technology and human relationships essay introduction

Essay on Technology and Human Relationships

Students are often asked to write an essay on Technology and Human Relationships in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Technology and Human Relationships

Introduction.

Technology has transformed how we communicate and build relationships. It’s an inseparable part of our lives, influencing how we interact with each other.

Technology’s Role

Technology, particularly social media, allows us to connect with people globally. It bridges distances, making communication easy and instant.

Impact on Relationships

However, technology can also affect relationships negatively. Overuse can lead to less face-to-face interaction, potentially weakening bonds.

Balancing technology use is crucial. It can enhance relationships if used mindfully, but can also harm if not used responsibly.

250 Words Essay on Technology and Human Relationships

Technology has become an integral part of human life, influencing various aspects including our relationships. The interplay between technology and human relationships is complex, with both positive and negative impacts.

Enhanced Communication

Technology has revolutionized communication, making it possible to connect with people around the world in real-time. Social media platforms, video conferencing, and instant messaging apps have facilitated constant communication, strengthening relationships.

Virtual Relationships

However, there’s a growing concern about the authenticity of relationships in the digital era. Technology can create an illusion of closeness, leading to superficial relationships. The rise of virtual relationships can also lead to the erosion of face-to-face social skills.

Technology’s Impact on Intimacy

Technology can both enhance and hinder intimacy. On one hand, it allows couples in long-distance relationships to maintain their bond. On the other hand, excessive use of technology can create a digital barrier, reducing quality time and causing emotional disconnect.

In conclusion, while technology has the potential to enrich human relationships, it can also create challenges. It’s essential to strike a balance between technology use and maintaining genuine, meaningful relationships. The key lies in using technology as a tool to enhance relationships, not as a replacement for real human connection.

500 Words Essay on Technology and Human Relationships

Technology has become an integral part of our lives, shaping our interactions and the way we perceive relationships. The advent of digital tools has revolutionized communication, making it easier and quicker. However, this digital revolution also raises questions about its impact on human relationships.

Technology: A Bridge or a Barrier?

Technology has undoubtedly made communication more accessible. Through social media, email, and instant messaging, we can now connect with people worldwide, breaking geographical barriers. This instant connectivity has facilitated the formation of global communities, where people share ideas, experiences, and cultures.

However, while technology bridges the gap between people geographically, it may also erect barriers in personal relationships. The digital world often provides a curated version of reality, where individuals present their ‘best selves’. This may lead to superficial relationships, devoid of emotional depth. The ease of communication also inadvertently leads to an expectation of constant availability, potentially causing stress and anxiety.

Impact of Technology on Interpersonal Skills

The rise of digital communication has resulted in a shift from face-to-face interactions to screen-based conversations. This shift has implications for our interpersonal skills. Non-verbal cues such as body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions, which are crucial in understanding others’ emotions, are often lost in digital communication. This loss can lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations, impacting the quality of relationships.

The Paradox of Connection and Isolation

Technology can create a paradoxical situation where individuals are more connected than ever before, yet feel isolated. While social media platforms allow us to maintain contact with a vast network of friends, they can also foster feelings of loneliness and isolation. This is because online interactions often lack the emotional depth and intimacy found in face-to-face relationships. Furthermore, the comparison with others’ curated lives can lead to feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction.

Technology and Empathy

Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, is a cornerstone of human relationships. However, technology might be diminishing our empathetic abilities. The constant bombardment of information and the impersonal nature of digital communication can desensitize us to others’ experiences. This desensitization can hinder the formation of meaningful relationships, which are based on mutual understanding and empathy.

In conclusion, technology has transformed human relationships in profound ways. It has made communication more accessible but has also led to issues such as superficial relationships, reduced interpersonal skills, and feelings of isolation. As we continue to embrace technology, it is crucial to be mindful of these potential pitfalls. Balancing digital interactions with face-to-face communication, fostering empathy, and promoting genuine connections can help us navigate the digital age without compromising the quality of our relationships.

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Technology, Human Relationships, and Human Interaction

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• Reference Works
• Organizations
• Technology-Mediated Communication
• Theoretical Approaches
• Social Work Practice Implications

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• Computational Social Welfare: Applying Data Science in Social Work
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Technology, Human Relationships, and Human Interaction by Angela N. Bullock , Alex D. Colvin LAST REVIEWED: 27 April 2017 LAST MODIFIED: 27 April 2017 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0249

The utilization of technology to create and maintain relationships among people has become commonplace. According to the Pew Research Center, the percentage of American adults who own a tablet computer increased from 3 percent in 2010 to 45 percent in 2015, and the percentage of American adults who own a cell phone increased from 53 percent in 2000 to 92 percent in 2015. Furthermore, in 2015, 76 percent of online adults used some type of social networking site, compared to 8 percent in 2005. Technology is often introduced into a social system with the stated intention of making life easier for people. As technology becomes more pervasive in everyday life, the assessment of technology’s presence in relationships and its impact on how humans interact with one another is an emerging area of study. There are many perspectives on the relationship between technology and human interactions and relationships. It is purported that the integration of technologies in everyday life can have profound effects on human relationships, in both positive and negative ways. More notably, technologies impact on or interfere with how individuals engage in interpersonal relationships, behave within relationships, and project feelings and meanings including displays of emotions and love. Essentially, the new technological landscape now connects to what it means to be human.

This section presents a sample of early works that guided research into the fostering of relationships and interpersonal interactions through technology. Kiesler, et al. 1984 looks beyond the efficiency and technical capabilities of computer communication technologies and provides insight into the psychological, social, and cultural significance of technology. Jones 1994 provides a comprehensive examination of the varying aspects of social relationships in cyberspace. Preliminary studies that provide best-practice recommendations for the adoption of technology-based intervention in social work practice include Pardeck and Schulte 1990 ; Cwikel and Cnaan 1991 ; Schopler, et al. 1998 ; and Gonchar and Adams 2000 . Lea and Spears 1995 ; Kraut, et al. 1998 ; and Nie and Erbring 2000 offer early insight into how the Internet began to shape the way humans interact.

Cwikel, Julie, and Ram Cnaan. 1991. Ethical dilemmas in applying second-wave information technology to social work practice. Social Work 36.2: 114–120.

These authors consider ethical dilemmas brought about by the use of information technology in social work practice. They examine the effects on the client–worker relationship of the use of client databases, expert systems, therapeutic programs, and telecommunications.

Gonchar, Nancy, and Joan R. Adams. 2000. Living in cyberspace: Recognizing the importance of the virtual world in social work assessments. Journal of Social Work Education 36:587–600.

Utilizing the person-in-environment approach, this source explores the opportunities online communication provides individuals in fostering relationships, either healthy or unhealthy.

Jones, Steve, ed. 1994. CyberSociety: Computer-mediated communication and community . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Explores the construction, maintenance, and mediation of emerging cybersocieties. Aspects of social relationships generated by computer-mediated communication are discussed.

Kiesler, Sara, Jane Siegel, and Timothy W. McGuire. 1984. Social psychological aspects of computer-mediated communication. American Psychologist 39.10: 1123–1134.

DOI: 10.1037/0003-066X.39.10.1123

The authors present potential behavior and social effects of computer-mediated communication.

Kraut, Robert, Michael Patterson, Vickie Lundmark, Sara Kiesler, Tridas Mukopadhyay, and William Scherlis. 1998. Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being? American Psychologist 53.9: 1017–1031.

DOI: 10.1037/0003-066X.53.9.1017

This study examines the positive and negative impacts of the Internet on social relationships, participation in community life, and psychological well-being. The implications for research, policy, and technology development are discussed.

Lea, Martin, and Russell Spears. 1995. Love at first byte? Building personal relationships over computer networks. In Understudied relationships: Off the beaten track . Edited by J. T. Wood and S. Duck, 197–233. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

This chapter focuses on the connection between personal relationships and computer networks. Previous studies that examine dynamics of online relationships are reviewed.

Nie, Norman H., and Lutz Erbring. 2000. Internet and society: A preliminary report . Stanford, CA: Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society.

This study presents the results of an early study that explores the sociological impact of information technology and the role of the Internet in shaping interpersonal relationships and interactions.

