Essay On Atrophy Social Life

Atrophy, the gradual decline in effectiveness due to lack of use, is the word that sociologist D. Stanley Eitzen uses to describe the fate of social life in the world today. By saying this, Eitzen argues that social life is slowly disintegrating due to many different factors that lead to a lack of social interaction. Using many different statistics and examples, Eitzen makes a convincing case proving that this conclusion is correct and the atrophy of social life is a legitimate problem that the world is currently facing.
The first influential factor to the atrophy of social life that Eitzen writes about is moving away. Americans nowadays are always on the go – if moving is the most convenient idea, they will move with no regard to formed relationships that will soon be broken. People are often forced to move in order to follow a job or because of problems within the family. Constantly moving about causes a decline in intimate relationships. This is also true in people who live alone. The lack of regular and reliable social interaction can lead to a less sociable personality and less motivation to form real relationships. Real relationships are what lead to a healthy social life.
Technology is one of the main encouragers of

isolation. It can be obvious technology, like the internet and the introduction of online chat rooms and social networking, that leads to a lack of necessity for real relationships. As Eitzen suggests, however, it can be less obvious technology such as air conditioning that leads to a lack of social interaction. The invention allowed more people to stay in doors during hot days whereas, in the past, hot days used to encourage families to go outside and interact with neighbors. Eitzen acknowledges that technology is, of course, important and change is necessary, but that these changes can also have negative effects on society.
The atrophy of social life will change society in a huge way. The first problem is that the disengaged lifestyle of society today leads to a decline in the participation during elections. Therefore, a minority is left to vote (the minority being the affluent) and the voices of others are barely heard. Another problem society must face in the breakdown of social connections. People become less interactive and civil in places such as school or work and relationships formed are weak if made at all. The final consequence that Eitzen mentions is the transformation into a more selfish society. People are often so focused on themselves that they will do nothing to help those that are not like them. This leads to a distinct difference in quality of education between and rich and poor and often a lack of interaction between the rich and poor. Crime and hostility will rise because of this and fear will sweep over society. These consequences are on a larger scale but individuals will face consequences as well.
The consequences for individuals, Eitzen states, are dire. Americans are becoming lonely and disconnected which leads to bitterness. Constantly feeling lonely can lead to depression and the feeling of anomie. Anxiety, especially social anxiety, can also be developed as an individual grows increasingly paranoid as to whether others are judging them or even as they develop the fear of interacting with others because they are usually alone. Lonely people will often turn to violence and can go as far as joining gangs or terrorist groups, as exemplified by the two alienated adolescents who were behind the Columbine High School massacre. If individuals grow up lonely, they could refuse to vote for higher taxes to benefit the public or home school their children in an attempt to keep them from the outside world. Eitzen correctly claims that, in order to avoid these consequences, people must realize that the relationships they have with others is much more valuable than the accumulation of simple material things. A strong and loving society will help to make healthier individuals.
Eitzen’s claims of the atrophy of social life are justified and true as seen through my eyes. An example he brings up is isolation within families, which is something I deal with everyday. My parents both work, as does my sister, and my brother and I are both in high school. Basically, I rarely see my parents, especially now that I can drive. Being a student-athlete and also involved in many other activities leads to rarely being home. When I am home, I am probably doing homework or in my room watching Netflix or reading in an attempt to relax. This causes me to never really see the rest of my family. I feel as though my life as it currently is has caused my relationships with my family to sort of diminish. Of course, we still love each other, but in a sort of obligatory way rather than in a way where we enjoy spending time with each other and just hanging out. We are all too stressed to simply sit around and if we are sitting around, most of us are on our phones or laptops.
Lately, I have noticed that when I am with a group of people, be it friends or family, most of us are sitting on our phones checking social media or texting somebody else rather than talking to the people we are actually with. Technology creates fake friendships that may be strong online but rather weak in real life. It is much easier to sit behind a screen and compliment people or talk to people than in real life. Perhaps this is due to our need to talk to people in person when almost all conversations can be had online. Though I strongly believe technology is a good thing, it does have its downfalls. Some people need these online friends because friendships are often hard to maintain, especially in a place like Long Island.
Living in the suburbs and going to Catholic school has put me in a hard situation. The suburbs make it impossible to walk to your friends or a local store or, well, anywhere. Everywhere one wants to go is a drive away. Before this year, not having the ability to drive had severely limited how often I could see my friends or go to the mall. Even now, with the ability to drive, I really do not see my friends anymore than before. I, as a child raised in suburbia, am used to not seeing my friends that often and therefore feel no obligation to hang out with them. This leads to friendships that are more convenient than anything else. Many of my friends are only my friends because we have many classes together or lockers near each other. These friends are convenient friends to have in school, but not friends I want to see outside of school – these relationships are artificial.
The atrophy of social life in society today has cause me to have more artificial relationships rather than real ones I feel that this has made me into a more introverted person and it has given be a case of social anxiety.

The very idea of spending time with people outside of school is exhausting and my heart begins to pound as I raise my hand to speak during class. Speaking in public, even if it’s just to answer a question in class, or carrying out tasks like ordering Chinese food can lead to tears or a sudden lack of ability to breathe. If I think I say something in a weird way or join a conversation I feel I should not have joined, I will remember the terror (because it is pure terror) that I felt in that moment basically

forever.
Did my anxiety stem from my inability to find real relationships and tendency to instead turn to the Internet or books or movies? Did it stem from the struggle of living in the suburbs? Did it stem from my dependence on technology that was developed at an early age? I feel the same way the Eitzen feels and therefore, I believe that all of these theories are correct. I am the way I am because of how these certain factors influenced me and my relationships, or lack thereof. Certain factors lead to isolation and isolation will leave society in a worse place than it currently is. In order to save society, and also the individual, focus must switch back to developing real relationships with real people rather than acquiring as many material things as possible or making decisions with no regards to the impact it will have on relationships.