effects of technology on human beings essay

Impact of Technology on Human Beings Essay

Media and communication technologies have significantly impacted the lives of human beings today. Such technology has improved the ability of people to communicate over long distances while simplifying monotonous tasks. However, despite the numerous benefits of such technology, there are concerns of the effects it has on humans. In that regard, media and communication technologies are suggested to affect the mental capacity of people while also negatively influencing younger generations that have grown up with it.

The Internet has taken a huge controlling interest in the daily lives of individuals to the extent that some activities cannot occur without its assistance. Carr (2008) states that, “never has a communications system played so many roles in our lives—or exerted such broad influence over our thoughts—as the Internet does today” (para. 22). This means that the Internet has slowly made human beings dependent on its power. Additionally, the negative effects of social media on the mental state of younger generations has recently been on the rise. Twenge (2018) says that “social-networking sites like Facebook promise to connect us to friends. But the portrait of iGen teens emerging from the data is one of a lonely, dislocated generation” (para. 30). This highlights the fact that more teenagers are being linked with mental issues that affect their overall productivity when compared to previous ones.

Both authors raise pertinent concerns about the use of communication media and technology due to their long-lasting effects on humans. While these concerns are valid, such advancing technologies will still continue to be developed. Therefore, the shortfalls of such technologies should not be used to undermine their importance and the strides made in the field. Developing appropriate ways of dealing with the issues raised will help put measures in place that can minimize the dangerous effects of these technologies on human beings.

Carr, N. (2008). Is Google making us stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains. The Atlantic . Web.

Twenge, J. M. (2017). Have smartphones destroyed a generation? The Atlantic . Web.

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Dialogues Clin Neurosci
v.22(2); 2020 Jun

Language: English | Spanish | French

Going digital: how technology use may influence human brains and behavior 

Camino a la digitalización: influencia de la tecnología en el cerebro y el comportamiento humano, passage au tout numérique : influence de la technologie sur le cerveau et le comportement humains, margret r. hoehe.

Author affiliations: Department of Computational Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany

Florence Thibaut

University Hospital Cochin - site Tarnier; University of Paris; INSERM U1266, Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Paris, France

The digital revolution has changed, and continues to change, our world and our lives. Currently, major aspects of our lives have moved online due to the coronavirus pandemic, and social distancing has necessitated virtual togetherness. In a synopsis of 10 articles we present ample evidence that the use of digital technology may influence human brains and behavior in both negative and positive ways. For instance, brain imaging techniques show concrete morphological alterations in early childhood and during adolescence that are associated with intensive digital media use. Technology use apparently affects brain functions, for example visual perception, language, and cognition. Extensive studies could not confirm common concerns that excessive screen time is linked to mental health problems, or the deterioration of well-being. Nevertheless, it is important to use digital technology consciously, creatively, and sensibly to improve personal and professional relationships. Digital technology has great potential for mental health assessment and treatment, and the improvement of personal mental performance. 

La revolución digital ha cambiado y continúa cambiando nuestro mundo y nuestras vidas. Actualmente, los principales aspectos de nuestras vidas han migrado hacia el funcionamiento “online” debido a la pandemia del coronavirus, y el distanciamiento social ha requerido de cercanías virtuales. En una sinopsis de 10 artículos, se presenta una amplia evidencia de que el empleo de la tecnología digital puede influir en el cerebro y en el comportamiento humano de manera negativa y positiva. Por ejemplo, las técnicas de imágenes cerebrales muestran alteraciones morfológicas concretas en la primera infancia y durante la adolescencia, las cuales están asociadas con el empleo intenso de medios digitales. En apariencia, la utilización de la tecnología afecta las funciones cerebrales, como la percepción visual, el lenguaje y la cognición. Numerosos estudios no pudieron confirmar las preocupaciones comunes en cuanto a que el tiempo excesivo de pantalla esté relacionado con problemas de salud mental o el deterioro del bienestar. Sin embargo, es importante emplear la tecnología digital de manera consciente, creativa y sensata para mejorar las relaciones personales y profesionales. La tecnología digital tiene un gran potencial para la evaluación y el tratamiento de la salud mental, y el aumento del rendimiento mental personal.

La révolution numérique a modifié et continue à modifier notre monde et nos vies. La pandémie actuelle due au coronavirus a fait basculer en ligne de nombreux pans de notre existence et la distanciation sociale a imposé la virtualité des rassemblements. Les données des dix articles présentés ici attestent de l’influence de la technologie numérique sur les cerveaux et les comportements, de manière positive et négative. Par exemple,l’imagerie cérébrale montre des altérations morphologiques concrètes apparaissant tôt dans l’enfance et pendant l’adolescence lors d’une pratique intensive des media numériques. Cela concernerait certaines fonctions cérébrales comme la perception visuelle, le langage et la cognition. Des études approfondies n’ont pas confirmé les inquiétudes courantes quant aux répercussions d’un temps excessif passé devant un écran en termes de santé mentale ou de qualité de vie. Il est néanmoins important de privilégier une utilisation consciente, créative et raisonnable des technologies numériques afin d’améliorer les relations personnelles et professionnelles. Ces technologies ont un grand potentiel dans l’évaluation et le traitement de la santé mentale ainsi que dans l’amélioration des performances mentales personnelles.