Pardeck, John T., and Ruth S. Schulte. 1990. Computers in social intervention: Implications for professional social work practice and education. Family Therapy 17.2: 109.

The authors discuss the impact of computer technology on aspects of social work intervention including inventory testing, client history, clinical assessment, computer-assisted therapy, and computerized therapy.

Schopler, Janice H., Melissa D. Abell, and Maeda J. Galinsky. 1998. Technology-based groups: A review and conceptual framework for practice. Social Work 43.3: 254–267.

DOI: 10.1093/sw/43.3.254

The authors examine studies of social work practice using telephone and computer groups. Social work practice guidelines for technology-based groups are discussed.

Turkle, Sherry. 1984. The second self: Computers and the human spirit . New York: Simon & Schuster.

Explores the use of computers not as tools but as part of our social and psychological lives and how computers affect our awareness of ourselves, of one another, and of our relationship with the world.

Weizenbaum, Joseph. 1976. Computer power and human reason: From judgment to calculation . San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.

Examines the sources of the computer’s power including the notions of the brilliance of computers and offers evaluative explorations of computer power and human reason. The book presents common theoretical issues and applications of computer power such as computer models of psychology, natural language, and artificial intelligence.

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Karunaratne, Indika & Atukorale, Ajantha & Perera, Hemamali. (2011). Surveillance of human- computer interactions: A way forward to detection of users' Psychological Distress. 2011 IEEE Colloquium on Humanities, Science and Engineering, CHUSER 2011. 10.1109/CHUSER.2011.6163779.

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The Digital Revolution: How Technology is Changing the Way We Communicate and Interact

This article examines the impact of technology on human interaction and explores the ever-evolving landscape of communication. With the rapid advancement of technology, the methods and modes of communication have undergone a significant transformation. This article investigates both the positive and negative implications of this digitalization. Technological innovations, such as smartphones, social media, and instant messaging apps, have provided unprecedented accessibility and convenience, allowing people to connect effortlessly across distances. However, concerns have arisen regarding the quality and authenticity of these interactions. The article explores the benefits of technology, including improved connectivity, enhanced information sharing, and expanded opportunities for collaboration. It also discusses potential negative effects including a decline in in-person interactions, a loss of empathy, and an increase in online anxiety. This article tries to expand our comprehension of the changing nature of communication in the digital age by exposing the many ways that technology has an impact on interpersonal interactions. It emphasizes the necessity of intentional and thoughtful communication techniques to preserve meaningful connections in a society that is becoming more and more reliant on technology.

Introduction:

Technology has significantly transformed our modes of communication and interaction, revolutionizing the way we connect with one another over the past few decades. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst, expediting this transformative process, and necessitating our exclusive reliance on digital tools for socializing, working, and learning. Platforms like social media and video conferencing have emerged in recent years, expanding our options for virtual communication. The impact of these changes on our lives cannot be ignored. In this article, we will delve into the ways in which technology has altered our communication and interaction patterns and explore the consequences of these changes for our relationships, mental well-being, and society.

To gain a deeper understanding of this topic, I have conducted interviews and surveys, allowing us to gather firsthand insights from individuals of various backgrounds. Additionally, we will compare this firsthand information with the perspectives shared by experts in the field. By drawing on both personal experiences and expert opinions, we seek to provide a comprehensive analysis of how technology influences our interpersonal connections. Through this research, we hope to get a deeper comprehension of the complex interactions between technology and people, enabling us to move mindfully and purposefully through the rapidly changing digital environment.

The Evolution of Communication: From Face-to-Face to Digital Connections:

In the realm of communication, we have various mediums at our disposal, such as face-to-face interactions, telephone conversations, and internet-based communication. According to Nancy Baym, an expert in the field of technology and human connections, face-to-face communication is often regarded as the most personal and intimate, while the phone provides a more personal touch than the internet. She explains this in her book Personal Connections in the Digital Age by stating, “Face-to-face is much more personal; phone is personal as well, but not as intimate as face-to-face… Internet would definitely be the least personal, followed by the phone (which at least has the vocal satisfaction) and the most personal would be face-to-face” (Baym 2015).  These distinctions suggest that different communication mediums are perceived to have varying levels of effectiveness in conveying emotion and building relationships. This distinction raises thought-provoking questions about the impact of technology on our ability to forge meaningful connections. While the internet offers unparalleled convenience and connectivity, it is essential to recognize its limitations in reproducing the depth of personal interaction found in face-to-face encounters. These limitations may be attributed to the absence of nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice, which are vital elements in understanding and interpreting emotions accurately.

Traditionally, face-to-face interactions held a prominent role as the primary means of communication, facilitating personal and intimate connections. However, the rise of technology has brought about significant changes, making communication more convenient but potentially less personal. The rise of phones, instant messaging, and social media platforms has revolutionized how we connect with others. While these digital tools offer instant connectivity and enable us to bridge geographical distances, they introduce a layer of blockage that may impact the depth and quality of our interactions. It is worth noting that different communication mediums have their strengths and limitations. Phone conversations, for instance, retain a certain level of personal connection through vocal interactions, allowing for the conveyance of emotions and tones that text-based communication may lack. However, even with this advantage, phone conversations still fall short of the depth and richness found in face-to-face interactions, as they lack visual cues and physical presence.

Internet-based communication, on the other hand, is considered the least personal medium. Online interactions often rely on text-based exchanges, which may not fully capture the nuances of expression, tone, and body language. While the internet offers the ability to connect with a vast network of individuals and share information on a global scale, it may not facilitate the same depth and authenticity that in-person or phone conversations can provide. As a result, establishing meaningful connections and building genuine relationships in an online setting can be challenging. Research and observations support these ideas. Figure 1. titled “Social Interaction after Electronic Media Use,” shows the potential impact of electronic media on social interaction (source: ResearchGate). This research highlights the need to carefully consider the effects of technology on our interpersonal connections. While technology offers convenience and connectivity, it is essential to strike a balance, ensuring that we do not sacrifice the benefits of face-to-face interactions for the sake of digital convenience.

Figure 1:  Increased reliance on electronic media has led to a noticeable decrease in social interaction.

The Limitations and Effects of Digital Communication

In today’s digital age, the limitations and effects of digital communication are becoming increasingly evident. While the phone and internet offer undeniable benefits such as convenience and the ability to connect with people regardless of geographical distance, they fall short in capturing the depth and richness of a face-to-face conversation. The ability to be in the same physical space as the person we’re communicating with, observing their facial expressions, body language, and truly feeling their presence, is something unique and irreplaceable.

Ulrike Schultze, in her thought-provoking TED Talk titled “How Social Media Shapes Identity,” delves further into the impact of digital communication on our lives by stating, “we construct the technology, but the technology also constructs us. We become what technology allows us to become” (Schultze 2015). This concept highlights how our reliance on digital media for interaction has led to a transformation in how we express ourselves and relate to others.

The influence of social media has been profound in shaping our communication patterns and interpersonal dynamics. Research conducted by Kalpathy Subramanian (2017) examined the influence of social media on interpersonal communication, highlighting the changes it brings to the way we interact and express ourselves (Subramanian 2017). The study found that online communication often involves the use of abbreviations, emoticons, and hashtags, which have become embedded in our online discourse. These digital communication shortcuts prioritize speed and efficiency, but they also contribute to a shift away from the physical action of face-to-face conversation, where nonverbal cues and deeper emotional connections can be fostered.

Additionally, the study emphasizes the impact of social media on self-presentation and identity construction. With the rise of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, individuals have a platform to curate and present themselves to the world. This online self-presentation can influence how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us, potentially shaping our identities in the process. The study further suggests that the emphasis on self-presentation and the pressure to maintain a certain image on social media can lead to increased stress and anxiety among users.

Interviews:

I conducted interviews with individuals from different age groups to gain diverse perspectives on how technology and social media have transformed the way we connect with others. By exploring the experiences of a 21-year-old student and an individual in their 40s, we can better understand the evolving dynamics of interpersonal communication in the digital age. These interviews shed light on the prevalence of digital communication among younger generations, their preference for convenience, and the concerns raised by individuals from older age groups regarding the potential loss of deeper emotional connections.

