, I just need
to take out my phone from my pocket to be connected with my best friends in
Mexico, with my family and connected with this new view of the world where
information is everywhere and at any time.
According to CBS news article “Number of Cell Phones World Hits 4.6
Billions,” written by the Associated Press, in February of 2010, the U.N.
telecommunications agency and the ITU (International Telecommunications Union)
reported that the number of mobile phone subscriptions has reached 4.6 billion
in February 2010. This is demonstrated in how people use their phones to check
everything from the weather to bank accounts.
These advances in technology have also
changed the way I operate my daily responsibilities. In the past, in order to
pay my bills, I used to have to wait on large lines. This was the only way I
could be attended to by a person face to face, who did that stuff for me. Now I
just need to do some clicks on my phone or on my personal computer to avoid
those lines and I can use that time for something more productive
Social networks have now become the
foundation and maintenance of friendships and relationships. In the New York
Times article “Antisocial Networking?” by Hilary Stout, April 2010, the author
discussed how many people, in particular teenagers, feel that social networks
increase their chances to make friends, helps maintain connection with present
friends and creates community. According to the Home Net Project web page,
teenagers are much heavier Internet users than their parents. The Home Net Project
is a “research project at Carnegie Mellon University whose purpose is to
understand the use of people’s Internet at home.” This project also discovered
that teenagers’ Internet usage is primarily for socialization and then for
educational purposes. However, more and more usage is having social negative
affects as well. Children and teenagers now do not have face-to- face social
time. They communicate in solitary conditions via the Internet.
Even though teenagers and adults may have
a virtual community, it can be isolating since it is on the computer.
Meaningful conversations that could be had during dinner or outdoor activities
are now being done on the computer. In the beginning days of the Internet,
adults were spending lots of hours trying to find a partner or relationships by
using chat rooms. Now, children and
teenagers are doing the same thing by using social networks for friendships.
They are also socializing and talking to each other via video game consoles. In
all of these cases, children, teenagers and adults believe in the relationships
and connections they find via these social networks. But what they don’t
realize is that they are decreasing their opportunities to meet new people and
connect with others in the old fashioned way, which always helped develop
social skills. And the old fashioned way was spending quality time with friends
and family and with these experiences, learning how to be successful in life.
So far, technology has its pros and cons.
In terms of pros, the Internet has created community across gender, age groups
and interest groups. People have also used it to find romantic relationships
and even marriage. In these areas, it has proved successful. In addition, it
gives us the opportunity to obtain information and knowledge at our fingertips.
However, the negative effects outweigh
the advantages of technology and will continue to outweigh them in the future.
As technology has connected us to more people and more information, it has made
our relationships more solitary. According to the Home-Net Project web page (http://homenet.hcii.cs.cmu.edu/), the Home Net study showed that extensive
use of Internet has decreased the size of friendship circles and decreased
communication in families. With the increase in Internet usage, symptoms of
depression among teens are increasing as well. This is due to isolation and
less human interaction because of so much alone time on the computer.
Just to put things in perspective:
According to the Psych central article, “Technology Simulations Can Improve
Social Skills in Autism”, March 2010, by Rick Nauert, autistic children and
teenagers are increasing their social skills with simulated conversations on
the Internet. Children, teenagers and adults with Autism have a variety of
deficits, especially in their social skills. If the Internet is helping social
skills in Autistic individuals, then it could damage those of us who have
typically developing skills. Autistic children and adults lack the social
skills needed to start conversations or relate with others. They don’t know
what to say or how to start a conversation. They lack tact and other skills to
maintain a conversation so as to not offend the other person. Since they do not
maintain attention to the speaker, they are not able to pick up on body
language cues of the listener to monitor what they are saying. The same goes
for Internet usage as many people communicate without ever having to meet
another person or see their reaction to what they have said. Due to this, many
people including myself have experienced communication breakdowns when text
messages and comments are taken out of context. This occurs because the tone of
your communication cannot be judged in a message or comment and so it becomes
assumed.
Personally, my relationships and
acquaintances are not as deep as they used to be. Casual conversations and
superficial talk dominate the exchanges on the Internet. In my personal
experience, when I moved to NY, I thought that my friendships from Mexico would
continue just like they had been since I was using social networks to keep in
touch. In the beginning, the conversations were deep as it felt like I was
still present in their lives although I was thousands of miles away. But as
time went on and less experiences were shared due to the distance,
conversations became more and more superficial. Since we were not seeing each
other face to face, nor sharing experiences, the quality of the friendships
began to decrease. Now most of my friendships from my country are based on
superficial talk. This demonstrates that although technology connects across
miles and countries, it does not fulfill our socialization needs. Right here in
NYC, with busy schedules and fast paced living, people do not need to make room
or time for socialization. Since they don’t have the time because of work or
family commitments, texting and social networks keep them in the loop of what
may be going on in the lives of their friends and families. However, this will
never be the same as spending time with your loved ones.
According to the article “The Effects of
Technology on Relationships” by Alex Lickerman, M.D., there are three effects
caused by Internet Usage: 1. Isolation; 2. Dangers and 3. Changes in Etiquette.
Just as discussed earlier, Dr. Lickerman states that “we subtly connect with
others via social networks that we wouldn’t typically touch.” He also goes on
to say that “electronic devices pose a challenge to expressing emotions as the
other person is not present.” In terms
of the effect on Etiquette, “people tend
to avoid important emails or pressing matters electronically more often than if
they had to deal with it face to face.” These three effects can be seen or
encountered by any one who interacts with technology and its new ways of
communication. Dr. Lickerman goes on to say that we should use the Internet as
a means of communication in which we have to use our best judgment. In
addition, we should learn to balance the time we have online with actual time
spent with our friends.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, technology has changed the
way we live in the world. We live, communicate and think differently. Throughout the 21st century, there
have been many advances in technology. Technology has given us cellular phones,
laptops and the Internet. With the new means of operating our lives, we also
have changed the way we communicate and maintain human relationships. We hear
text message beeps instead of the phone ringing. Plans between friends are now
made without hearing familiar voices. Social networks have also become the new
way we connect and maintain relationships.. It has brought our world much
closer in terms of information at your fingertips, but has pushed us further
apart as well.
Research
Citations
1.
CBS News, Number
of cell phones worldwide hits 4.6b. N.p., 2010. Web. 18 Feb. 2010.
<http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/15/business/main6209772.shtml>.
2.
Stout, H..
"Antisocial networking." . N.p., 2010. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/fashion/02BEST.html?pagewanted=all>.
3.
.
"HomeNet Project." . N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov 2011.
<http://homenet.hcii.cs.cmu.edu/>.
4.
. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. <
http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/03/21/technology-simulations-can-improve-social-skills-in-autism/24522.html
>.
5.
. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/fashion/17TEXT.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=textmessaging>.
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