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The Effect of the Advent of Advanced Commercial Electronic Technology

The twentieth and twenty-first centuries have seen the creation and growth of new forms

of electronic technology which are impacting industries globally. Major billion-dollar

corporations and companies such as Apple and Google have grown exponentially in the past

several decades thanks to their innovation of the digital world. These companies were able to

create and build upon the Internet and the World Wide Web, the massive and complex system

which we use today to simplify communication around the planet. With the appearance of this

new system, corporations such as Facebook and Twitter have expanded this foundation by

designing social media platforms, websites that help connect users to one single program. Just to

describe how broad and extensive social media has become, about 68% of all American adults

use Facebook according to Pew Research Center, a nonprofit and nonpartisan data center. (Smith

and Anderson). Also, thousands of companies and developers in countries around the world have

inadvertently and collectively built a new industry: video gaming. Modern video games act as

“middlemen” to players by connecting them towards a common goal. These games have become

extremely widespread, as Jane McGonigal, an author and advocate of the use of digital

technology, reported that over 183 million Americans play video games (McGonigal).

Finally, many corporations, such as ABB and IDC, have worked and expanded on the physical

change of technology through its development of specialized machinery and equipment. These

machines have led to a major economic adaptation through automation. Automation allows

factories and companies to use special machines to complete a process that a worker could do.

The developments in the new technological age, specifically social media, video gaming, and

automation, has had a positive effect on the overall status of society.

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First, social media has had a positive result on society through its effect on its users’

social health. Monica Anderson and Jingjing Jiang, two research analysts at Pew Research

Center, saw that about 31% of American teens say that social media has had a positive effect on

people their own age (Anderson and Jiang). Continuing, in a report from Victoria Rideout from

Common Sense Media, an independent and non-profit organization dedicated to promoting safe

technology in education, the association detailed that about 29% of teens that use social media

feel less shy and more outgoing, and similarly one in five or 20% of those surveyed said using

their social networking sites make them more confident (Rideout). These two sources support the

notion that social media is effective positively by displaying that these social networking sites

end up helping its users by improving their emotional well-being. Overall, social media use

should be encouraged because it improves users’ social health.

One intangible aspect of social media is its revolutionizing way of changing

communication. Social networking sites allows everyday users to voice their own concerns and

opinions, but most of all other users have the ability to respond with their own beliefs. Social

media has allowed its users to be connected to thousands of sources of information in less than a

minute, whether these sources are family members or massive global corporations. In an article

written by Aaron Smith, an associate director of research on technology issues, he outlined that

over three-fifths or 60% of all online adults use social media platforms to stay in touch with

current friends or family members (Smith). Likewise, in a report published by Lars Willnat and

David Hugh Weaver, the representatives of the School of Journalism and Media at the University

of Kentucky and The Media School at Indiana University (respectively), the two professors

found that 78.5% of journalists check social media for breaking news, which in turn allows news

and information to spread to millions of people (Willnat and Weaver). The two reports shows
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that social media enhances communication by platforms’ ability to quickly disperse information

around the country. Communication is, in short, enhanced by the introduced on social media

because of its ability to quickly spread information.

One problem that comes with this massive influx of social media platforms is the spread

of false information. Over the past few years, a new wave of inaccurate information has been

taking advantage of how accessible social networking sites are. However, many of these

companies and corporations have not only identified this problem, but have created a plan as

well as a solution. For example, Facebook has implemented its own third-party fact-checking

program in the spring of 2018. In an article by Lulu Chang and Eric Brackett, two writers for

Digital Trends, wrote that Facebook has revealed that the company has started to expand its

program, already appearing in 14 countries (Chang and Brackett). Instagram as well has

implemented its own software to fight the same issue. The company has introduced three new

tools, including allowing users to log into third-party authenticating apps, verifying safe

accounts, and letting users see detailed information of large accounts, similar to Facebook with

the identical problem (Axelrod). The spread of inaccurate information is one problem threatening

the effectiveness of social media, but with the implementation of new software and programs,

this issue is quickly being dissolved.

Second, video gaming causes a beneficial effect in society through its ability to assist

growth of human capabilities. Researchers and colleagues representing the Department of Brain

and Cognitive Sciences and Center for Visual Science at the University of Rochester found that

“playing action video games substantially improves performance in a range of attentional,

perceptual, and cognitive tasks…faster visual search rate, a reduction in the size of the

attentional blink, better change detection, and an increase in the number of items that can be
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simultaneously tracked” (Bejjanki et al.). This article supports the claim that video games

improve physical abilities by describing that group who play these games had faster and better

performances in inherent functions. This study is extremely important, as it proves that those

who play video games experience an expansion of their efficiency simple, everyday tasks, which

could revolutionize human growth. Video gaming has a positive effect through its ability to

improve players’ physical attributes.