When I asked the 21-year-old classmate about how technology has changed the way they interact with people in person, they expressed, “To be honest, I spend more time texting, messaging, or posting on social media than actually talking face-to-face with others. It’s just so much more convenient.” This response highlights the prevalence of digital communication among younger generations and their preference for convenience over traditional face-to-face interactions. It suggests that technology has significantly transformed the way young people engage with others, with a greater reliance on virtual interactions rather than in-person conversations. Additionally, the mention of convenience as a driving factor raises questions about the potential trade-offs in terms of depth and quality of interpersonal connections.

To gain insight from an individual in their 40s, I conducted another interview. When asked about their experiences with technology and social media, they shared valuable perspectives. They mentioned that while they appreciate the convenience and accessibility offered by technology, they also expressed concerns about its impact on interpersonal connections. They emphasized the importance of face-to-face interactions in building genuine relationships and expressed reservations about the potential loss of deeper emotional connections in digital communication. Additionally, they discussed the challenges of adapting to rapid technological advancements and the potential generational divide in communication preferences.

Comparing the responses from both interviews, it is evident that there are generational differences in the perception and use of technology for communication. While the 21-year-old classmate emphasized convenience as a primary factor in favor of digital communication, the individual in their 40s highlighted the importance of face-to-face interactions and expressed concerns about the potential loss of meaningful connections in the digital realm. This comparison raises questions about the potential impact of technology on the depth and quality of interpersonal relationships across different age groups. It also invites further exploration into how societal norms and technological advancements shape individuals’ preferences and experiences.

Overall, the interviews revealed a shift towards digital communication among both younger and older individuals, with varying perspectives. While convenience and connectivity are valued, concerns were raised regarding the potential drawbacks, including the pressure to maintain an idealized online presence and the potential loss of genuine connections. It is evident that technology and social media have transformed the way we communicate and interact with others, but the interviews also highlighted the importance of maintaining a balance and recognizing the value of face-to-face interactions in fostering meaningful relationships.

I have recently conducted a survey with my classmates to gather insights on how technology and social media have influenced communication and interaction among students in their daily lives. Although the number of responses is relatively small, the collected data allows us to gain a glimpse into individual experiences and perspectives on this matter.

One of the questions asked in the survey was how often students rely on digital communication methods, such as texting, messaging, or social media, in comparison to engaging in face-to-face conversations. The responses indicated a clear trend towards increased reliance on digital communication, with 85% of participants stating that they frequently use digital platforms as their primary means of communication. This suggests a significant shift away from traditional face-to-face interactions, highlighting the pervasive influence of technology in shaping our communication habits.

Furthermore, the survey explored changes in the quality of interactions and relationships due to the increased use of technology and social media. Interestingly, 63% of respondents reported that they had noticed a decrease in the depth and intimacy of their connections since incorporating more digital communication into their lives. Many participants expressed concerns about the difficulty of conveying emotions effectively through digital channels and the lack of non-verbal cues that are present in face-to-face interactions. It is important to note that while the survey results provide valuable insights into individual experiences, they are not representative of the entire student population. The small sample size limits the generalizability of the findings. However, the data collected does shed light on the potential impact of technology and social media on communication and interaction patterns among students.

Expanding on the topic, I found an insightful figure from Business Insider that sheds light on how people utilize their smartphones (Business Insider). Figure 2. illustrates the average smartphone owner’s daily time spent on various activities. Notably, communication activities such as texting, talking, and social networking account for a significant portion, comprising 59% of phone usage. This data reinforces the impact of digital communication on our daily lives, indicating the substantial role it plays in shaping our interactions with others.  Upon comparing this research with the data, I have gathered, a clear trend emerges, highlighting that an increasing number of individuals primarily utilize their smartphones for communication and interaction purposes.

Figure 2: The breakdown of daily smartphone usage among average users clearly demonstrates that the phone is primarily used for interactions.

The Digital Make Over:

In today’s digital age, the impact of technology on communication and interaction is evident, particularly in educational settings. As a college student, I have witnessed the transformation firsthand, especially with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The convenience of online submissions for assignments has led to a growing trend of students opting to skip physical classes, relying on the ability to submit their work remotely. Unfortunately, this shift has resulted in a decline in face-to-face interactions and communication among classmates and instructors.

The decrease in physical attendance raises concerns about the potential consequences for both learning and social connections within the academic community. Classroom discussions, collaborative projects, and networking opportunities are often fostered through in-person interactions. By limiting these experiences, students may miss out on valuable learning moments, diverse perspectives, and the chance to establish meaningful connections with their peers and instructors.

Simon Lindgren, in his thought-provoking Ted Talk , “Media Are Not Social, but People Are,” delves deeper into the effects of technology and social media on our interactions. Lindgren highlights a significant point by suggesting that while technology may have the potential to make us better individuals, we must also recognize its potential pitfalls. Social media, for instance, can create filter bubbles that limit our exposure to diverse viewpoints, making us less in touch with reality and more narrow-minded. This cautionary reminder emphasizes the need to approach social media thoughtfully, seeking out diverse perspectives and avoiding the pitfalls of echo chambers. Furthermore, it is crucial to strike a balance between utilizing technology for educational purposes and embracing the benefits of in-person interactions. While technology undoubtedly facilitates certain aspects of education, such as online learning platforms and digital resources, we must not overlook the importance of face-to-face communication. In-person interactions allow for nuanced non-verbal cues, deeper emotional connections, and real-time engagement that contribute to a more comprehensive learning experience.

A study conducted by Times Higher Education delved into this topic, providing valuable insights. Figure 3. from the study illustrates a significant drop in attendance levels after the pandemic’s onset. Undeniably, technology played a crucial role in facilitating the transition to online learning. However, it is important to acknowledge that this shift has also led to a decline in face-to-face interactions, which have long been regarded as essential for effective communication and relationship-building. While technology continues to evolve and reshape the educational landscape, it is imperative that we remain mindful of its impact on communication and interaction. Striking a balance between digital tools and in-person engagement can help ensure that we leverage the benefits of technology while preserving the richness of face-to-face interactions. By doing so, we can foster a holistic educational experience that encompasses the best of both worlds and cultivates meaningful connections among students, instructors, and the academic community.

Figure 3:  This graph offers convincing proof that the COVID-19 pandemic and the extensive use of online submission techniques are to blame for the sharp reduction in in-person student attendance.

When asked about the impact of online submissions for assignments on physical attendance in classes, the survey revealed mixed responses. While 73% of participants admitted that the convenience of online submissions has led them to skip classes occasionally, 27% emphasized the importance of in-person attendance for better learning outcomes and social interactions. This finding suggests that while technology offers convenience, it also poses challenges in maintaining regular face-to-face interactions, potentially hindering educational and social development, and especially damaging the way we communicate and interact with one another. Students are doing this from a young age, and it comes into huge effect once they are trying to enter the work force and interact with others. When examining the survey data alongside the findings from Times Higher Education, striking similarities become apparent regarding how students approach attending classes in person with the overall conclusion being a massive decrease in students attending class which hinders the chance for real life interaction and communication. the convenience and instant gratification provided by technology can create a sense of detachment and impatience in interpersonal interactions. Online platforms allow for quick and immediate responses, and individuals can easily disconnect or switch between conversations. This can result in a lack of attentiveness and reduced focus on the person with whom one is communicating, leading to a superficial engagement that may hinder the establishment of genuine connections.

Conclusion:

Ultimately, the digital revolution has profoundly transformed the way we communicate and interact with one another. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this transformation, leading to increased reliance on digital tools for socializing, working, and learning. While technology offers convenience and connectivity, it also introduces limitations and potential drawbacks. The shift towards digital communication raises concerns about the depth and quality of our connections, as well as the potential loss of face-to-face interactions. However, it is essential to strike a balance between digital and in-person engagement, recognizing the unique value of physical presence, non-verbal cues, and deeper emotional connections that face-to-face interactions provide. By navigating the digital landscape with mindfulness and intentionality, we can harness the transformative power of technology while preserving and nurturing the essential elements of human connection.