The “Digital Revolution”: remaking the world 

Within a few decades, digital technology has transformed our lives. At any time, we can access almost unlimited amounts of information just as we can produce, process, and store colossal amounts of data. We can constantly interact, and connect, with each other by use of digital devices and social media. Coping with the daily demands of life as well as pursuing pleasure in recreational activities appears inconceivable without the use of smartphones, tablets, computers, and access to Internet platforms. Presently, over 4.57 billion people, 59% of the world population, use the Internet according to recent estimates (December 31 st , 2019), ranging between 39% (Africa) and 95% (North America). 1 People are spending an enormous, “insane” amount of time online, according to the latest Digital 2019 report compiled by Ofcom 2 : on average 6 hours and 42 minutes (06:42) each day (between 03:45 in Japan and 10:02 in the Philippines), half of that on mobile devices, on average equating to more than 100 days per year for every Internet user. According to a landmark report on the impact of the “decade of the smartphone,” 3 the average person in the UK spends 24 hours a week online, with 20% of all adults spending as much as 40 hours, and those aged 16 to 24 on average 34.3 hours a week. Britons are checking their smartphones on average every 12 minutes. In the US, teen screen time averages over 7 hours a day, excluding time for homework. Digital technology has become ubiquitous and entwined with our modern lives. As Richard Hodson in the Nature Outlook on “Digital Revolution,” 2018, concluded, “an explosion in information technology is remaking the world, leaving few aspects of society untouched. In the space of 50 years, the digital world has grown to become crucial to the functioning of society.” 4 This period of societal transformation has been considered “the most recent long wave of humanity’s socio-economic evolution”. As a “meta-paradigm of societal modernization based on technological change” induced by the transformation of information, it supersedes earlier periods of technological revolution based on the transformation of material and energy, respectively, spanning over 2 million years altogether (Hilbert, p 189 in this issue).  

In particular, the excessive use of digital technology during adolescence has given rise to grave concerns that this technology is harmful and damages the (developing) brain or may even cause mental health problems. Public concern culminated in Jean Twenge’s 2017 article “Have Phones Destroyed a Generation?,” 5 which linked the rise in suicide, depression, and anxiety among teens after 2012 to the appearance of smartphones. All-too-familiar pictures: parents and children, or couples, or friends, at the table, staring at their phones, texting; colleagues staring at screens, busy with emails; individuals, heads down, hooked on their phones, blind to their surroundings, wherever they are. Individuals interacting with their devices, not with each other. “The flight from conversation,” which may erode (close) human relationships and with them the capacity for empathy, introspection, creativity, and productivity - ultimately, the social fabric of our communities. Sherry Turkle, who has studied the relationship of humans with technology for decades, has articulated these concerns in Alone Together and Reclaiming Conversation . 6 , 7 Thus, “life offline” has become a consideration and advice to limit screen time and practice digital minimalism has become popular. 8 The concerns about screen time and efforts to keep us from staring at our devices and detox our digital lives came to a sudden end with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. 9 Almost overnight, nearly our entire personal, professional, educational, cultural, and political activities were moved online. The dictum of social distancing necessitated virtual togetherness. 

Changing human brains and behavior? 

The use of digital technology has changed, and continues to change, our lives. How could this affect human brains and behavior, in both negative and positive ways? Apparently, the ability of the human brain to adapt to any changes plays a key role in generating structural and/or functional changes induced by the usage of digital devices. The most direct evidence for an effect of frequent smart phone use on the brain is provided by the demonstration of changes in cortical activity (Korte, p 101 in this issue). Touching the screen repetitively – the average American user touches it 2176 times a day 10 – induces an increase of the cortical potentials allotted to the tactile receptors on the fingertips, leading to an enlargement, ie, reorganization of the motor and sensory cortex. It remains to be determined whether this reshaping of cortical sensory representation occurs at the expense of other motor coordination skills. Processes of neuroplasticity are particularly active in the developing brain, especially during stages of dynamic brain growth in early childhood. For instance, as demonstrated by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), extensive childhood experience with the game “Pokémon” influences the organization of the visual cortex, with distinct effects on the perception of visual objects even decades later. Furthermore, as shown by diffusion tensor MRI, early extensive screen-based media use is significantly associated with lower microstructural integrity of brain white matter tracts supporting language and literacy skills in preschoolers. 11 Also, adolescence is a time of significant development, with the brain areas involved in emotional and social behavior undergoing marked changes. Social media use can have a profound effect; eg, the size of an adolescent’s online social network was closely linked to brain anatomy alterations as demonstrated by structural MRI. The impact of digital technology use, both negative and positive, on these and many more brain-related phenomena has been elaborated in the review by Korte, who provides a comprehensive overview of the field.  

