Breona Moore
UNIV 200 Professor Cales
Virginia Commonwealth University
April 10, 2015- Rough Draft
Technology Usage vs. Personal Interaction
Is technology making us anti-social or is it just changing the way we chose to
socialize? The usage of technology seems to have taken over our lives in a significant
way. We've become a society that relies strongly on technology so much so that our
mobile phones have become something we can't seem to go without. Communication
now lacks personal interaction because technology allows us to collaborate “virtually” we
have the opportunity to socialize via social media sites, email, texting and even video
conferencing. It now seems as if face-to-face interaction has lost its value when it comes
to communicating due to today’s society's obsession with technology. Whether
technology is making individuals anti-social or not can be highly debated but it has
definitely changed be way we choose to socialize. Children are now growing up lacking
the knowledge of personal interaction, which can be very detrimental in the long
run. Social development, can leave today’s children socially incompetent. The Internet
has a lot to do with a person’s well-being especially when they are highly depending on
it. Low self-esteem and obesity are also seen as negative factors caused by social media.
Media can distract individuals from face-to-face communication. Not everyone avoids
the thought of interacting physically, but many feel as so though they connect with others
better when they are able to meet in person.
Technology is now being placed in the hands of younger and younger individuals
causing major distractions and changing the way things have been taught and done years
ago. We are taught that communication is key but is there is choice in which way we
choose to communicate? Some may say that communicating via a cellular device is no
difference than face-to face communication while others may say there is a huge
difference when there is lack of body language and emotions involved in a conversation.
The addiction with technology can lead many who are addicted to isolate their
surroundings and depend strongly on what is they cherish in the palm of their hands.
Authors Shklovski, Kiesler, and Kraut (2006) assert that Internet use could either
facilitate or hinder interactions with friends. Thus, both contrasting hypotheses,
augmentation and dis- placement, have been neither confirmed nor disconfirmed. Being
able to communicate via technology definitely has it's perks when it comes to keeping in
touch with family and friends that are not always so close to see and interact with but
when online interaction becomes the only form of communication you know it can be
very unhealthy. You create an attachment to technology that is not always easily broken
and definitely not always good for many individuals well being.
Personal interaction is valuable just as much as the world moving around you,
being distracted and distant can cause you to loose sight in a lot of what life has to offer.
Technology usage is a very serious issue in today's society and personal interaction just
happens to be one of the things that are suffering from it. Laying off of our sell phones
just a little, at the dinner table, during family time can definitely leave more room for
socializing and face-to-face interaction. The significance on how much the usage of
technology and social media has increased just goes to show how much people are
lacking face-to-face communication on a daily and hourly basis. Technology is used so
much throughout the day that we have become so equipped with being able to fulfill our
needs for technology with the means of multitasking around our everyday duties. The
fulfilling of these "needs" have become a routine thing, and or an addiction. Authors
Dohyun Ahn and Dong-Hee Shin claim “media use can lead to displacement because this
use reduces the amount of time spent on face-to-face communication without facilitating
the avoidance of social isolation, thereby limiting subjective well being. (Paragraph 1,
page 9)
Individuals who feel alone turn to social media for that feeling of acceptance and
the ability to connect and build relationships with other individuals. Authors Tyrone L.
Adams and Stephen A. Smith believe that “Humans aggregate in social organizations for
relational development and mutually beneficial expression and exchange of views and
opinions.” While that is true and can be viewed as a very positive aspect, it can also lead
to isolation when it comes to depending only on social media for relationships and
shunning the world around you. With social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram being a window to post your daily task and upload pictures of your daily duties
and whereabouts. Interacting amongst these sites has become a replacement for personal
interaction being that it seems to give people the same sensation and fulfillment. "Most
children and teens spend 75 percent of their waking lives with their eyes fixed on a
screen, according to a recent study performed by the International Center for Media & the
Public Agenda (ICMPA). The study also found that students who unplugged their
electronic devices for one 24-hour period felt extremely lonely and didn’t know how to
fill their time, said author Morgan Hampton." Similarly authors Whaling, Carrier,
Cheever and Rokkum believe that the usage of technology can cause technology anxiety.
Studies show that individuals that U.S. there smartphones more show higher anxiety
when it came to the lack of being able to use their smartphones making them feel as if
they were missing out. Technology usage can cause technology-related anxiety, for
example a studies shows that those that use their smartphones more show high anxiety
when it came to feeling like they were missing out on a text message and social networks,
the usage of Facebook also shows a strong source of anxiety when gone
without. (Paragraph 5, page 6)
While, bonds are built through online social interactions, by being able to build
emotional attachments towards one another as well as sharing and exchanging of life
experiences being answers and solutions for one another. On the other hand, feelings and
emotions cannot be conveyed easily in an abbreviated 140-character tweet or an email
furiously typed out on an iPhone. Simply taking the time to talk to one another provides
an opportunity to build and strengthen relationships as well as improve work outcomes.
“The last few years of the internet have exploded into quite an innovative way of mass
socialization amongst users with sites like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, dating
sites like Zoosk or eHarmony, these social networking sites have become minute by
minute communication necessities for millions of people” says Author Tania Hussian.
We’ve grown to accept more from technology and less from each other; we have opened
up a window where we’ve allowed technology to be the entertainment and amusement in
our lives. Author Sherry Turkle feels “online connections were first conceived as a
substitute for face-to-face contact.” While it is true many can say that it has become more
of a replacement and less of a substitute. Technology has made the communication
process extremely lazy while harnessing the power of face-to-face communication.
“Admittedly online communication is not the same as being face-to-face or speaking on
the phone; the tone of voice, facial expressions, and the actual time invested in that
relationship is often neglected, misread, or overlooked,” says author Tania Hussian.
Work Cited:
Hampton, Morgan. "Technology: Is It Making Kids Anti-social?" U N I V E R S E. N.p.,
22 Aug. 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2015. <http://universe.byu.edu/2014/08/22/technology-is-itmaking-kids-anti-social/>.
Rosen, L., Whaling, K., Carrier, L., Cheever, N., & Rokkum, J. (2013). The Media and
Technology Usage and Attitudes Scale: An empirical investigation. Computers in Human
Behavior, 2501-2511.
Ahn, D., & Shin, D. (n.d.). Is the social use of media for seeking connectedness or for
avoiding social isolation? Mechanisms underlying media use and subjective wellbeing.Computers in Human Behavior, 2453-2462.
Turkle, Sherry. "Alone Together." Introduction. Alone Together: Why We Expect More
from Technology and Less from Each Other. Pgs. 1-40. Print.
Hussian, Tania. "Is Social Networking Making Us Antisocial?" The Hudsucker. N.p., 31
Aug. 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2015. <http://thehudsucker.com/2012/08/31/is-socialnetworking-making-us-antisocial/>.
Adams, Tyrone, and Stephen A. Smith. "Chapter 1 "A Tribe by Any Other
Name..."" Electronic Tribes: The Virtual Worlds of Geeks, Gamers, Shamans, and
Scammers. Austin: U of Texas, 2008. 12-18. Print.
Turkle, Sherry. "Alone Together." Introduction. Alone Together: Why We Expect More
from Technology and Less from Each Other. Pgs. 1-40. Print.