Moving forward, it is crucial to consider the impact of technology on our relationships, mental well-being, and society. As technology continues to evolve, we must be cautious of its potential pitfalls, such as the emphasis on self-presentation, the potential for increased stress and anxiety, and the risk of forgetting how to interact in person. Striking a balance between digital and face-to-face interactions can help ensure that technology enhances, rather than replaces, genuine human connections. By prioritizing meaningful engagement, valuing personal interactions, and leveraging the benefits of technology without compromising the depth and quality of our relationships, we can navigate the digital revolution in a way that enriches our lives and fosters authentic connections.

References:

Ballve, M. (2013, June 5). How much time do we really spend on our smartphones every day? Business Insider. Retrieved April 27, 2023. https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-time-do-we-spend-on-smartphones-2013-6

Baym, N. (2015). Personal Connections in the Digital Age (2nd ed.). Polity.

Karunaratne, Indika & Atukorale, Ajantha & Perera, Hemamali. (2011). Surveillance of human-       computer interactions: A way forward to detection of users’ Psychological Distress. 2011 IEEE Colloquium on Humanities, Science and Engineering, CHUSER 2011.             10.1109/CHUSER.2011.6163779.  https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Social-interaction-vs-electronic-media-use-Hours-per-day-of-face-to-face-social_fig1_254056654

Lindgren, S. (2015, May 20). Media are not social, but people are | Simon Lindgren | TEDxUmeå . YouTube. Retrieved April 27, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ5S7VIWE6k

Ross, J., McKie, A., Havergal, C., Lem, P., & Basken, P. (2022, October 24). Class attendance plummets post-Covid . Times Higher Education (THE). Retrieved April 27, 2023, from https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/class-attendance-plummets-post-covid

Schultze, U. (2015, April 23). How social media shapes identity | Ulrike Schultze | TEDxSMU . YouTube. Retrieved April 27, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSpyZor-Byk

Subramanian, Dr. K .R. “Influence of Social Media in Interpersonal Communication – Researchgate.” ResearchGate.Net , www.researchgate.net/profile/Kalpathy-Subramanian/publication/319422885_Influence_of_Social_Media_in_Interpersonal_Communication/links/59a96d950f7e9b2790120fea/Influence-of-Social-Media-in-Interpersonal-Communication.pdf. Accessed 12 May 2023 .

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Technology And Human Relationships Essay

Technology is very popular, and become an indispensable part in our daily life. The students use technology to serve for learning, the office staffs use technology to draft the contracts or build the projects, the teachers use technology to make the lessons become more lively, and so on. Thus, technology brings to us many benefits. However, everything has its dark side, also technology. Have we ever wonder if we don’t have the technology, then the relationships around us will be how? Whether the human relationship will be better, and more trustworthy, or not?

By my own experiences that I have learned, have beheld, I can see clearly the technology is changing the relationship between members in a family, between friends, between those who are in love.

In a technology family, it’s surely difficult for each member to share and understand each other if they always focus on their jobs, or checking Facebook, Twitter on their laptop and their phone while they are sitting next to each other.

I agree that it is their personal life, but they are living in the same house and how they can dismiss their own relatives like that. Unlike the family in the era of technology, the family at the time when technology has not appeared yet, which I call the old family, had a more difficult life. They didn’t have smartphone, smartwatch, tablets, or laptops. Therefore, if they wanted to contact to each other, they had to write the letter and wait until they received the response.

Proficient in: Internet

“ Amazing as always, gave her a week to finish a big assignment and came through way ahead of time. ”

Because of these difficulties, they always cherished the time when they met, the conversations, the stories that they told each other. For example, I used to watch an old Vietnamese movie that talks about the Lunar New Year in Vietnam. In this movie, I saw an old family with three generations, grandparents, parents, and their kids. They sat together in front of a black white television. There was a few traditional food on the table. The elders were talking to each other. The children …

Technology And Human Relationship

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Collection 

Human-technology interactions

Technology shapes the way people behave, interact, grow, and develop, both within their own lives and in their relationships with others and their wider communities. At its best, technology allows people to bridge gaps, improve communication and enhance the efficiency of complex tasks. Yet greater immersion in the digital world undoubtedly creates new challenges and can adversely affect human-to-human interactions.

This Collection explores this complex and fast-evolving relationship between people and technologies. Multi- and interdisciplinary perspectives are welcomed on the design, use, adoption, and impact of technologies on people and societies. Research is invited on key themes, including but not limited to:

• Social, behavioural, cultural and philosophical perspectives on the impacts of technology and automation
• Domain-specific analyses (e.g. education, training, public health, recreation, workplace, business)
• Development of technologies and user experiences using insights from the social and behavioural sciences
• Ethical and policy issues arising from human-technology interactions
• Future perspectives on the role and place of technology in society

Marc Cheong

The University of Melbourne, Australia

Fábio Duarte

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

Michal Klichowski

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland

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Design principles for integrating science practices with conceptual understanding: an example from a digital learning environment on microbial resistance to antibiotics

• Constantinos P. Constantinou
• Eliza Rybska

A diary study investigating the differential impacts of Instagram content on youths’ body image

• Hannah C. Glaser
• Sikke R. Jansma
• Hanneke Scholten

Dictionaries and lexicography in the AI era

Academic stress and cyberloafing among university students: the mediating role of fatigue and self-control

• Gabriel E. Nweke
• Yosra Jarrar
• Ibrahim Horoub

Beyond occupational exhaustion: exploring the influence of positive meaningful work on teachers’ psychoemotional well-being in the digital age

• F. D. Bretones

CyberGaia: Earth as cyborg

• Logan Thrasher Collins

The level of conscientiousness trait and technostress: a moderated mediation model

• Eva Ariño-Mateo
• Matías Arriagada Venegas
• David Pérez-Jorge

Risk assessments of virtual interactions on Saudi families

• Hanaa Faize A. Moubarak
• Asyraf Afthanorhan

AI chatbots contribute to global conservation injustices

• Danilo Urzedo
• Zarrin Tasnim Sworna
• Cathy J. Robinson

Can digital tools foster ethical deliberation?

• Joanna Sleigh
• Shannon Hubbs
• Effy Vayena

Walking in the shoes of others through brain-to-brain interfaces: a phenomenological approach to the generation of a collective living body

• Nicola Liberati
• Dmytro Mykhailov

Digital competence in adolescents and young adults: a critical analysis of concomitant variables, methodologies and intervention strategies

• Annika Kreuder
• Ulrich Frick
• Sabine J. Schlittmeier

Online sharing behaviors driven by need for approval: the choice of individuals with low social intelligence and high gratitude?

• Yiying Huang

Is visual content modality a limiting factor for social capital? Examining user engagement within Instagram-based brand communities

• Agung Artha Kusuma
• Adi Zakaria Afiff
• Sri Rahayu Hijrah Hati

Gender and academic year as moderators of the efficacy of mobile app interventions to promote physical activity in adolescents: a randomized controlled trial

• Adrián Mateo-Orcajada
• Raquel Vaquero-Cristóbal
• Lucía Abenza-Cano

Multimedia use and its impact on the effectiveness of educators: a technology acceptance model perspective

• Siti Rohaida Binti Mohamed Zainal

The functional differentiation of brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) and its ethical implications

• Xiao-yu Sun

ChatGPT as a COBUILD lexicographer

The concept of “interaction” in debates on human–machine interaction

• Sebastian Schleidgen
• Orsolya Friedrich
• Johanna Seifert

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Convention Coverage

How technology shapes thoughts, feelings, and actions.

• Neuroscience

Technology is not just changing the way people interact with the world, it’s also changing the way scientists study human behavior and the brain. New technologies are allowing psychological scientists to take their research out of the lab and “into the wild,” where theories can be tested in real world settings.

San Francisco is a world-famous hub of technology, and a fitting locale for a symposium on research on tech and the human experience. In a Cross-Cutting Theme Program at the 30 th APS Annual Convention, speakers presented interdisciplinary work on the ways technology shapes learning, attention, behavior, and our social lives from childhood through old age.

Melina Uncapher

Technology Meets Neuroscience

Technology is allowing neuroscientist Melina Uncapher of University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to take her science out of the brain-imaging lab and directly to the classrooms she studies.

