ENGL 101
CAUSE AND EFFECT ARGUMENT ESSAY
MOSES KIM
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
ENG 101
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ENGL 101
ESSAY 3
How have advancements in technology impacted communication in America?
It is a special time in which we live. It is a day and age where technology encompasses
everything that you do and say. It surrounds the activities that you do on a daily basis. The work
that you do, the things that you enjoy in your free time, they all involve technology. Even the
way that people communicate is impossible without the use of technology. It affects us in ways
that we don’t even realize. The more technology advances it enables us to be much more
efficient and effective in the things that we do. “The Internet has thus increased the speed of
communications manifold, and reduced the costs drastically” (Nayab). Along with these
advances we can also see that there are negative side effects that come with these benefits. Those
effects can be seen in the newer generation being much less effective speakers when they have
conversations and interactions face to face with people. Due to this, there is a new generation of
less effective speakers and it hinders the way that they integrate and interact in their workplaces
and in society as a whole.
20 years ago it would have been unimaginable to do the things that are possible today. To be able
to video chat in an instant with people across the world would have seemed impossible. “With
the advancement of technology we can see that it has made communication much easier. The
ease of communication and the spread of interactive communication methods such as instant
messengers and video conferencing have increased the volume of communications but reduced
their average length. People now communicate whatever comes up instantly, and tend to break
up different topics into different communications” (Nayab). With these advancements it also has
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had a detrimental effect of people not being able to hold their attention to anything for a long
period of time. Also, with technology and the anonymity of the internet people are more inclined
to say things that they would not do so in person. This has been rampant throughout society and
even in the media it becomes a social norm. Scripture tells us in Matthew 15:18-20, “But what
comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart
come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are
what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” People need to be
aware that whether they communicate through the internet or in person it resonates the condition
of our hearts. You take one look at the comments that are written on a youtube video and you
will see that people love to slander and ridicule. People seem to think that hiding behind a screen
and the anonymity somehow lets them express the dark side of their personalities. Technology
has also changed the way that people communicate news to each other. Something that happened
across the country is now uploaded on the internet for the world to see. With this advancement
you can also see that technology has also allowed the world to see not only the good things that
happen but also the bad parts of society. In recent days interactions have been recorded where
African Americans have had the police called on them for mundane activities just because they
were in a certain neighborhood.
The effects of technology affecting communication in America can be seen in politics and even
with the way our government is run. We can see the effects of technology even at the top with
President Trump as he tweets updates and news through twitter. When there are important issues
that he is dealing with in the world he will resign to his Twitter to let the world know what he
thinks. The most significant impact of technology on communication is the spread of the Internet
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ENGL 101
and the possibility of sending emails and chatting (Nayab). Through advancements in technology
we can see that the way we communicate will be forever changed. One of the effects of these
advancements and the negative effects is with how a new generation of Law Enforcement
officials deal with the public. As each year passes we see more and more shooting deaths both to
suspects and to police officers. I do understand that some situations cannot de de-escalated with
dialogue. If people had better communication skills and were able to speak to other people more
effectively there could be a drastic improvement throughout society. Our society has turned into
a group of people who cannot communicate through traditional forms of dialogue. There is so
much technology that surrounds the world today that it has made us incapable of communicating
without these platforms. People are incapable of resolving conflicts by speaking through them.
Many people have lost the capability to convey their thoughts and ideas to others without the use
of a technological medium.
Many people today will say that with the advancements in technology have broadened our
capabilities more than ever. We are able to communicate with people all over the world and
translate any language into our own with a hit of a button. It has also enabled our world to
interact with people and created an digital ecosystem to meet and interact with people and
cultures people would never have been able to before. Also, due to technological advances the
cost of communication has dropped drastically. “The Internet has thus increased the speed of
communications manifold, and reduced the costs drastically” (Nayab). People can communicate
through the internet in a matter of seconds when in the past the use of telegrams and postal mail
would take days to reach the recipient. Not only has the advancement of technology made things
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ENGL 101
quicker, more efficient and cheaper but it has also made almost anything you can imagine
accessible with the use of a computer.
We can see that with the advancements of technology there have been many improvements in our
lives. The ease of communication and the seamless integration of technology have made things
much easier for our lives. It is almost unimaginable what it was like before Amazon’s Alexa and
Google Home came on the scene. With these advancements it has influenced and impacted our
lives tremendously not only positively but also with negative effects. With the use of technology
in our communication you can see that we have lost the art of dialogue and how you express
yourself with others. It is essential that people learn to communicate without the use of
technology but sit down face to face to dialogue with each other. Communication is an art that
must be preserved and practiced in order for people to convey and express themselves in a clear,
concise and most importantly a honest way. The effectives of technology on the way Americans
communicate has made them much less effective in how they communicate with not only each
other but to the rest of the world.
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ENGL 101
References
1. Byrum, Greta, and Open Technology Institute. “How Has Technology Changed America's
Families?” World Economic Forum, www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/05/how-has-
technology-changed-americas-families/.
2. “How Has Technology Changed Communication?” Brighthub Project Management, 24
Oct. 2014, www.brighthubpm.com/methods-strategies/79052-exploring-how-technology-
has-changed-communication/.
3. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International
Version, copyright ©1974, 1983, 2011 by Biblica. Used by permission of Biblica, Inc.,
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