The most direct approach to assess the effect of excessive digital media use on (adolescent) brains presently appears to be the analysis of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying Internet and Gaming Disorder (IGD) (Weinstein and Lejoyeux, p 113 in this issue). The authors thoroughly survey existing brain imaging studies, summarizing the effects of IGD on the resting state, the brain’s gray matter volume and white matter density, cortical thickness, functional connectivity, and brain activations, especially in regions related to reward and decision making, and neurotransmitter systems. Taken together, individuals with IGD share many typical neurobiological alterations with other forms of addiction, but also show unique patterns of activation specifically in brain regions which are associated with cognitive, motor, and sensory function. The effects of the Internet on cognition have been comprehensively elaborated by Firth et al. 12 Examining psychological, psychiatric, and neuroimaging data, they provide evidence for both acute and sustained alterations in specific areas of cognition, which may reflect structural and functional changes in the brain. These affect: (i) attentional capacities, which are divided between multiple online sources at the loss of sustained concentration on a single task; (ii) memory processes - permanently accessible online information can change the ways in which we retrieve, store, recall and even value knowledge; and (iii) social cognition; the prospects for social interactions and the contexts within which social relationships can happen have dramatically changed. A complementary contribution rounding up these reviews is provided by Small et al (p 179 in this issue). Among the possible harmful “brain health consequences,” these investigators emphasize attention problems and their potential link to symptoms of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); furthermore the (paradoxical) association of excessive social media use with the perception of social isolation, observable at any age; the impaired emotional and social intelligence, poorer cognitive/language and brain development, and disrupted sleep. A substantial part of this review is devoted to the positive effects benefiting brain health in adults and the elderly, which are referred to below. Independent of ongoing research on the negative and positive implications of digital technology use, there remains a common feeling that there is something about the whole phenomenon that is just not “natural.” “We did not evolve to be staring at a screen for most of our waking hours. We evolved to be interacting with each other face-to-face, using our senses of smell and touch and taste – not just sight and sound… it cannot be healthy to stray so far from the activities for which nature has shaped our brains and our bodies.” Giedd (p 127 in this issue) challenges this notion in his fascinating review on “The natural allure of digital media,” putting the intensive digital media use during adolescence into a grand evolutionary perspective. He argues that the “desire for digital media is in fact exquisitely aligned with the biology of the teen brain and our evolutionary heritage,” with three features of adolescence being particularly relevant to this issue: (i) hunger for human connectedness; (ii) appetite for adventure; and (iii) desire for information. 

Screen time: boon or bane? 

As with any major innovation that has a profound impact on our lives, finding useful information and orientation means discerning scientific evidence from media narratives. Thus, synthesizing data from recent narrative reviews and meta-analyses including more than 50 studies, Odgers and Jensen (p 143 in this issue) could not confirm a strong linkage between the quantity of adolescents’ digital technology engagement and mental health problems. “There doesn’t seem to be an evidence base that would explain the level of panic and consternation around these issues” said Odgers, in the New York Times. 13 The authors point to significant limitations and foundational flaws in the existing knowledge base related to this topic; for instance, the nearly sole reliance on screen time metrics; the disregard of individual differences; the circumstance that almost none of the study designs allowed causal inference. On the other hand, a highly robust finding across multiple studies was that offline vulnerabilities (such as risks present in low-income families, communities, etc) tend to mirror and shape online risks. The observed social and digital divides are presently being magnified through the coronavirus crisis and most likely to increase in the future, further amplifying the existing inequalities in education, mental health, and prospects for youth. The authors strongly advocate the need and opportunities to leverage digital technology to support youth in an increasingly digital, unequal society in an uncertain age; see their suggestions for parents, clinicians, educators, designers and adolescents in Box 1 . Similarly, performing an in depth overview of the existing literature, Dienlin and Johannes (p 135 in this issue) could not substantiate the common concerns that digital technology use has a negative impact on young (and adult) peoples’ mental well-being. Their findings imply that the general effects are in the negative spectrum but very small – potentially too small to matter. Importantly, different types of use have different effects: thus, procrastination and passive use were related to more negative effects, and social and active use to more positive effects. Thus, “screen time” has different effects for different people. Digital technology use tends to exert short-term effects on well-being rather than long-lasting effects on life satisfaction. “The dose makes the poison”: both low and excessive use are related to decreased well-being, while moderate use increases well-being. With a strong sense for clear explanation, the authors introduce the concepts, terms, and definitions underlying this complex field, a most valuable primer to educate the interested reader, while also addressing the methodological shortcomings that contribute to the overall controversial experimental evidence.  