“It’s not feasible, obviously, to bring an MRI scanner into every classroom, but we can start to use some of these mobile technologies…to map the cognitive domains of the brain,” Uncapher explained.

The Neuroscape Center at UCSF has developed ‘ACE’, a tablet-based cognitive assessment, which has allowed Uncapher and her colleagues to study executive function within a group of over 1,000 elementary and middle school students across nine different Bay Area schools. These customized Neuroscape video games use adaptive algorithms to adjust the level of game difficulty, allowing researchers to use the same exact cognitive tasks for children of all ages across experiments, and across time. Critically, this allows high-precision, high-dimensional measurement of cognition across development.

Uncapher and her team hope to use a technique called joint modeling to create models around the behavioral measures they’ve obtained, and how they relate to brain structure and function. The researchers ultimate goal is to create a sustainable cognitive enhancement loop whereby each child receives the most effective intervention (technology mediated or curriculum-based) to enhance their executive functioning — ultimately improving their learning, education, and life outcomes.

Aging and Tech

Rates of technology use ranging from smart phones to the Internet are significantly lower among older adults compared to younger generations, University of Miami psychological scientist Sara J. Czaja pointed out. Czaja’s field-based research demonstrates that technology potentially can help older adults avoid social isolation, as well as improve their access to vital medical care and services.

In a trial, Czaja and colleagues provided video phones to people caring for someone with dementia. The research team found that providing caregivers with access to interventions such as counseling via the phone was linked to several positive outcomes, including a reduced sense of burden.

“The thing they liked the most were the support groups, because they didn’t have to leave their home to participate in the groups, which is problematic for many caregivers,” Czaja explained.

Czaja also is working with Prism, a custom software system designed for use in the homes of socially isolated older adults. After a year-long trial, not only did participants learn how to use a computer, they felt less isolated and reporter increased emotional well-being.

Access to technology helps many people overcome logistic challenges, facilitating access to services, socialization, and information, Czaja said.

Jonathan Gratch

Virtual Humans

Jonathan Gratch’s lab at the University of Southern California builds strikingly realistic and interactive virtual humans reminiscent of the sentient robots on the television show “Westworld.”

“We build these social artifacts that have embodiment of various kinds and then we have people interact with those systems and examine the theoretical implications,” Gratch, a professor of computer science and psychology, explained.

These virtual humans have been used to help people learn negotiation tactics, to tell the stories of Holocaust survivors, and to help people disclose symptoms that could lead to the diagnosis of a stigmatized mental illness.

Building on social psychological theory, Gratch’s team trained a machine learning algorithm to mimic the verbal and non-verbal habits of non-judgmental listeners. Using a camera and microphone, this social agent also tracked relevant social information from their human partner’s voice, facial expressions, posture, and gestures in real time. A recently replicated study found that, in responding to questions related to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, people disclosed twice as much intimate information to the virtual listener compared to what could be gleaned from an official online disclosure form.

Gloria Mark

Your Attention Please

It’s hard to believe that the internet has been in popular use for little more than two decades, psychological scientist Gloria Mark (University of California, Irvine) said. But what does it mean for our lives, and specifically our attention spans, to be immersed in digital media day in and day out?

“Working in a digital environment leads people to be polychronic, which means working on multiple tasks at the same time,” Mark, an expert on human-computer interaction, explained. “Human beings can’t literally work on multiple tasks at the same time, but what they generally do is switch their attention very rapidly between different sources of info.”

In a study observing the behavior of information workers, Mark and colleagues found that on the job people had a median attention duration of about 40 seconds. That is, they spent around 40 seconds on any given window on their computer before switching to something else.

Additional work on interruptions suggests that rather than being driven to distraction by external sources such as digital notifications or a busybody colleague, we seem to be conditioned to work with a short attention duration.

“One of the most surprising things about this research,” Mark said, “is that people interrupt themselves almost as much as they get interrupted from external sources.”

It is very true and as an Auditor and Fraud Examiner it is very relevant first to understand the inter relationahip between Technology and psychology of a person that helps at better thinking of fraud preventive methods.

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Scientists Discuss How to Study the Psychology of Collectives, Not Just Individuals

In a set of articles appearing in Perspectives on Psychological Science, an international array of scientists discusses how the study of neighborhoods, work units, activist groups, and other collectives can help us better understand and respond to societal changes.

Artificial Intelligence: Your Thoughts and Concerns  

APS members weigh in on the biggest opportunities and/or ethical challenges involving AI within the field of psychological science. Will we witness vast and constructive cross-fertilization—or “a dystopian cyberpunk corporation-led hellscape”?

Hearing is Believing: Sounds Can Alter Our Visual Perception

Audio cues can not only help us to recognize objects more quickly but can even alter our visual perception. That is, pair birdsong with a bird and we see a bird—but replace that birdsong with a squirrel’s chatter, and we’re not quite so sure what we’re looking at. 

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Article contents

Communication technology and interpersonal relationships.

• Andrew M. Ledbetter Andrew M. Ledbetter Department of Communication Studies, Texas Christian University
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.497
• Published online: 22 August 2017

Owing to advances in communication technology, the human race now possesses more opportunities to interact with interpersonal partners than ever before. Particularly in recent decades, such technology has become increasingly faster, mobile, and powerful. Although tablets, smartphones, and social media are relatively new, the impetus behind their development is old, as throughout history humans have developed mechanisms for communicating ideas that transcend inherent temporal and spatial limitations of face-to-face communication. In the ancient past, humans developed writing and the alphabet to preserve knowledge across time, with the later development of the printing press further facilitating the mass distribution of written ideas. Later, the telegraph was arguably the first technology to separate communication from transportation, and the telephone enabled people at a distance to hear the warmth and intimacy of the human voice. The development of the Internet consolidates and advances these technologies by facilitating pictorial and video interactions, and the mobility provided by cell phones and other technologies makes the potential for communication with interpersonal partners nearly ubiquitous. As such, these technologies reconfigure perception of time and space, creating the sense of a smaller world where people can begin and manage interpersonal relationships across geographic distance.

These developments in communication technology influence interpersonal processes in at least four ways. First, they introduce media choice as a salient question in interpersonal relationships. As recently as the late 20th century, people faced relatively few options for communicating with interpersonal partners; by the early years of the 21st century, people possessed a sometimes bewildering array of channel choices. Moreover, these choices matter because of the relational messages they send; for example, choosing to end a romantic relationship over the phone may communicate more sensitivity than choosing to do so via text messaging, or publicly on social media. Second, communication technology affords new opportunities to begin relationships and, through structural features of the media, shape how those meetings occur. The online dating industry generates over $1 billion in profit, with most Americans agreeing it is a good way to meet romantic partners; friendships also form online around shared interests and through connections on social media. Third, communication technology alters the practices people use to maintain interpersonal relationships. In addition to placing traditional forms of relational maintenance in more public spaces, social media facilitates passive browsing as a strategy for keeping up with interpersonal partners. Moreover, mobile technology affords partners increased geographic and temporal flexibility when keeping contact with partners, yet simultaneously, it may produce feelings of over-connectedness that hamper the desire for personal autonomy. Fourth, communication technology makes interpersonal networks more visibly manifest and preserves their continuity over time. This may provide an ongoing convoy of social support and, through increased efficiency, augment the size and diversity of social networks.

• interpersonal communication
• impression formation
• relational maintenance
• social networks
• social media
• computer-mediated communication
• long-distance relationships

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Impact of Technology on Communication Essay

Introduction, advancement of technology in communication, media technology and online communication, the impacts of mobile phone on communication, reference list.

The realm of technology is ever-changing. New advances in applied science have forever transformed the way people interact. Exploring the impact of technology on communication and debating whether people connect with others differently seems to be the topic of the day.

Technology has allowed people to keep in touch no matter the distance. One is able to communicate 24 hours around the clock, seven days a week, 365 days on an interpersonal level.

What are the real impacts of technology on communication? How do electronics mediate and change the ways in which humans interact? How has the emergence of the Internet, mobile phones, and social networks affected society and businesses?

In order to reveal the importance of technology in communication, the essay tries to find answers to these questions. It explores how everything has changed over the years and discusses the connection between technology and communication.

