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Yaqueline Hernandez

ENG 101A

Professor McHugh

Social Media and Technology: The Effects on Human Connection

Social media and technology have an automatic negative connotation because of the

overuse in modern society. It is argued that technology has limited our genuine connections and

doesn’t benefit society at all, but actually destroys it. However, according to research and

personal experiences, social media and technology is what brings people together. Social media

and technology have evolved with time and have expanded human’s opportunities and

connections. Within Seeing Ourselves Through Technology by Jill Walker Rettberg, Our devices

are not turning us into unfeeling robots by Jenny Davis, and We Are all Cyborgs Now by Amber

Case, it is argued that technology has has allowed people to be self-assured with their identities,

increased our empathic emotions, and enhanced our connections to one another on a global scale.

In today’s digital age, personal experiences and documentations of those experiences

have become available at the touch of our fingertips in order to create more accurate

representations of our identities. In Seeing Ourselves Through Technology by Jill Walker

Rettberg, there’s an analyzation of how people use technology as a form of expression or

identity. While there’s backlash towards people posting everyday experiences and thoughts, “we

no longer need to rely on others to represent us. We represent ourselves” (Rettberg 88). Because

everyone has access to social media, people can decide what to post on their page in order to

express themselves. With social media, we can decide how society can view us and what version

of ourselves they are allowed to see. A profile picture can also have a positive effect towards

identity, it can be “... a visual expression of identity, and our choice of profile photos is clearly a
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form of visual self-representation” (Rettberg 40). The decision made behind a profile photo is a

direct way of self-representation and value. For example, when I choose a picture of myself to

post, I go through different stages; whether I like it, if it’s a good reflection of who I am, and if

other people will react positively to it. This is not necessarily because I’m self-absorbed or

insecure and I need outside reassurance, it’s because a picture can make you feel confident and a

positive response will always be rewarding. Ultimately, a positive aspect of social media is that

people will choose a profile picture based on the ideal version of themselves, allowing them to

express their own ideal self.

Technology is also beneficial in the increase of empathic connection, though some argue

that technology is detrimental and has affected people’s relationships, connections, and empathy

towards one another, but misleading information can be the root of such doubts. Jenny Davis in

Our devices are not turning us into unfeeling robots, contradicts Sherry Turkle’s essay, Stop

Googling. Let’s Talk. argument on how technology is affecting people to lose touch with their

empathy and genuine connections. Turkle leads multiple experiments, one in particular when

phones were put away at a camp and “after five days without phones or tablets, these campers

were able to read facial emotions and correctly identify [emotions]” (Turkle). However Davis

discredits Turkle and states, “Ironically, the findings from the camp study show that screens

themselves have no effect on empathy—exactly the opposite of what its authors (and Turkle)

report” (Our devices are not turning us into unfeeling robots). Davis explains the misuse of

information from the experiments conducted by Turkle. The two groups had almost identical

scores by the end of the experiments, meaning that the devices had almost no effect on their

empathy. In fact, “...digitally mediated text, images, and interactions improve our ability to

understand each other, reduce stereotypes, and increase helping behavior” (Davis).
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Communication through technology can help people who are uncomfortable with face-to-face

conversation build real connections with others. Social media and technology do not have a

direct connection to lose of empathy, in fact it brings people together and can result in genuine

connections.

People with disabilities have struggled to match the standards of ‘normal’ throughout

history; always being seen as different, though now technology can be incorporated into these

people’s everyday lives in order to create a healthier environment and to feel included. As

technology evolved, “...those who are hearing impaired, stutter, or lack body control, find new

communicative opportunities in digital technologies that allow users to express themselves and

listen to others...” (Davis). People with disabilities use technology in order to empathize and

connect with other human beings, validating their use of technology, and contradicting the

connotation of technology being a direct effect of lack of empathy. Davis explains that autism

researchers use multimedia devices to promote empathy. She argues that through the use of

multimedia you can communicate with others, and even learn to sympathize through the use of

it. Davis also includes people who have a difficult time with holding a face-to-face conversation

because of anxiety or attention problems. Davis explains that people with these disabilities

“...may finally feel at home in a multitasking environment” (Our devices are not turning us into

unfeeling robots). Social media is inclusive towards people who struggle with socializing

everyday and aids their lives by allowing them to build connections through a social platform.

The exclusion of others who were different was present without technology, but now people

have the ability to bond with anyone because of technology.

With today’s technology we can build connections with other people from all over the

world. Long distance communication was difficult before the limit of technology and friends and
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family weren’t able to hold a decent conversation because of geography. In the Amber Case TED

Talk, We are all cyborgs now, she argues that “... everyone [is] carrying around wormholes in

their pockets… they [are] mentally transporting themselves” (Case). We don’t have to be

physically present with each other in order to enjoy each other’s company and build strong

connections, we can just mentally be there. Location isn’t interfering either we “... can [now]

stand on one side of the world, whisper something and be heard on the other” (Case). Advanced

technology, like social media, can transmit information in seconds allowing us to update others

of our experiences immediately removing geography complications altogether. Though some

might argue that social media is diminishing the power of communicating with our loved ones

because it’s through a device or social platform. On the contrary, as Case identifies that “... it

ends up being more human than technology, because we're co-creating each other all the time ...

it's still a human connection -- it's just done in a different way” (We are all cyborgs now).

Social media and technology have also personally helped me get through my hardest

years; adolescence. As an awkward teenager, social media helped me expand my mind to

different cultures and ideas. Twitter was the main website back in 2013, and my 13-year-old self

made an account and in exchange, explored the world through the eyes of strangers. Through

Twitter, teenagers would share their personal experiences and journey. Sharing their mistakes

and stories, helped me learn how to become more open-minded, and how to be more accepting of

others. Ranging from topics of kindness to the hardships of politics, social media helped develop

my understanding of different people, from all over the globe, and it helped me grow into the

person I am today.

Negativity towards social media formed through misunderstanding the true purpose of it,

which is building human connections to the worldwide level. Within Seeing Ourselves Through
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Technology by Jill Walker Rettberg, Our devices are not turning us into unfeeling robots by

Jenny Davis, and We Are all Cyborgs Now by Amber Case, it’s argued that technology benefits

society in the way nothing else has ever before. With social platforms and technology, we build

more empathetic connections, location isn’t an issue with connecting with one another, and

people within outside groups feel more included. Technology has evolved tremendously in the

past few decades, and it will continue to grow, and with it inclusivity for everyone, everywhere

will come with it.


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Works Cited

Case, Amber. “Amber Case: We are all cyborgs now.” TED. December 2010,

https://www.ted.com/talks/amber_case_we_are_all_cyborgs_now. 19 November 2018.

Davis, Jenny. “Our devices are not turning us into unfeeling robots.” The Kernel, 15 November

2015,https://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/staff-editorials/14961/sherry-turkle-

reclaiming-conversation-technology-empathy/. 19 November 2018.

Rettberg, Jill Walker. “Seeing Ourselves Through Technology”. University of Bergen, Norway.

25.Filtered Reality. Pages 40, 88. Print.

Turkle, Sherry. “Stop Googling. Let’s Talk.” The New York Times. 26 September 2015,

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/opinion/sunday/stop-googling-lets-talk.html. 19

November 2018.

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