Thus, against common concerns, digital technology as such does not affect mental health or deteriorate well-being. Its use can have both negative and positive consequences. Technology simply does not “happen” to people. Individuals can shape the experiences they have with technologies and the results of those experiences. Thus, it is important to shift the focus towards an active, conscious use of this technology, with the intention to improve our lives and meaningfully connect with each other. This has become, more than ever, important now: “There is increased urgency, due to coronavirus, to use technology in ways that strengthen our relationships. Much of the world has been working, educating, and socializing online for months, and many important activities will remain virtual for the foreseeable future. This period of physical distancing has shed light on what we need from technology and each other… “ Morris (p 151 in this issue) introduces her article addressing the enhancement of relationships through technology in the most timely manner with a preface on “Connecting during COVID-19 and beyond.” In this synopsis, she sums up five directions to “build on as we connect during and after the pandemic.” Furthermore, in her review, she examines how technology can be shaped in positive ways by parents, caregivers, romantic partners, and clinicians and illustrates with real life examples creative and sensible ways to adapt technology to personal and relational goals (see also ref 14 ). Highlighting the importance of context, motivation, and the nuances of use, this review encourages people to understand how technologies can be optimally used to improve personal and clinical relationships.  

Digital tools in diagnosis and therapy 

The use of digital tools for practical clinical applications and improvement of mental health conditions is gaining increasing acceptance, especially due to smartphone accessibility. This could fill at least in part the treatment gap and lack of access to specialized (psychotherapeutic) care, particularly in developing countries. Even in countries with well-developed health care systems, only a minority of patients receives treatment in line with the recommendations provided by evidence-based treatment guidelines. Thus, as elaborated in a thorough, comprehensive review by Hegerl and Oehler (p 161 in this issue), web-based interventions, especially in the case of Major Depression (MD), a highly prevalent and severe disorder, promise to be a method that provides resource-efficient and widespread access to psychotherapeutic support. The authors provide detailed information on available tools for digital intervention and their core principles; these are mostly based on principles of cognitive behavioral therapy, but also include elements of other psychotherapeutic approaches. As evident from meta-analyses summarizing studies that use face-to-face psychotherapy as a comparator, digital interventions can have equivalent antidepressant efficacy. Importantly, web-based interventions are most efficient when accompanied by adequate professional guidance and, if well designed, can be successfully integrated into routine care. The authors also address carefully the risks and limitations as well as unwanted effects of available digital interventions. Another powerful digital technology is gaining importance as a clinical tool in mental health research and practice, virtual reality (VR). According to Valmaggia and collaborators (p 169 in this issue), “At any time or place, individuals can be transported into immersive and interactive virtual worlds that are in full control of the researcher or clinician. This capability is central to recent interest in how VR might be harnessed in both treatment and assessment of mental health conditions.” To date, VR exposure treatments have proven effective across a range of disorders including schizophrenia, anxiety, and panic disorders. In their review, the authors summarize comprehensively the advantages of using VR as a clinical assessment tool, which could “radically transform the landscape of assessment in mental health.” Thus, VR may overcome many of the limitations concerning the diagnosis of psychological phenomena through its ability to generate highly controlled environments, that is, real-world experiences. In addition to increasing ecological validity, VR enhances personalization, that is, VR experiences can be tailored to match individual needs, abilities, or preferences. Furthermore, VR enhances an individual’s engagement with the test or assessment. Additional advantages include the capture of real-time, automated data in real-world contexts. In sum, the authors have thoroughly addressed the opportunities and challenges of VR in any relevant aspect. Finally, to complement the applications of digital technology to improve mental health, Small et al (p 179 in this issue) provide, in the second part of their review, rich information about specific programs, videogames, and other online tools, particularly for the aging brain. These may provide mental exercises that activate neural circuitry, improve cognitive functioning, reduce anxiety, increase restful sleep, and offer many other brain health benefits. 

Emerging key messages 

Several key messages emerge from these reviews, which cover a substantial amount of studies: first of all, scientific evidence does not support the common concerns that excessive use of digital technology causes mental health problems and a deterioration of well-being. There is increasing consensus that the methodological foundation is weak in many studies, in part explaining the controversial results and small effect sizes obtained to date. Above all, it appears absurd to collapse, as was common practice, the highly complex interaction between “machine and man” into a uniform quantitative screen time measure. Research, public policies, and interventions need to focus on the user , and not the extent of usage of technology. Who spends time and in what form with the digital devices is what is important. This leads us to what should be the main subject of interest, but has mostly — conceptually and factually — been disregarded: the human “individual” with its motivation, intentions, goals, needs, predispositions, familial, educational and social background, and support systems, or lack thereof. Needless to say, this calls for the consideration of individual differences in all aspects of research and application. Thus, digital technology is not intrinsically good or bad: it depends on the uses it is being put to by the user, and it can be utilized by individuals in both negative and positive ways. Now, more than ever, during and post coronavirus times, it is important that technology is taken advantage of to improve communication and enhance personal, professional, and societal relationships, guaranteeing equal opportunities for access and development for all.

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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.

University class attendance plummets post-Covid | Times Higher Education (THE)

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

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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.

Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login .

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What makes technology good or bad for us, how technology affects our well-being partly depends on whether it strengthens our relationships..