To begin this examination and find answers to these questions, we begin by defining media and communication and outlining the stages of technological advancement from old age to the present day in the field of communication. The paper will highlight the use of the Internet, newspapers, radio, and other media, but it mostly dwells on the use of mobile telephony.

Communication is “the imparting or exchange of information by speaking, writing or using some other medium” (Daniel & Rod, 2011). On the other hand, media is defined as “the main means of mass communication (television, radio, and newspapers) regarded collectively.”

Technology has changed everything in the modern society. The way we communicate has been revolutionized by the advancement of new innovations in the telecommunication sector. Connecting with other people with ease is more feasible in today’s world, and this is due to speed.

Several centuries ago, books and newspapers reigned as the only choice of communication. Then later, innovators brought the radio and television before innovation was taken a notch higher with the coming of the personal computer (Johnson, 1997, p.3).

With every new innovation, the reliance on books and newspapers as the mass medium of communication continued to reduce. With time, human culture has come to understand the power and the mechanisms involved in technology and invention. In today’s world, information has permeated the cycles of change and development.

The world today, past and present, can be studied at ease with the growing information technology. Technology has advanced with sheer velocity allowing different media to shape our thinking and habits. The people who were born during the television era thought that it was the climax of innovation, but they suddenly found themselves acclimating to a new medium, the World Wide Web.

Every time a new medium rolls out, the perceptions towards the previous media you were used to change (Johnson, 1997 p5). Technology proved to be powerful in the sense that no human being can predict what will change and what won’t with certainty.

The irony of it all is the fact that the influence of technology extends beyond generations to come. It is with no doubt that technology has changed the lives of human beings; information and entertainment are being received in a more convenient way.

The innovation of having a conversation using a device called the telephone changed everything in communication. This became magical, and one couldn’t believe such innovation would exist (Tofts, 1997, p.40).

With the emergence of new media technologies, consumers have been empowered to ‘filter’ the information they want to receive. This allows them to have a choice of which news to watch or what information to listen to (Palmer, 2003, p.161).

Media consumption has been made an engaging experience with marketers studying the preferences of the consumers in order to reflect broader social changes in society. In today’s world, the computer is seen as a multi-purpose machine with work and leisure functions, therefore, creating more value.

The rise of the Internet has also made it possible to have virtual offices where the user can work from home or any convenient location. The flow of information from different media has greatly changed the social structures of society at different levels (Barry, 1999).

Digital media has enabled news and event to be channeled in real-time. The combination of the Internet and commerce has given birth to e-commerce sites providing huge potential for marketers to reach out to virtual communities.

In the world today, there are numerous media screens within our surroundings. This ranges from the television sets in our houses, computer monitors at the office, mobile phones and MP3 players in our pockets and handbag.

Even when shopping or waiting to board a plane, you’re most probably staring at screens with entertainment media (Soukup, 2008, p.5). Heavy marketing has been adopted by producers of mobile technologies targeting consumers who possess mobile phones with picture and video capacity (Goggin, 2006, p.170).

Media texts producers have termed mobile media as a “third screen,” a device that consumers carry around with much ease. Unlike television screens, broader communication networks have been integrated into personal computers and mobile phones (Goggin, 2006, p.9).

Train, buses, and airplanes have been dominated by mobile screens providing passengers with entertainment as well as other media content, especially advertisements (Caron & Carona, 2007, p.17). With a lot of commercial media content, the preferences of people change in their everyday lives.

The world of popular media has become chaotic, with hundreds of television channels to choose from, thousands of songs ready for download, and not forgetting millions of web pages to surf.

The emergence of social media like Facebook and Twitter has enabled people to manage interactions and relationships with many friends. Technologies have impacted interpersonal communication enabling people to interact more often than before.

In addition to reducing the distance between people, online communication with tools like Facebook and Twitter enables people to keep track of their contacts with friends and are more aware of the last time they interacted with them. Online communication now incorporates more than one mode of contact, including text, voice, and body language.

A mobile phone is a device that has always been seen as connecting people who are far apart, thus overcoming the geographical distance between them. The number of mobile phone users has continued to increase substantially. The mobile phone has been integrated as part of people’s lives in the sense that it’s available and easy to use, keeping us connected to our families, friends, and business people (Ling, 2004, p.21-24).

The how and when the way we use our mobile phones impacts our communication not only with those we’re communicating with but also with the people within our proximity. At this point, it is paramount to note the changes that have taken place and that have allowed the adoption of mobile phones. The tremendous proliferation of this device has drastically changed the traditional communication model.

Who are the users of mobile phones, and for what purposes do they use them? Has there been any change in the way mobile phone facilitates communication? How has the face to face interaction been affected by mobile calls? Has mobile communication enhanced relationships?

These are some of the questions that arise when we try to fathom the way communication has affected our personal and professional lives. There are sentiments that mobile phones have reduced humans to emotionless beings.

There is no doubt that the revolution brought about the use of mobile phones in the way we communicate. There have been different perceptions among individuals and social levels in society in regard to mobile usage.

When we had fixed telephone lines that were put in a booth, telephones were seen as business tools only and were placed in a fixed, quiet environment. There was restriction when it came to teenagers using these phones (Agar, 2003). The ‘birth’ of mobile phones brought changes, and phone calls became a habit to many irrespective of age or location.

Today, people can use mobile phones wherever they are in private or in public. People have been addicted to their mobile phones more than any other gadget known to man, with the device remaining on throughout. Its portability enables people to carry it wherever they go (Castells, 1996).

A personal virtual network has been created whereby users can be available at all times to communicate with friends, family, and colleagues. The geographical barrier has been destroyed, making people feel close to one another, and the face to face communication has been rendered rather less important with this mediated communication (Richard, 2004, p.22).

Meetings and briefings have become obsolete, with communication being mediated by a computer or a phone. Mobile SMS (short messaging service) service and the Internet has become the preferable communication channels for most teenagers and young people all over the world (Plant, 2000, p.23).

There are places where mobile phones have become taboo devices, places like churches and crucial corporate meetings. At such places, the mobile ring is seen as a nuisance. In other scenarios, it is seen as a destructive device by acting as a third party and especially for dating couples who want to have a private conversation.

Any phone ring is seen as an ‘intruder,’ and this harms the relationship between the partners (Plant, 2000, p.29). In his research, Plant observes that there are those people who use mobile as ’a means of managing privacy where calls are carefully selected’. He categorizes this group of people as ‘hedgehogs.’

The other category is those people who use mobile phones as the key central part of their life. They become so attached to the device and cannot do without it. Plant referred to this group as ‘fox.’ They are regular users who need to feel connected with their families and friend. Their life will be dreadful if they lack the device (2000, p.32).

Telephones have promoted the use of text messaging and modernization since it’s allowing people to communicate more both verbally and by texting in a more convenient and efficient way. SMS has made communication to be more immediate, and users can customize the message at ease with the various applications installed on their mobiles (Richard, 2004, p. 100).

The advanced phones have email support as well as multimedia messages making chatting become a lifestyle for many who conduct business and those initiating intimate communication. It has emerged that SMS has made people become more united.

Users have developed abbreviated messages, which are now universally accepted as an appropriate language. The initial purpose of the phone to make calls has even lost taste with many people, especially the young generation.

According to Reid &Reid, more than 85% of teenagers prefer texting to talking on their mobile usage (Reid & Reid, 2004, p.1). There is ease of communication when it comes to texting in the sense that some formalities are eliminated, making communication more personal.

Texting has helped introverts who may lack the skills to have phone conversations allowing them to express their true self to other people leading to greater understanding and stronger relationships (Reid & Reid, 2004, p.8).

The use of mobile technology has affected the personalities of people to a great extent. Today, more people are hiding their feelings and whereabouts behind mobile phones, and this has raised suspicions among families, friends, and couples.

People go through text messages of others just to find out more about the individual who might even have no clue about what is happening. Contrary to this, most people believe that mobile is so crucial in enhancing the relationship between people no matter the distance and that it bonds us together more than it separates us (Plant, 2000, p.58).

