Effects of Technology on Social Relationships

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As much as I regret to admit it, I’m attached to my phone. I’m constantly reaching into my pocket to check the time, make sure I haven’t gotten a new update, or to send a message. I do this even when I’m not talking to anyone! It’s become an addiction, having to make sure I’m not missing anything, and I'm not the only one who has this problem. Seventy-five percent of the world population has a cell phone, and that number will only increase. With the creation of new technology portions of life have become easier. Technology has changed the way we go through life. It’s made talking to people easier, as well as keeping up with the lives of others. However, the effects have affected the aspects of our lives that don’t include technology.

There are some people that feel technology use has helped to improve our society, and in many ways it has. The improvement of the technology over the last few years is astonishing. There are so many things the small device in your pocket can do for you. Do you want to connect to friends and family over social media, video chat, search where the nearest Italian Restaurant is? There are apps for all of those things and more.

Focusing on the world around you is hard to do when your face is in a screen. The world just doesn’t seem as exciting as what’s going on in your phone, because there’s always a new update or notification. Nicholas Carr, author of What the Internet is doing to Our Brains, believes, “The Net’s influence doesn’t end at the edges of a computer screen, either. As people’s minds become attuned to the crazy quilt of Internet media, traditional media have to adapt to the audience’s new expectations. Television programs add text crawls and pop-up ads, and magazines and newspapers shorten ...

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Carr, Nicholas. “What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.” Atlantic. Atlantic Online. July 1, 2008. Web. February 23, 2014.

Oppenheimer, Mark. “Technology is Not Driving Us Apart After All.” The New York Times. Jan. 17, 2014 Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

Reid, Donna J., and Fraser J.M. Reid. "Text Or Talk? Social Anxiety, Loneliness, And Divergent Preferences For Cell Phone Use." Cyberpsychology & Behavior 10.3 (2007): 424-435. Business Source Complete. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

Richtel, Matt. “Attached to Technology and Paying the Mental Price.” The New York Times. 6 June, 2010. Web. 26 Feburary, 2014.

Skaržauskiené, Aelita; Tamosiûnaitè, Ruta; Žaléniené, Inga. "Defining Social Technologies: Evaluation Of Social Collaboration Tools And Technologies." Electronic Journal Of Information Systems Evaluation 16.3 (2013): 232-241. Business Source Complete. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.

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