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Javon Martin
ENG-101
Prof. Paula Boyd
21 November 2019
Technology and Society

The internet is arguably the most revolutionary form of technology, of our time, and of all

times. The invention of the internet has greatly impacted the way people search for information,

shop, do business, and listening to music. But the largest impact that the internet has had on our

society is, by far, the way people interact with each other. Social interaction, by means of the

internet, is a great thing that has saved much struggle and time for humans trying to

communicate with each other. The internet added lightning speed to our interactions with people

that are far away from us, nearly eliminating the need for sending letters, and the struggles of

long-distance calling. Advancements in calling have also made it possible for anyone to have a

face-to-face conversation with anyone from almost anywhere in the world. The evolution of

texting has allowed for us to add emotions into our text messages, with the use of emoticons,

allowing for conversations to feel more like you're talking to the person you are communicating

with. In furthering these types of interactions, comes the invention and popularization of social

media, which is a convenient way for people to communicate and keep up with their friends and

colleagues’ lives from a distance. These technological advancements are definitely loaded with

their up sides, however, they do come with their secondary effects that are quite detrimental to

our society. The internet and social media have had a negative impact on people’s ability to

interact in person due to the dependency on social media. Our dependency on the internet and

social media has made us less present in intimate situations because people don’t know when to

put their phones down, diminished our in person social skills to the point that we avoid face to
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face conversations and worsened the quality of these conversations when we are put into

situations where we must speak to each other face to face.

Social media is a great tool to connect friends who want to communicate and keep up with

each other from a distance. However, as much as social media connects us, it can make us much

less intimate with each other in real life situations. Social media’s prominence in todays society

has made many of us less present in situations that are supposed to be intimate. Things like using

our phones during family time at the dinner table, using our phones and social media while out

with groups of friends, or even pulling out our phones mid-conversation, are all ways that we are

drawn away from those close to us by technology. “This problem is especially acute with social

media, because on top of the general incentive for any service to be verbose about its value,

social information is immediately and emotionally engaging. Both the form and the content of a

Facebook update are almost irresistibly distracting…” (Shirky 3). Social media photo-sharing

apps such as snapchat, instagram, and twitter are good ways to have a live look into the lives of

our friends far away, however these apps have effectively turned the lives of many young people

into a game of “show and tell”. Young people are also extremely prone to pulling out their cell

phones to record almost every instance throughout their day. We often spend more time

documenting ourselves going places and having fun than we do actually living in the moment

and having fun. This is another effect of social media on society, we have a sense of the need to

prove to our peers that we are having fun, and this takes away from our ability to be in

that moment that we are attempting to record and show others. Furthermore, people struggle

knowing appropriate times to put their phones away, and actually talk to people because of their

dependence on their phones to communicate for them. “Don’t let it turn you away from the
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necessary vulnerability you need to feel in relationships,... Is texting keeping me away from a

necessary conversation?...”(Natanson 2). This quote, made by psychologist Sherry Turkle in

Hannah Natanson’s article in the Washington Post highlights one of the downsides of society’s

cling to our phones and the use of the internet. Our reliance on communication through our

phones diminishes our ability to be fully present in intimate situations. The fact that most young

adults prefer to converse over the internet rather than in person shows tremendous effect that

technological communication has had on our ability to communicate with one another in person.

This segues into my next point that social interactions over the internet have made people

uncomfortable with actually talking to people in person when they have to.The rise of social

media use is not an entirely negative thing for our society. Social media and texting has added

efficiency to the way we communicate. However, communication through the internet and social

media diminishes the quality and effectiveness of communication. No matter how many different

emojis that are added to our cell phones, there is no way that a communication through text can

compare to an actual face to face conversation. There is a level of intimacy, understanding, and

human relation that comes with an in person conversation, that cannot be captured through the

phone. I have even found myself, in many social settings or just out in the commons of campus,

burying my head in my phone so that I won't have to speak to anyone. This is a comical dynamic

that is often joked about amongst young people but is a big problem in todays society. We would

much rather talk to people, even our own friends, over social media or through text rather than

having an in-person conversation with them. Social media challenges our real social skills to

such a far extent that we struggle to have and often avoid face to face conversations. This is a

troubling secondary effect of social media because, having in person conversations is extremely
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important in society. As humans it is natural for us to want to communicate with each other, and

our over reliance on our phones to communicate for us nearly turns us into robots if it means we

no longer understand how to communicate with each other intimately. In person conversations

can fully capture our emotions through our body language, tone, and facial expression. And the

understanding of these aspects of conversation is another thing that makes us human.

The internet and social media have become such a prevalent addiction in our society. We

are so addicted to our devices that we often use them unapologetically while amongst others.

Social media has effectively worsened the quality of our face to face conversations and has

weakened our abilities as conversationalists. Talking on social media is much different than

talking to someone in person. In social media you rarely have to take into consideration how

what you are about to say may be received by the person you are talking to. Behind a screen

there is little consequence for talking to someone in a manner in which they do not prefer, or

makes them upset, so essentially, we are able to say exactly what we think without having to

ever face any real consequences for our statements. This aspect of communicating through social

media may sound quite liberating, however, the freedom we have to talk like this on social media

is detrimental to our ability to remember conversation etiquette when speaking in person. In

quality conversation, one must be able to take into account the tone that is being used by the

person that they are talking to, and in these conversations we are forced to be better listeners.

Talking to each other with the presence of out devices can get in the way of understanding the

person you are talking to because it does not allow you to truly empathize with the other person.

Using devices mid-conversation also doesn’t allow closeness and connection between you and

the person you’re speaking with. A device being present makes it feel as if there is something
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more important to you than what they are saying or the fact that they are even present.

Social media and the internet were groundbreaking inventions that have allowed for

tremendous strides in communication to be made. However, these innovations have rooted many

social issues in society, that may have not been taken into consideration by their creators.

Though social media has done great things for society in allowing us to be able to keep up with

our friends from a distance, it can at times be the reason why we struggle effectively

communicating with the people right in front of us. Our devices are great things that should be

used for what they were intended, to make our lives easier and better. But the key to

appropriately using social media and the internet is self control, and moderation. Long distance

connection is important for people in society, but if it comes at the expense of connecting with

the people around you properly, then this is where these helpers become issues.

I honor Parkland's core values by affirming that I have followed all academic integrity guidelines

for this work.

Works Cited

1. “Why I Just Asked My Students To Put Their Laptops Away” by Clay Shirky. Sept 8,

2014

2. “The surprisingly positive power of texting, according to science” by Hannah Natanson.

July 24, 2018