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Does Technology makes us more alone

In the modern world, humans rely on technology for the day-to-day activities they term to be more efficient. Technology has brought upon the world devices that have made the world a global community or village. People are more connected today than centuries ago, with other civilizations and countries opening up and accepting different races. Technology and mobile applications such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp allow people to connect to friends and family despite the distance. It should not be a surprise that more people are dependent on their gadgets to stay connected to other people or even close business deals. All the new gadgets and the internet have allowed people to have access to information. Social media allows room for connectivity and the ability to play games or pay bills. However, aside from bringing the business community together and connecting people from different races, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds, technology makes people feel isolated and lonely. Technology makes people feel lonely because it affects their real-life by not building strong relationships, people are also dependent on technology, and it makes people grow further apart.

Technology affects people because it affects their real-life situations as it does not build better relationships. Using technological gadgets for communication primarily through texts reduces face-to-face communications. Warrell (2012) states that social networking may be a great tool, but online social networks and real networking are different. Therefore, if people meet online, the relationship is not the same as personal connections. Relying on technology either at home or the workplace for socializing and complete tasks prevents people from having quality moments with their loved ones (Brown, 2019). The character that one sees on the internet about another person may be a façade because it is easier to control and hide things on the internet than in real life. For example, most connections individuals make from the internet are usually not genuine and may put someone in trouble. Madalyn states that the mother never listens to her because she is always staring at her phone (Gonchar, 2016). Technology is also affecting family relations where parents spend a lot of time on their gadgets and the internet rather than good moments with their children.

A high dependence rate on technology is another way that technology makes people lonelier. The time spent on screens does not leave time for connecting with other people but opportunities for creating superficial friendships. According to Brown (2019), the social relationship is a basic and a primal human need, mainly because human beings are social creatures that need each other to survive. Loneliness affects the performance rates of an individual at the workplace or school. It also leads to low task performance, relational performance, and team role. Due to technological advances and the ongoing pandemic, many companies have reverted to a remote workforce where the employees are allowed to work from home. Brown (2019) states that in 2019 66% of companies globally allowed for partial remote working while 16% have adopted a fully remote work policy. Such arrangements can lead to a feeling of loneliness and disengagement from the wider society. A recent study found that 30 million adults in the United States of America are always lonely, while half a million people in Japan shut themselves away from the public (Brown, 2019). Working remotely from home or looking at the screens for a long time makes people dependent on technology, thus become lonely and disengaged from the community.

The advancement of technology also makes people grow further apart, which pulls people away from their loved ones. As technologies grow, people travel far and wide for better job opportunities, better education, or better life experiences. "People don't grow up, live and die in the village they were born in. You have a greater diversity of jobs, and people go to where their specialized jobs take them, pulling families apart" (Donner, 2016). For example, students have left their native countries to seek better education and college services in places such as Canada and the United States. New technologies have created changes in society that have led to the distance among people, pulled people apart, and created loneliness and disengagement of people. The global village has severe disadvantages to families, especially when children travel abroad and meet new people who might negatively influence them.

Technology has also helped connect people throughout the world. People use the internet to talk and keep in touch with their families and friends. The internet is a magical tool, mainly when used in noble causes. However, technology is not suitable for society because it demolishes face-to-face communication and enhances loneliness for people within the community. Technology is a double-edged sword that has positive and negative effects on social relations for human beings. It affects their real-life by not building strong relationships, people are also dependent on technology, and it makes people grow further apart. People are virtually connected but still not connected because it cannot beat face-to-face communication.

Reference

Brown, T. (2019 August, 6). Does Technology Make Us More Alone? IT Chronicles. https://itchronicles.com/technology/does-technology-make-us-more-alone/

Donner, E. (2019). Does technology makes us alone? Quora. https://www.quora.com/Does-technology-makes-us-alone

Gonchar, M. (2016 October, 14). Does Technology Make Us More Alone? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/14/learning/does-technology-make-us-more-alone.html

Warrell, M. (2012 May, 24). Text or Talk: Is Technology Making You Lonely? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/womensmedia/2012/05/24/text-or-talk-is-technology-making-you-lonely/?sh=16af0eae2a7b