Everyone’s worried about smartphones. Headlines like “ Have smartphones destroyed a generation? ” and “ Smartphone addiction could be changing your brain ” paint a bleak picture of our smartphone addiction and its long-term consequences. This isn’t a new lament—public opinion at the advent of the newspaper worried that people would forego the stimulating pleasures of early-morning conversation in favor of reading the daily .

Is the story of technology really that bad? Certainly there’s some reason to worry. Smartphone use has been linked to serious issues, such as dwindling attention spans , crippling depression , and even increased incidence of brain cancer . Ultimately, though, the same concern comes up again and again: Smartphones can’t be good for us, because they’re replacing the real human connection of the good old days.

Everyone’s heard how today’s teens just sit together in a room, texting, instead of actually talking to each other. But could those teenagers actually be getting something meaningful and real out of all that texting?

The science of connection

A quick glance at the research on technology-mediated interaction reveals an ambivalent literature. Some studies show that time spent socializing online can decrease loneliness , increase well-being , and help the socially anxious learn how to connect to others. Other studies suggest that time spent socializing online can cause loneliness , decrease well-being , and foster a crippling dependence on technology-mediated interaction to the point that users prefer it to face-to-face conversation.

It’s tempting to say that some of these studies must be right and others wrong, but the body of evidence on both sides is a little too robust to be swept under the rug. Instead, the impact of social technology is more complicated. Sometimes, superficially similar behaviors have fundamentally different consequences. Sometimes online socialization is good for you, sometimes it’s bad, and the devil is entirely in the details.

This isn’t a novel proposition; after all, conflicting results started appearing within the first few studies into the internet’s social implications, back in the 1990s. Many people have suggested that to understand the consequences of online socialization, we need to dig deeper into situational factors and circumstances. But what we still have to do is move beyond recognition of the problem to provide an answer: When, how, and why are some online interactions great, while others are dangerous?

The interpersonal connection behaviors framework

As a scientist of close relationships, I can’t help but see online interactions differently from thinkers in other fields. People build relationships by demonstrating their understanding of each other’s needs and perspectives, a cyclical process that brings them closer together. If I tell you my secrets, and you respond supportively, I’m much more likely to confide in you again—and you, in turn, are much more likely to confide in me.

This means that every time two people talk to each other, an opportunity for relationship growth is unfolding. Many times, that opportunity isn’t taken; we aren’t about to have an in-depth conversation with the barista who asks for our order. But connection is always theoretically possible, and that’s true whether we’re interacting online or face-to-face.

Close relationships are the bread and butter of happiness—and even health. Being socially isolated is a stronger predictor of mortality than is smoking multiple cigarettes a day . If we want to understand the role technology plays in our well-being, we need to start with the role it plays in our relationships.

And it turns out that the kind of technology-mediated interactions that lead to positive outcomes are exactly those that are likely to build stronger relationships. Spending your time online by scheduling interactions with people you see day in and day out seems to pay dividends in increased social integration . Using the internet to compensate for being lonely just makes you lonelier; using the internet to actively seek out connection has the opposite effect .

“The kind of technology-mediated interactions that lead to positive outcomes are exactly those that are likely to build stronger relationships”

On the other hand, technology-mediated interactions that don’t really address our close relationships don’t seem to do us any good—and might, in fact, do us harm. Passively scrolling through your Facebook feed without interacting with people has been linked to decreased well-being and increased depression post-Facebook use.

That kind of passive usage is a good example of “ social snacking .” Like eating junk food, social snacking can temporarily satisfy you, but it’s lacking in nutritional content. Looking at your friends’ posts without ever responding might make you feel more connected to them, but it doesn’t build intimacy.

Passive engagement has a second downside, as well: social comparison . When we compare our messy lived experiences to others’ curated self-presentations, we are likely to suffer from lowered self-esteem , happiness, and well-being. This effect is only exacerbated when we consume people’s digital lives without interacting with them, making it all too easy to miss the less photogenic moments of their lives.

Moving forward

The interpersonal connection behaviors framework doesn’t explain everything that might influence our well-being after spending time on social media. The internet poses plenty of other dangers—for two examples, the sense of wasting time or emotional contagion from negative news. However, a focus on meaningful social interaction can help explain decades of contradictory findings. And even if the framework itself is challenged by future work, its central concept is bound to be upheld: We have to study the details of how people are spending their time online if we want to understand its likely effects.

In the meantime, this framework has some practical implications for those worried about their own online time. If you make sure you’re using social media for genuinely social purposes, with conscious thought about how it can improve your life and your relationships, you’ll be far more likely to enjoy your digital existence.

This article was originally published on the Behavioral Scientist . Read the original article .

About the Author

Jenna Clark

Jenna Clark, Ph.D. , is a senior behavioral researcher at Duke University's Center for Advanced Hindsight, where she works to help people make healthy decisions in spite of themselves. She's also interested in how technology contributes to our well-being through its effect on our close personal relationships.

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Negative effects of technology: What to know

Modern technology allows people to be more connected than ever, but this may come at a price. Overuse of social media and mobile devices has been linked to eyestrain, difficulty focusing, and depression.

