Free Essay on Society's Dependence on Technology

In one way technology can be seen as a blessing to the human race. In another way, the same technology can be seen as a curse in equal measure, and this is because it has come and brought new inventions and innovations with it that has brought many complications in the way that people relate with one another. The advent of technology has come to improve the lives of many people in the way people interact and socialize in the social media space. Smartphones not only enhance communication but they also make the quality of the communication better. The addition of such function as the email access to the smartphones means that people can send and receive information from corporate organizations anytime anywhere without the need for a personal computer. As much as the modern age smartphone is the greatest tool towards enhancing communication, the same smartphone is the greatest obstacle towards bettering communication. People are addicted to the goodness of the smartphones and sacrifice their human relationships for the smartphones.

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Thesis: In as much as technologies like smartphones have come to improve the lives of people technology has also come with its obstacles to communication. Technology creates the greatest opportunity, yet people feel like they can no longer function without it. The use of technology hence needs to be regulated to ensure that it remains beneficial and does not become harmful to our mental and psychological health.

People are becoming addicted to technology in ways that they cannot do without them.

Adolescents are by far the greatest consumer of technological products and services over the internet. The American Association of health reveals that 6.0% of the total American teen population is addicted to the constant use of the internet in a manner that can be termed as medically ill (Cho, Choi and Goo 30). Young people are said to have problems with their school work and coping with the life around them. Problems of anxiety are also some of the issues related to the addiction to technological devices. Despite the fact that humans have been able to use technology to better their lives many people have turned into real slaves for the technologies and the technological devices in ways they cannot understand (Moawd and Ali 33). The problem with addiction to technology is that not all that are addicted know and would admit to the problem and many more addicts do not know that they are addicted.

People pay more attention to their smartphone gadgets more than they do to personal relations.

The new technology has come with a wave of complication in the way that people relate and associate with one another. The smartphone has for example taken center stage in all of the todays conversations (Cho, Choi and Goo 23). People are more intent on connecting with one another without necessarily communicating with one another. The connection has come to mean the way people network with others for some gain and not necessarily to be friends (Khan, ur Rehman and Li 73). When the same is applied to romantic relationships couples are talking less verbally and instead resorting to the comfort of their gadgets. Relationships are made and broken on the social media platforms, and trivial things are the reasons for communication breakdown. A breakdown in communication essentially means a breakdown in the relationships. There are instances where the one spouse tries to get the attention of the other who is busy on focusing on the screen of their gadgets (Moawd and Ali 89). Cases such as these cause cracks in the relationship that eventually lead to the breakage of the relationship.

Addiction to technology is robbing face to face communication the naturalness that it deserves.

There is something about face to face conversations that makes it stand out. There are things that people say in face to face communication whereas there are things that people mean without necessarily saying (Cho, Choi and Goo 88). Face to face communications has the benefit of non-verbal cues of communication that make the conversations all the more fulfilling. Addiction to technology robs the conversation of the naturalness and the authenticity that lies in the fabric of face to face communication (Khan, ur Rehman and Li 67). Interaction with too much technology due to addiction denies the young people the chance to learn proper communication skills and the ability to interact with one another. Since it is during the most crucial times of ones life that many become addicted to technology, many lose out on the opportunity to learn proper ways and means of socialization (Moawd and Ali 67).

Many relationships are failing due to communication breakdown.

At, every stage of life people, are exposed to gadgets of the technology of every kind. Young children are losing touch with their parents and their other siblings due to addiction to video games (Khan, ur Rehman and Li 77). The older people are losing out due to their smartphones and tablets. iPods are now the new gadgets used to soothe and pacify the children which are as young as four years old.

The new technology is connecting people more than it is creating the opportunity to have a conversation.

In the new industrial age of communication and priorities, it is more important for people to be connected to the people that matter in the societies than it is for them to learn and understand one another (Moawd and Ali 56). All connections are made with the hope that they are a gateway to the world and better education, relationship or career prospects in life. New technology coupled with the fast pace of the present life it is becoming more difficult for people to settle down for a conversation as there are even sections of the society that would rather text than talking over the phone or face to face (Cho, Choi and Goo 76). This phenomenon goes to show just how much we have become dependent on technological gadgets.

Communication provides the opportunity to model the communication messages in the way that the users prefer.

The world is gradually becoming a field of mind control. Many people would like to influence the kind of perspective that they reflect people in the outside world (Moawd and Ali 56). Technology influences our realities through the virtual reality that it creates. Some of the users of these technological tools are very much engulfed in the use of technology that their realities are skewed. Research reveals that too much use of social media leads to narcissist tendencies where the users only seem to think about what concerns them with little regard for everyone else (Moawd and Ali 78). The user of technologies like Facebook also influences the users understanding of matters like beauty and style. At times it influences them for the better while at other times it turns them into addicts that try to emulate all that they see blindly. Technology makes us try to cope with other people and their lives this spends out money, time and energy. Technology robs our lives of the reality that ought to exist in real life and makes the users adopt other tendencies and personalities that are not natural (TED).

With the advent of technology, people are less honest about whom they are.

Cybercrime in the 21st century is escalating at an unprecedented rate more than it has ever before been anticipated (Moawd and Ali 67). Many people are falling prey to cybercrime, and the criminals can carry out their heinous activities due to the ability to assume anonymity when using the technological tools (Khan, ur Rehman and Li 67). In using social media platforms like Facebook, it is also becoming apparent that people lie. With the provision to edit, delete and enhance the messaging technology robs normal communication of the spontaneity that it deserves (Khan, ur Rehman and Li 78).

In conclusion, technology is good for the betterment of our lives but it ought to be used with caution and with great care if it is to remain useful to the human race. All technology can be good depending on the way that it is used. However due to the way that people have learned to depend on technology for personal gratification it is causing more of harm than good.

Works Cited

Cho, Sung-Hak, Mun-Hee Choi and Bong-Oh Goo. "Effect of Smart Phone Use on Dynamic Postural Balance." Journal of Physical Therapy Science 63.4 (2016): 1-120.

Khan, Muhammad Sikandar Lal, Shafiq ur Rehman and Haibo Li. "Gaze perception and awareness in smart devices." International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. 34.4 (2016): 1-120.

Moawd, Samah A and Shiamaa E. Ali. "Effect of Over-Usage of Smart Phone in a Non-Neutral Neck Position on Respiratory Function in Female Adults." International Journal of Therapies & Rehabilitation Research. 63.4 (2015): 1-120.

TED. Connected, but alone? | Sherry Turkle . 12 April 2012. 5 November 2016 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Xr3AsBEK4&t=3s>.