The usage of mobile phones by children and teenagers has changed the way parents bring up their kids. Parenting has really changed as parents try to increase their surveillance and monitor their children’s mobile usage.

Their concern is to know who communicates with their kind and the kind of conversations they normally have. They are worried about the kind of social network the children create in their contact lists.

With the emergence of virtual communities, the influence of mobile phones has spilled over and affects parenting in general. Nonetheless, the primary purpose of mobile phones to facilitate communication has not changed.

There is no doubt that technology has changed the way humans communicate. Great impacts can be seen in the way communication has changed the social structures of our society at all levels. Even in years to come, technology remains the driving force of the way people interact.

The advancement of technology ensures that communication is quicker and that more people remain connected. There has been an evolution in interpersonal skills with the advancement of technology, and users should always be keen on adapting to new ways of communication.

Technology has continually brought new methods of communication leading to the expansion of mediated communication. The reality of having one message shared across a huge audience (mass communication) is now with us. A situation where neither time nor geography can limit the accessibility of information.

We have seen the merging together of newspapers and books with computer technology so that the frequency and ease of reporting information and advertisements can be increased. The exposure of both individuals and society to mediated communication has therefore affected our daily lives, particularly in our culture and the way we communicate.

Agar, J., 2003. Constant Touch: A Global History of the Mobile Phone . Cambridge: Icon Books.

Barry, W., 1999. Networks in the Global Village . Boulder Colo: Westview Press.

Caron, A, & Caronia, L., 2007. Moving cultures: mobile communication in everyday life. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Castells, M., 1996. The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Volume 1. The Rise of the Network Society . Oxford: Blackwell.

Daniel, C., & Rod, M., 2011.The Dictionary of Media and Communications . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Goggin, G., 2006. Cell phone culture mobile technology in everyday life. New York: Routledge.

Palmer, D., 2003. The Paradox of User Control’. 5 th Annual Digital Arts and Culture Conference (Proceedings), pp.160-164.

Plant, S., 2000. On the Mobile: the effects of mobile telephones on social and individual life . Web.

Postman, N., 1992. Technopoly: The surrender of culture to technology . New York: Vintage Books.

Reid, D. J. & Reid F. J. M., 2004. Insights into the Social and Psychological Effects of SMS Text Messaging . Web.

Richard, L., 2004. The Mobile Connection: The Cell Phone’s Impact on Society . San Francisco Morgan: Kaufmann.

Soukup, C., 2008. ‘Magic Screens: Everyday Life in an Era of Ubiquitous and Mobile Media Screens’, presented at 94 th annual Convention . San Diego .

Stephen, J., 1997. Interface Culture: How New Technology Transforms the Way We Create and Communicate . San Francisco: Basic Books.

Tofts, D., 1997. ‘ The technology within’ in memory trade: A Prehistory of Cyberculture, North Ryde: 21C Books.

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Effect Of Technology On Relationships Essay Examples

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Communication , Technology , Relationships , Internet , Virtualization , Betrayal , Human , Business

Published: 02/12/2020

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Introduction

It is fallacious to argue that technology has effect on human relationships. The fact of the matter is that technology affects human relationships in different ways, some negative and others positive. I posit that the effect that technology has on ones relationship depends on the manner in which one use technological devices.

The internet has both positive and negative effects on relationships. Internet infidelity is one area of concern for hordes of people, particularly its effect on existing relationships. Compared to other forms of infidelity, internet infidelity is easier to hide and proliferate. This is because of the asynchronous nature of communication by e-mail. Through the internet, a disfranchised partner can seek gratification from outside their relationship while still being discrete. Studies have found that internet infidelity is eroding the intimacy in face-to-face relationships. Through such studies, it has been found that for people engaged in internet relationships, their level of self-disclosure is higher with the virtual partner when compared to the face-to-face partner. On a positive note, the internet has changed the human approach towards relationships. The internet is a ubiquitous forced in people’s daily lives. This is because it has helped increase the frequency and quality of interaction between partners and friends. The internet has also improved the manner in which people connect with others in different social worlds. The internet unifies the speed provided by telephony services with the written characters characteristic of mail services. The invention of virtual presence through the internet allows partners and friends who are separated by geographical zones to mimic a face-to-face relationship. This is through video conferencing and using services like video chatting. As such, relationships that would have fizzled because of geographical distances are given a new lease of life through virtual presence. Online communication is different from face-to-face communication. Unlike face-to-face communication, online communication more often than not bypasses universal social norms. The cloak of anonymity that enshrouds online communication makes people feel freer to express their views. Additionally, in online communication, people respond to the intellect of an individual than the appearance or social standing. Unlike online communication, face-to-face communication is animated by gestures, facial expressions, tonal variation and other non-verbal communication cues. These non-verbal communication cues are very important because the art of communication does not only involve the words, but also non-verbal cues. To meet this deficit in the online communication realms, programmers have come up with different animations of non-verbal cues. However, I think that these are not as effective as the natural non-verbal cues that we exude when communication face-to-face.

It is debatable whether online communication is better than face-to-face communication. But even within such a debate, the fact is that technology and more specifically the internet, has an impact on human relationships.

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Human and Technology Relationship, Essay Example

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There have been countless examples of the meeting of two or more alien cultures and their respective technologies. In this paper I will take one technology, the telephone (land-line and mobile) and compare its meeting with one alien and resisting culture of the Amish. I will then compare their experience with that of the Masai, an indigenous people who, in the Western mind, are emblematic of Africa itself; and discuss and how they are reacting specifically to the mobile phone. My thesis is that technology can and will be successfully assimilated by all cultures at all levels of development. It is the factors outside of technology, such as climate, politics and economics, that lead some cultures to their destruction.

The Amish, a Christian sect who believe in being baptized twice (thus their classification as Ana baptists) began arriving in America in the 18 th Century. Nearly everyone is familiar with them and their benign if clannish ways and general philosophy of systematic or symbolic rejection of some aspects of modern life (although they have never rejected all of its aspects). From the start, the landline telephone presented a particular problem, not so much because of the electricity (which is a part of nature) but because of the wire that led from the “outside” world into their individual homes. Be that as it may, the practical advantages of the telephone induced restrained acceptance. In the early years of the twentieth century, when rural communities began constructing their own systems by stringing wire from fencepost to fencepost, where the Amish lived there would often be Amish actively involved in the telephone vanguard (Umble, 2003). To resolve doctrinal problems, Amish communities adopted the practice of building a “telephone shanty”, basically a wooden telephone booth (somewhat resembling an outhouse) placed a long-enough walk away to where the community could use it if needed. The idea was to take advantage of telephone technology when it was necessary to do so, but not to let it infiltrate the home and so allow the camel’s nose of the outside world into the tent of their personal lives. For years many individual Amish had their own voicemail accounts, and this arrangement was accepted and became part of Amish life. But cellular technology makes the telephone shanty obsolete.

The cellphone offers the same temptations to the Amish that it offers to everyone else. The practical-minded Amish now try to restrict its use to essentials as much as possible, but a hard-line approach to cell phones means borrowing the phones of their ‘English’ friends, neighbors, and coworkers. So the apparent problem is whether restrictions against cellphones will find acceptance with Amish individuals, or whether their individual cellphone use will erode the collective theological discipline that has allowed the Amish to use modern technology on their own collective terms . But the real problem is that due to the increasingly high price of land, the low productivity rates of hand labor have compelled many of the young Amish men to seek employment outside their farming communities, pulling them away from their homes.

The Maasai are a pastoral, nomadic people whose homelands are in Kenya and Tanzania. Their photogenic, colorful clothing and warrior heritage have made them visual totems of Africa itself. The Maasai are a favorite destination for tourists, who pay for the privilege of viewing them up close. Now even the Maasai are going mobile, as are the rest of their countrymen, especially in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, indeed throughout all Africa, rural and cities alike (Santos, 2010).