While some forms of technology may have made positive changes in the world, there is evidence for the negative effects of technology and its overuse, as well.

The overuse of technology may have a more significant impact on developing children and teenagers.

In this article, learn about the psychological and physical health effects of technology, as well as how to create healthful habits with technology and avoid overuse.

Psychological effects

a man looking at his phone on the subway and experiencing the Negative effects of technology

Overuse or dependence on technology may have adverse psychological effects, including:

Technologies, such as social media, are designed to bring people together, yet they may have the opposite effect in some cases.

A 2017 study in young adults aged 19–32 years found that people with higher social media use were more than three times as likely to feel socially isolated than those who did not use social media as often.

Finding ways to reduce social media use, such as setting time limits for social apps, may help reduce feelings of isolation in some people.

Depression and anxiety

The authors of a 2016 systematic review discussed the link between social networks and mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety.

Their research found mixed results. People who had more positive interactions and social support on these platforms appeared to have lower levels of depression and anxiety.

However, the reverse was also true. People who perceived that they had more negative social interactions online and who were more prone to social comparison experienced higher levels of depression and anxiety.

So, while there does appear to be a link between social media and mental health, a significant determining factor is the types of interactions people feel they are having on these platforms.

Physical health effects

Technology use may increase the risk of physical issues as well, including:

Technologies, such as handheld tablets, smartphones, and computers, can hold a person’s attention for long periods. This may lead to eyestrain.

Symptoms of digital eyestrain can include blurred vision and dry eyes. Eyestrain may also lead to pains in other areas of the body, such as the head, neck, or shoulders.

Several technological factors may lead to eyestrain, such as:

screen time
screen glare
screen brightness
viewing too close or too far away
poor sitting posture
underlying vision issues

Taking regular breaks away from the screen may reduce the likelihood of eyestrain.

Anyone regularly experiencing these symptoms should see an optometrist for a checkup.

The 20-20-20 rule for digital viewing

When using any form of digital screen for longer periods of time, the American Optometric Association recommend using the 20-20-20 rule.

To use the rule, after every 20 minutes of screen time, take a 20-second break to look at something at least 20 feet away.

Doing this may help reduce the strain on the eyes from staring at a screen for a continuous period.

Learn more about the 20-20-20 rule in this article.

Poor posture

The way many people use mobile devices and computers may also contribute to incorrect posture. Over time, this may lead to musculoskeletal issues.

Many technologies promote a “down and forward” user position, meaning the person is hunched forward and looking down at the screen. This can put an unnecessary amount of pressure on the neck and spine.

A 5-year study in the journal Applied Ergonomics found an association between texting on a mobile phone and neck or upper back pain in young adults.

The results indicated the effects were mostly short term, though some people continued to have long-term symptoms.

However, some studies challenge these results.

A 2018 study in the European Spine Journal found that the posture of the neck while texting made no difference in symptoms such as neck pain.

This study concluded that texting and “text neck” did not influence neck pain in young adults. However, the study did not include a long-term follow-up.

It may be that other factors influence neck pain, as well, such as age and activity levels.

Correcting posture problems while using technology may lead to an overall improvement in posture and strength in the core, neck, and back.

For example, if a person finds themselves sitting in the same position for hours at a time, such as sitting at a desk while working, regularly standing or stretching may help reduce strain on the body.

Additionally, taking short breaks, such as walking around the office every hour, may also help keep the muscles loose and avoid tension and incorrect posture.

Learn more about how to stay active and in good posture at work with this article.

Sleep problems

Using technology too close to bedtime may cause issues with sleep. This effect has to do with the fact that blue light, such as the light from cell phones, e-readers, and computers, stimulates the brain.

Authors of a 2014 study found that this blue light is enough to disturb the body’s natural circadian rhythm. This disturbance could make it harder to fall asleep or lead to a person feeling less alert the next day.

To avoid the potential impact of blue light on the brain, people can stop using electronic devices that emit blue light in the hour or two before bedtime.

Gentle activities to wind down with instead, such as reading a book, doing gentle stretches, or taking a bath, are alternatives.

Reduced physical activity

Most everyday digital technologies are sedentary. More extended use of these technologies promotes a more sedentary lifestyle, which is known to have negative health effects, such as contributing to:

cardiovascular disease
type 2 diabetes
premature death

Finding ways to take breaks from sedentary technologies may help promote a more active lifestyle.

Other forms of technology may help, however.

Research from 2017 indicates that active technologies, such as app notifications, emails, and wearable technologies that promote exercise may reduce short-term sedentary behavior.

This could help people set healthful patterns and become more physically active.

In children

Children’s brains are still developing and may be more sensitive to the effects of technology and its overuse than adult brains.

A 2018 review of various studies noted the possible adverse effects of children using different technologies.

Children who overuse technology may be more likely to experience issues, including:

low academic performance
lack of attention
low creativity
delays in language development
delays in social and emotional development
physical inactivity and obesity
poor sleep quality
social issues, such as social incompatibility and anxiety
aggressive behaviors
addiction to these technologies

The research also noted the importance of teaching children to interact with these technologies in healthful ways by monitoring their time using them and providing interesting alternatives.

