Chantal Lopez, Emily Kwon

Ms. Storer

English 3H, Block 1

October 23, 2019

Editorial Challenge

From the beginning of human civilization, humans have been social animals with a

desire to form connections. Despite this essential need, humans have struggled to bond with

others or escape from loneliness. There is no set of guidelines or specific ways of building

relationships with others. To make matters worse, distances between places have been a

major barrier in contact among people of different nations or continents.With inadequate

ability to communicate, humans could not interact with others to escape from solitude.

However, technological advancements throughout the course of history gave rise to different

tools of communication, sharing of information, and social network service. People have

more ability to connect with others with access to communicative devices. With rapid

advances in technology today, people are being brought together in an unparalleled pace.

Loneliness has become a prevailing problem, especially with teenagers, due to the fact

of rising social isolation ideals surrounding our communal relationships. With this is mind,

technology offers the chance to provide repose to those who feel otherwise in solitude.

For example, music has become readily available with an incredible ease, allowing users to

listen to music that speaks specifically to them. With these songs, the listeners feel as if they

are not alone, as if they are not the only ones experiencing their woes or even happy

moments, and find music a token to be able to share with. Their solitude in their issues

dissipates.
 Not only does technology provide the opportunity to find comfort through music,

social connections are made possible in various forms. According to the article “Complete

History of Social Media” by Drew Hendricks, humanity has overcome great distances with

the beginning of postal service, telegraphs, and pneumatic posts. The discovery of telephone

and radio in the early 1890s advanced communication by allowing instantaneous exchanges

of information. In the 20th century, the first forms of the Internet and email developed,

revolutionizing the networking technology. These virtual services became the platforms of

modern social networking services through which people create profiles and post pictures,

thereby sharing the daily aspects of their lives and thoughts with everyone around the world.

Today, it is hard to find a teenager without any social media account. According to a study by

Our World in Data, 3.5 billion out of the 7.7 billion human population are online, meaning

one-third of the whole world is using some type of social network service. Such studies show

how deeply social media has saturated into human society as an efficacious means of forming

new human connections and strengthening the old.

Some might argue that the use of social media can hinder traditional human

interactions and degrade mental health by lowering self-esteem. However, according to David

Ludden, a professor of psychology at Georgia Gwinnet College, we should be careful in

making hasty decisions on the effects of social media as recent studies have shown otherwise.

College seniors with more Facebook friends were proved to be more socially adjusted on

campus as they experienced an increased sense of connection through an effective method of

communication. In addition, social media could serve as a haven of connection for people

suffering from social anxiety. With such benefits, it is not an exaggeration to say that

technological advancements are the pillars of human connections in the modern society.
 In the era of unprecedented technological advancements, it is hard to imagine a world

devoid of communication technologies. They pervade every aspects of our lives as we smile,

laugh, cry, and suffer with others through a common platform of communication. Therefore,

it is inevitable to acknowledge that technology is a necessary factor in developing and

deepening human relationships.