At first, one might wonder why the Maasai would want mobile phone service, or indeed could even afford it. Are the Maasai an important part of a market economy? They are, principally through their cattle, which is one of the two defining cores of their culture, the other being that of war — the Maasai have a fierce warrior heritage. It is at this point that a similarity between the aggressive Maasai and the peaceful Amish emerges. Due to a prolonged drought, the young Maasai men have been compelled to seek work in cities (often as security guards). This mirrors the migration of young Amish men outside their own communities seeking work, as I noted earlier. In both cases, these groups are faced with the problem of maintaining their cultural identity, and the Maasai have even been compelled to violate some lesser tribal taboos (“Urban maasai migration,” 2009). But back in their homelands, the cellphone is making it possible for the cattle herders to survive the drought. Men call each other to gather at the best places for water and grazing, saving time and energy that used to be wasted in search. In the future, Twitter will warn of predators, and Ebay will get them the best prices for their cattle. Does this threaten the Maasai culture? Only for tourists, for whom the city bound migration is invisible.

Is there any essential difference in how these two cultures are confronting new technology, a difference that reveals something fundamental about each? The Amish, in managing the cellphone, are actually just continuing the same approach they had to the landline. The doctrinal problem is the same, regardless of technology: keeping the modern world at bay, but using its advantages when they can be used without compromising principles. The Amish cannot survive as a functioning culture any other way. The Maasai have experience with this kind of problem too. They have had tourists bringing in their cameras and money for decades. They have had access to their region’s cities. But the Maasai, unlike the Amish, are a tribe with ancestral claims to the land they use. The Amish, by contrast, own land but do not claim land on an ancestral or tribal basis. They will pick up and move to another state if necessary, an action unthinkable to the Maasai.

When a new technology meets a new market or culture, who is in control? Is anyone? Should anyone be in control? It of course depends on the technology — such as nuclear power — but where it meets acceptance it is because it is useful to both the governed and those who govern. In the beginning, it depends on individual acceptance, but there is no culture too old to adapt new technology and use it to perpetuate itself, just like there is said to be no technology too old to be used by someone today (Krulwich, 2011). From the adoption of the steel sewing needle by supposedly pristinely indigenous tribes around the world (who, even before their discovery by the West, always showed signs of some long-ago contact with a more advanced culture (Jacobs, 1984)) to the use of cassette recorders by the exiled Islamic fundamentalist Ayatollah Khomeini in the late 1970s to help foment revolution in his native Iran; to the use of mobile phones and the Internet today to engage in war, revolution, commerce, and education (formal and informal), there is no culture that will not, as an expression of itself, adapt genuinely useful, economical new technology (Weatherford, 1994).

Modules 3 & 4 speak to the reader using the personal pronoun we . Who, exactly, are we ? We are members of any identifiable group who can honor our traditions even as we adopt totally new tools to live in a changing world. Is there any people, any culture, anywhere, anytime, that cannot do that, hasn’t done that, or won’t do that, if given the opportunity? Even anarchists have websites now.

Jacobs, J. (1984).  Cities and the wealth of nations . (p. 129). New York: Crown Publishers.

Krulwich, R. (2011, February 24). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/02/24/133962028/tools-never-die-the-finale

Santos, R. (2010, July 24).  2010 global marketing: the maasai tribe goes mobile.  Retrieved from http://2010globalmarketing.wordpress.com/2010/07/24/695/

Umble, D. (2003).  Sinful network or divine service: Competing meanings of the telephone in amish country . Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/transition/subs/umble.html

Urban maasai migration for cnn inside africa [Television series episode]. (2009). In  Inside Africa . New York: CNN. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWelr7E3jNI

Weatherford, J. (1994).  Savages and Civilization . (p. 242). New York: Crown Publishers.

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Introduction Paragraph for Technology Essay: Effective Guide

Table of Contents

The introduction is an integral part of any essay and an excellent opportunity to impact your reader. It sets the tone for the argument and gives the reader an insight into the topic. A good  introduction of essay about technology  comprises three main parts.

The hook grabs the reader’s attention and encourages them to read on. Background presents more details on the topic, and the thesis statement summarizes the essay’s central focus. 

The introduction can be challenging to write, but with some guidance, anyone can master the art of writing a compelling introduction. This guide discusses how to write an effective introductory paragraph for a technology essay.

What is A Technology Essay?

Technology has a significant impact on our society. Its numerous benefits have become a vital part of our life. It has improved and is still improving the efficiency of medicine, transportation, education, entertainment, and more. Technology also impacts social interaction; you can easily find lost friends on social networks. 

A technology essay discusses a technological phenomenon or technological advancement. It could also discuss a personal experience related to a technological issue. Depending on your professor’s instructions, a technology essay could be argumentative, informative, persuasive, or otherwise.

How to Write An Introduction Paragraph For Technology Essay

Like other essays, a technology essay comprises three main parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. The introduction provides the reader with an overview of the argument you’ll develop in the body of your essay.

Body of the paper is where you discuss the details of the argument. The conclusion represents the logical ending you reach regarding the idea presented in the essay’s body.

The introduction paragraph of a technology essay should provide context for the technological trends you address and the argument you develop. It should include a hook that will pull the reader in and keep him/her interested.

Here’s how to write a good introduction paragraph .

1. Hook the reader

The essay’s opening sentence sets the tone for the entire piece; it should intrigue the readers and pull them in. Begin with a hook that will grab the reader’s attention, hold their interest and make them want to read the rest of your work.

The hook should be exciting and lead the reader into the essay, giving them an idea of the topic you’re writing about. It should also be clear, catchy, and concise and spark the reader’s curiosity. Here’s how you can grab the attention of your audience.

• Present a shocking statistic or fact.
• Offer an anecdote or a relevant example.
• Ask a thoughtful rhetorical question.

2. Create Context and Provide Background

Now that you have the reader’s attention, provide details on your topic. The next two to three sentences you make should explain how the hook connects to the rest of the essay.

Provide necessary background information to help the readers better understand your argument and the points you intend to make. If you include key terms that may be wrongly interpreted, let your readers know what the term means in your essay.

3. Present Your Thesis

A thesis is the pivot point of your paper, and the single most important idea that you convey in your work. Present the main points you intend to make throughout your essay.

Provide your readers with a roadmap of what you’ll cover in the rest of the paper to support your thesis statement. The last sentence of your introduction should allow smooth transition into the body of the essay.

Introduction of Essay About Technology

Technology has made our lives more comfortable. The products we use, our lifestyle, and our society are products of technology. Without technological advancements, the world would be different and most likely unrecognizable to us. Today, technology extends to every part of our life. Experts, business entrepreneurs, and non-professionals use technology to expand their livelihoods. However, with the good comes bad. Technology, quite frankly, harms society. Pollution, cybercrime, and war are only a few of the effects of technology on society. But does the good outweigh the bad? 

Technology has impacted modern life immensely. It has drastically changed our world. We now travel in planes and cars and have better health facilities and education. We also have ways to communicate with people worldwide in seconds. However, these increased levels of technology did not come about by accident. It resulted from planned and systematic research by a group of people. 

Technology is giving us a new shape. We’ve made more progress in the last 200 years than in the previous 20000 years. Earth has become a global village where most countries and people can connect through the internet, but it has some deadly consequences. Many countries have nuclear weapons, global warming and growing Co2 emissions threaten the existence of the whole population.

With the advent of technology, we are making such amazing developments that couldn’t even be imagined 100 or 200 years ago. We’ve found cures for deadly diseases, we’re constantly working on education, and most people have freedom to express themselves. Science has made huge leaps, but at the same time new diseases, deadlier than before, kill millions of people every year.

Technology is the application of information for building and developing devices and equipment that can be used in diverse ways. We live a very active day-to-day life with technology today. While technology has done a lot to make life easier for everyone, it has also had a few adverse effects that can’t be ignored. Here’s a look at how technology has affected our lives and how we can balance it to overcome it.

Example 6 

Technology has changed society drastically. Before modern technology came along, life was too hard, and everyday chores took up a lot of time. We’re getting many opportunities out of technologies that play a significant role in our lives. Access to medicine, education, industry, and transportation is easier. Our lives have changed dramatically. 

A technology essay can be tricky to write, but a good essay introduction paragraph is key to the successful execution of your topic .

The introduction to a technology essay must be clear, concise, and persuasive to draw the reader in. It should establish the topic and provide as much detail as possible to help readers understand and empathize with the topic. This guide on introduction of essay about technology would help you write a gripping essay introduction.

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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