Additionally, a study of teenagers aged 15–16 found that those who had high digital media use had an increased chance of developing symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

This does not mean that digital media use causes ADHD, rather that there is an association between the two. More research needs to determine what this association means.

The authors of 2015 research found that technology appears to negatively affect the overall health of children and teenagers of all ages. Researchers noted the importance of parents and caregivers controlling screen time in all children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommend children under 18 months old avoid screen time altogether, while 2–5-year-olds have no more than 1 hour a day of high-quality viewing with an adult.

The recent boom in technology has changed the average American lifestyle. While technology has many positive effects, there are some possible risks.

Anyone uncertain about the effects that technology has on them may want to take steps to cut back on their use of devices and screen time and re-evaluate how they feel with and without these devices.

Last medically reviewed on February 25, 2020

Pediatrics / Children's Health
Personal Monitoring / Wearable Technology
Psychology / Psychiatry

How we reviewed this article:

American Academy of Pediatrics announces new recommendations for children’s media use [Press release]. (2016). https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-Announces-New-Recommendations-for-Childrens-Media-Use.aspx
Chang, A.-M., et al. (2015). Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness. https://www.pnas.org/content/112/4/1232
Computer vision syndrome. (n.d.). https://www.aoa.org/patients-and-public/caring-for-your-vision/protecting-your-vision/computer-vision-syndrome
Damasceno, G. M., et al. (2018). Text neck and neck pain in 18–21-year-old young adults [Abstract]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29306972
Gustafsson, E., et al. (2017). Texting on mobile phones and musculoskeletal disorders in young adults: A five-year cohort study. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003687016301235
Mustafaoğlu, R., et al. (2018). The negative effects of digital technology usage on children’s development and health. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325263798_The_Negative_Effects_of_Digital_Technology_Usage_on_Children's_Development_and_Health
Primack, B. A., et al. (2017). Social media use and perceived social isolation among young adults in the U.S. https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(17)30016-8/fulltext
Ra, C. K., et al. (2018). Association of digital media use with subsequent symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among adolescents. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2687861
Rosen, L. D., et al. (2014). Media and technology use predicts ill-being among children, preteens and teenagers independent of the negative health impacts of exercise and eating habits. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4338000/
Seabrook, E. M., et al. (2016). Social networking sites, depression, and anxiety: A systematic review. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5143470/
Stephenson, A., et al. (2017). Using computer, mobile and wearable technology enhanced interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour: A systematic review and meta-analysis. https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-017-0561-4
Xie, Y., et al. (2017). Prevalence and risk factors associated with musculoskeletal complaints among users of mobile handheld devices: A systematic review [Abstract]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27890121

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Promises and Pitfalls of Technology

Politics and privacy, private-sector influence and big tech, state competition and conflict, author biography, how is technology changing the world, and how should the world change technology.

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Josephine Wolff; How Is Technology Changing the World, and How Should the World Change Technology?. Global Perspectives 1 February 2021; 2 (1): 27353. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/gp.2021.27353

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Technologies are becoming increasingly complicated and increasingly interconnected. Cars, airplanes, medical devices, financial transactions, and electricity systems all rely on more computer software than they ever have before, making them seem both harder to understand and, in some cases, harder to control. Government and corporate surveillance of individuals and information processing relies largely on digital technologies and artificial intelligence, and therefore involves less human-to-human contact than ever before and more opportunities for biases to be embedded and codified in our technological systems in ways we may not even be able to identify or recognize. Bioengineering advances are opening up new terrain for challenging philosophical, political, and economic questions regarding human-natural relations. Additionally, the management of these large and small devices and systems is increasingly done through the cloud, so that control over them is both very remote and removed from direct human or social control. The study of how to make technologies like artificial intelligence or the Internet of Things “explainable” has become its own area of research because it is so difficult to understand how they work or what is at fault when something goes wrong (Gunning and Aha 2019) .

This growing complexity makes it more difficult than ever—and more imperative than ever—for scholars to probe how technological advancements are altering life around the world in both positive and negative ways and what social, political, and legal tools are needed to help shape the development and design of technology in beneficial directions. This can seem like an impossible task in light of the rapid pace of technological change and the sense that its continued advancement is inevitable, but many countries around the world are only just beginning to take significant steps toward regulating computer technologies and are still in the process of radically rethinking the rules governing global data flows and exchange of technology across borders.

These are exciting times not just for technological development but also for technology policy—our technologies may be more advanced and complicated than ever but so, too, are our understandings of how they can best be leveraged, protected, and even constrained. The structures of technological systems as determined largely by government and institutional policies and those structures have tremendous implications for social organization and agency, ranging from open source, open systems that are highly distributed and decentralized, to those that are tightly controlled and closed, structured according to stricter and more hierarchical models. And just as our understanding of the governance of technology is developing in new and interesting ways, so, too, is our understanding of the social, cultural, environmental, and political dimensions of emerging technologies. We are realizing both the challenges and the importance of mapping out the full range of ways that technology is changing our society, what we want those changes to look like, and what tools we have to try to influence and guide those shifts.

