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Lauren Mercer

Professor Joyce Barnes

Eng 1201

18 March 2019

Is Technology Detaching us From Society?

Over the past several years, the use of technology has dramatically increased.

Just about all teenagers have at least one form of technology whether it be a cell phone

or a computer. It is very common to constantly see us teenagers on them no matter

where we are or what we are doing. Some may not see an issue with this, but overall it

can have social effects on anyone who is constantly using it and struggles to go long

periods of time without it. The more you think about all the time you, or even friends or

family, spend on any form of technology, the easier it is to understand how this could be

a growing problem.

Although technology itself is a big enough issue, the things teenagers look at and

focus on is what makes it worse. Social media is one of the most popular things right

now to just about everyone. Whether it is twitter, instagram, facebook, or even

snapchat. Us teenagers spend most of our time on these different platforms. With the

internet and social media it makes it incredibly easy to talk to whoever you want,

whenever you want. It is easy to type in anything and find exactly who or what you

need. Due to it being so easy to find anyone and talk to them, it makes it a lot easier to

just never really feel the need to go out and meet/talk to new people. This is the main

issue and where it is starting to develop.

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This topic is important to me because it is something I never stopped and really

thought about until I started doing this research. If you have ever talked to any adult

about their childhood and what they did as they were growing up, they won’t say

anything about social media or technology, they had plenty of other things to spend their

time on. When I ask my parents what they did they always have a fun, interesting story

to tell about what they went out and did with some of their close friends. I feel I can do

the same thing if someone were to ask me, but today’s youth would not have the same

answer.

It is so common to see teenagers nowadays on their phone and/or other

technology. Since it is so common that makes it easier for people to oversee the issue

with that. It has become so normal to today’s society that everyone knows everyone via

social media. Some may not see this as a bad thing, and it may not be yet, but it could

be becoming a worse issue as time goes on. People have become so use to being on

social media and their cell phones it would be a huge change around the country to see

it stop now. As I said it may not be a huge issue right now, but in the future it could just

continue to grow and get worse.

After doing more research, I have discovered that this issue could potentially

cause bigger issues than what it already has. It can cause people to feel and become

more lonely because they are not going out as much as the average person. This is

something I feel is relatable amongst all teenagers because today there are many

people who feel alone and have no one to reach out to if needed. This is a huge

epidemic that is beginning to effect so many families and people around the world.

Unfortunately, teens especially, are beginning to do the unbearable and they chose to
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take their own lives because they feel like there is no other answer. People compare

themselves to others because of social media and they believe that their life has to look

a specific way because of things just seen in pictures. This is by far the most extreme

case of technology detaching us from society. Being a highschool student it becomes so

easy to compare yourself when looking at things other people post. The constant staring

at screens and phones makes it even more of a detachment from the world around us.

A huge issue that people are facing, alongside over-connectivity is finding

employment, and success within the professional world. Many people face issues

adapting to new environments, and specifically the workplace environment. Pairing this

common anxiety with those that the every-day young adult faces, due to the cultural

connection to social media, can lead to a much more difficult and complex adjustment.

Some of these anxieties are caused by images of wealth and status that a person may

see on social media that causes them to feel insignificant, or insufficient. Also, it is

almost idolised in social media to not have a job; to rely on a viral video or post to attract

attention and somehow bring wealth. This is shown by the cult-like followings of many

social media stars and internet celebrities, which is heavily made-up of young people.

Perhaps this obsession with the internet and social media could not only affect success

in employment, but also field of employment.

As technology continues to evolve and people continue to become more and

more connected, it is possible that the interests of young people evolve also. In May of

2017, A study published in an article on The Daily Mail conducted by the UK research

firm First Choice shows that 34.2 % of children in the UK aged 13-14 want to be a

youtuber in an ope. This is evidence that children, rather than hoping to be doctors or
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lawyers or inventors, hope to become internet personalities. This in itself is innocent, but

raises the question, have our standards for ourselves lowered?

Social media is also used by many teenagers as a platform to vent about their

general issues and unhappiness. While talking about the things that weigh on your mind

is very healthy and important, often times in can become a contest to see who has the

worst life. I have seen people on social media post horrible things about their mental

health and about the things in their life that upset them, almost as if to brag rather than

looking for any real help. This trend could cause people to rant about their issues and

problems online, rather than confide in a close friend or seek help. This is a huge

generational shift, because the generations before us did not have social media as an

outlet for their emotions. They instead learned to communicate their feelings with people

face to face, which is honestly becoming more and more rare in the youth today.

Technology has even evolved to replace the role of a human being in a conversation.

Technology is replacing people every single day. Trucks are now self-driving,

and many companies use artificial intelligence in help centers. Aside from people losing

potential job placement to technology, this also results in less interaction between

people. My parents get very upset every time they have an interaction with a machine or

recorded line rather than a person, saying that it is always easier to just talk to a human

being. While this may be true for my parents and their generation, could the social

media and technology actually be making it harder to talk to people?

In the UK, people ages 18-24 are 20 times more likely to have never spoken to

their neighbors than their 55 and older counterparts. According to a survey conducted
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by Cancer Research UK, only 37% of young adults aged 18-24 preferred speaking to

person for the first time in person rather than through technology-involved methods like

instant messaging. This shows a generational difference in the ways that people prefer

to communicate. This study raises an eyebrow as to the health of the majority of young

adults who would prefer to avoid real interaction with a human being. There are going to

be situations in life where there is no choice but to sit and talk to someone you don’t

know, and as people continue to grow less comfortable with it there could be a lot of

issues regarding anxiety and social isolation in those people.