How Technology Affects Our Social Lives
By: John Moynihan
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| Percentage of social networks used worldwide everyday. |
“All of the biggest technological inventions created by man - the airplane, the automobile, the computer - says little about his intelligence, but speaks volumes about his laziness.” This quote by Mark Kennedy says it all about technology when it comes to my generation, and how much time people of my age are spending on electronics and social networking these days. Although technology can be used as a great tool to stay in contact with relatives, friends, etc., people of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries are increasingly using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook too often, and are becoming somewhat addicted to the technology that surrounds us everyday. According to http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/technology- 95.1% of eighteen and nineteen year old undergraduates surveyed in 2008 used technology daily. Of the same survey done 92.8% of 20-24 year old use technology while studying at college. And although many of the people in the world as we know it use technology as part of their work or schooling, some way or another every person who has access to technology misuses or uses their source of technology corruptly.
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| This picture represents how people acted socially before Facebook was invented (Left). And how people currently act because of the way Facebook and other social networking sites have affected them (Right). |
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| Percent of text messages sent per day seperated by age and country. |
Firstly I would like to say that technology doesn’t necessarily ruin our lives, but it definitely does make an impact on how we as human beings exploit our feelings and emotions during face-to-face conversations, rather than text or instant messaging someone how you feel about them. In fact according to http://pewresearch.org/ half of American teenagers between the ages of 12-17 send fifty or more text messages a day. Two-thirds of people who text that were surveyed by the center’s Internet and American Life Project said they were more likely to use their cell phones to text friends rather than call them or talk face to face. 54% said that they text their friends once a day, but only 33% said they talk to their friends face-to-face on a daily basis. Also in consonance done with the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Pew Research Center found that Americans between the ages of 8 and 18 spend on average 7 ½ hours a day using some sort of electronic device, ranging from smart phones to iPod’s to computer’s and iPad’s.
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| On average kids between the ages of 8-18 spend 7.5 hours a day using some sort of technological innovation. |
When it comes down to the raw truth about how overused technology is currently used in our world, I found a very credible story composed by the NYU Child Study Center's Yamalis Diaz, Ph.D., Lori Evans, Ph.D., and Richard Gallagher, Ph.D. As reported by http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/antisocial_networking_how_do_texting_social_media_affect_our_children_panel_discussion_csc_ The amount of technology use in the average human household use has increased significantly, up from 4-plus hours in the last five years. Eighty percent of adolescents possess at least one form of media access. There is extensive multitasking associated with media use (instant messaging while doing homework and listening to music on an mp3 player, for example). Of particular concern is the amount of TV kids consume. From 2004 to 2009, television and video use averaged three to five hours per day, peaking between the ages of 11 and 14, a crucial period for kids' social development. Twenty-four percent communicate with friends via instant messages. Twenty-five percent contact friends via social networking sites. 11 % percent use e-mail.
Based on the statistics in the above paragraph, the development of a child’s social aspects can be greatly impacted due to the insufficient amount of real life social encounters they do not participate in. Also stated in “Anti-Social Networking: How do texting and social media affect our children? A panel discussion by CSC clinicians at the Nightingale-Bamford School”, Among preschoolers, more time spent watching TV has been shown to have a negative impact on attention, academic performance, and adjustment in elementary school and middle school. Increases in media use are associated with reduced grades; only 23 percent of "light" users averaged C's or worse, as compared with 47 percent of "heavy" users. Kids who see more TV learn to read later and slower. With more parents starting to have their kids become home schooled they are allowing their kids to do their schooling online, while not being able to make friends in real life and more friends on the Internet whom they do not know in real life. With more exposure to people you do not know personally, children are more likely to form unhealthy and non-trustworthy relationships. This was the case for Ryan Halligan, a thirteen year old from Essex Junction, Vermont, who was a victim of cyberbullying, and later took his own life due to the excessive online bullying he was traumatized with for 3 years. During the years that Ryan had been bullied by a certain group of insolent oppressors, he quite often became depressed, but did not have many friends to talk about his problem with. Over the years Ryan developed an unhealthy relationship with the leader of the group. During the summer of eighth grade Ryan met a girl on a social networking site named AIM. The two conversed daily and seemed to become very close. On the first day of school Ryan approached the girl and her group of friends, he was then publicly embarrassed. Later that week Ryan Halligan hung himself because of overwhelming bullying that all started on a social networking site.
Some people argue that technology plays a positive role on society by providing an alternative to socially interact and form friendships online. However, the ability to meet “a virtually unlimited number of people through chat rooms, bulletin boards, and other services,” plays an extremely detrimental, wrote Jean-Francois Coget and Yamuchi Yutake in their paper, “Untangling the Social Impact of the Internet.” There are very dangerous people on the Internet who are a very large threat to young people of all ages. The ability to access every little bit of known information about someone without knowing if they are acting in a malicious act is a possibility of being on the Internet. While Coget and Yutaka assert that “the Internet can foster openness, self confidence, and a greater sense of ease and comfort in dealing with others... the Internet can even provide opportunities by freeing those who are too depressed to conduct a social life in the real world,” it is very unhealthy to make and preserve all of your social interactions online.
All in all, although some may argue that the Internet allows people to socially connect with other they don’t see everyday, the Internet and technology are increasingly becoming more dangerous for teenagers because of the lack of security and what kind of behavior is taking place on social networks.