In addition to video gaming impact physical traits of players, it has also been proven that

video games help enhance mental capacity. Psychologists Brian Glass and Bradley Love and

cognitive researcher Todd Maddox found in their study of video games’ impact on the human

mind that “as a result of [real time strategy] game experience, an underlying dimension of

cognitive flexibility emerged…we have shown that it is possible to alter cognitive flexibility, a

core component with broad influence on the psychological abilities and well-being of an

individual” (Glass et al.). Similarly, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human

Development confirmed these results, finding that video gamers showed increases of gray

matter, matter which carries neuronal bodies between the nervous system, in parts of the brain

responsible for spatial navigation and memory formation (Kühn et al.). These studies show that

video games not only have the capacity to be able to alter cognitive function, but these games

improve and positively influence the human brain. Video games grow the limits of the mind by

changing how we are able to perceive the world around us. Video gaming has an overall positive

impact by growing mental capacity of players.

Video games can also facilitate in the development of global friendships. Jane

McGonigal attributes this to urgent optimism, which is “the desire to act immediately to tackle

an obstacle” (McGonigal). The researcher believes that this eagerness builds trust and
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cooperation even if the two players do not know each other. Other studies and research has

corroborated McGonigal’s beliefs. Amanda Lenhart, the director of teens and technology

research at the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, reported that 78% of

teens who played online with others felt more connected to friends (Lenhart). Lenhart’s study

supports the conjecture that gaming enhances relationships by supporting how players trusted in

one another. Video gaming is a positive influence on society because of its ability to connect and

amplify players’ friendships.

Opposition to video games have cited that video games have influenced a recent rise in

violence. These opponents cite how the Columbine High School Shooting was influenced by the

recent release of violent video games. However, recent research proves that this belief is

unsubstantiated, instead advocating that these claims were from paranoia and confusion rather

than logic. Whitney DeCamp, a sociology professor at Western Michigan University, found no

relationship between violence and video gaming, instead detailing that other factors were much

more significant (Schwerin). Likewise, Christopher Ferguson, associate professor and co-

chairman of the Department of Psychology at Stetson University, supports DeCamp’s findings,

even expanding on her study and suggesting that violent video games reduce societal violence

(Scutti). These two reports heavily refute the early notion of video games encouraging violence.

The belief that video games cause violence is an outrageous claim which undermines video

games’ positive traits and effects on society.

Third, automation of labor would have a positive effect on society through its

improvement of efficiency in several industries. Larry Long, a representative of the Forbes

Technology Council, observes that automation can improve efficiency by removing human error

from processes to ensure accuracy (Long). These machines are able to follow specific processes
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to precisely ensure that no two items or objects are different from one another. Also, European

Journal of Advances in Engineering and Technology representatives Dheeraj Nimawat and

Ashish Shrivastava wrote in their report that “with proper implementation of [the] automation

process…can be applied…to get long lasting results along with improved productivity as well as

profit margin” (Nimawat and Shrivastava). These two sources both confirm the notion of

automation being beneficial to labor industries because it increases efficiency in the workforce

by removing human error as well as creating capital. Automation has an overall positive effect

on society through its enhancement of labor industries.

One massive misconception with automation is its impact on jobs. Those who are against

the implementation of automation believe that machines will replace rather than improve

laborers’ jobs. However, Concept Systems, an organization which specializes in establishing

automation solutions to companies, states that automation impacts jobs by allowing companies to

hire in other areas of manufacturing, increase their existing employees’ wages, or start new

companies, which in turn creates more opportunity and money flowing through the economy

(Lindley). In addition, Deloitte, a multinational professional services network, reported in their

independent study that although automation did remove about 800,000 jobs, over 3.5 million

new jobs have been created (Sproul et al.). Although automation does remove some jobs, the

technology actually creates more jobs than what was removed and even improves on existing

jobs, which sequentially adds more to the economy. Automation has a strong positive effect on

society through its quality of creating and building upon jobs.

To summarize, the developments of commercial electronic technology in the new

technological age, specifically social media, video gaming, and automation, has had a positive

effect on the overall status of society. Social media allows thousands of sources of information to
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be spread like a wildfire. Also, although inaccurate information takes advantage of social media,

massive corporations have implemented programs and checks to quickly and quietly confront

this problem. Video games influence the growth of the players both socially and mentally. Plus,

gaming doesn’t actually change players’ dispositions or beliefs. Automation increases efficiency

while sustaining and improve the status of jobs. Even though technology is changing the way we

live, its impact is undeniably tremendous which will shape the future for centuries.

Word Count: 1917

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