Technology can be a source of tremendous optimism. It can help overcome some of the greatest challenges our society faces, including climate change, famine, and disease. For those who believe in the power of innovation and the promise of creative destruction to advance economic development and lead to better quality of life, technology is a vital economic driver (Schumpeter 1942) . But it can also be a tool of tremendous fear and oppression, embedding biases in automated decision-making processes and information-processing algorithms, exacerbating economic and social inequalities within and between countries to a staggering degree, or creating new weapons and avenues for attack unlike any we have had to face in the past. Scholars have even contended that the emergence of the term technology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries marked a shift from viewing individual pieces of machinery as a means to achieving political and social progress to the more dangerous, or hazardous, view that larger-scale, more complex technological systems were a semiautonomous form of progress in and of themselves (Marx 2010) . More recently, technologists have sharply criticized what they view as a wave of new Luddites, people intent on slowing the development of technology and turning back the clock on innovation as a means of mitigating the societal impacts of technological change (Marlowe 1970) .

At the heart of fights over new technologies and their resulting global changes are often two conflicting visions of technology: a fundamentally optimistic one that believes humans use it as a tool to achieve greater goals, and a fundamentally pessimistic one that holds that technological systems have reached a point beyond our control. Technology philosophers have argued that neither of these views is wholly accurate and that a purely optimistic or pessimistic view of technology is insufficient to capture the nuances and complexity of our relationship to technology (Oberdiek and Tiles 1995) . Understanding technology and how we can make better decisions about designing, deploying, and refining it requires capturing that nuance and complexity through in-depth analysis of the impacts of different technological advancements and the ways they have played out in all their complicated and controversial messiness across the world.

These impacts are often unpredictable as technologies are adopted in new contexts and come to be used in ways that sometimes diverge significantly from the use cases envisioned by their designers. The internet, designed to help transmit information between computer networks, became a crucial vehicle for commerce, introducing unexpected avenues for crime and financial fraud. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, designed to connect friends and families through sharing photographs and life updates, became focal points of election controversies and political influence. Cryptocurrencies, originally intended as a means of decentralized digital cash, have become a significant environmental hazard as more and more computing resources are devoted to mining these forms of virtual money. One of the crucial challenges in this area is therefore recognizing, documenting, and even anticipating some of these unexpected consequences and providing mechanisms to technologists for how to think through the impacts of their work, as well as possible other paths to different outcomes (Verbeek 2006) . And just as technological innovations can cause unexpected harm, they can also bring about extraordinary benefits—new vaccines and medicines to address global pandemics and save thousands of lives, new sources of energy that can drastically reduce emissions and help combat climate change, new modes of education that can reach people who would otherwise have no access to schooling. Regulating technology therefore requires a careful balance of mitigating risks without overly restricting potentially beneficial innovations.

Nations around the world have taken very different approaches to governing emerging technologies and have adopted a range of different technologies themselves in pursuit of more modern governance structures and processes (Braman 2009) . In Europe, the precautionary principle has guided much more anticipatory regulation aimed at addressing the risks presented by technologies even before they are fully realized. For instance, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation focuses on the responsibilities of data controllers and processors to provide individuals with access to their data and information about how that data is being used not just as a means of addressing existing security and privacy threats, such as data breaches, but also to protect against future developments and uses of that data for artificial intelligence and automated decision-making purposes. In Germany, Technische Überwachungsvereine, or TÜVs, perform regular tests and inspections of technological systems to assess and minimize risks over time, as the tech landscape evolves. In the United States, by contrast, there is much greater reliance on litigation and liability regimes to address safety and security failings after-the-fact. These different approaches reflect not just the different legal and regulatory mechanisms and philosophies of different nations but also the different ways those nations prioritize rapid development of the technology industry versus safety, security, and individual control. Typically, governance innovations move much more slowly than technological innovations, and regulations can lag years, or even decades, behind the technologies they aim to govern.

In addition to this varied set of national regulatory approaches, a variety of international and nongovernmental organizations also contribute to the process of developing standards, rules, and norms for new technologies, including the International Organization for Standardization and the International Telecommunication Union. These multilateral and NGO actors play an especially important role in trying to define appropriate boundaries for the use of new technologies by governments as instruments of control for the state.

At the same time that policymakers are under scrutiny both for their decisions about how to regulate technology as well as their decisions about how and when to adopt technologies like facial recognition themselves, technology firms and designers have also come under increasing criticism. Growing recognition that the design of technologies can have far-reaching social and political implications means that there is more pressure on technologists to take into consideration the consequences of their decisions early on in the design process (Vincenti 1993; Winner 1980) . The question of how technologists should incorporate these social dimensions into their design and development processes is an old one, and debate on these issues dates back to the 1970s, but it remains an urgent and often overlooked part of the puzzle because so many of the supposedly systematic mechanisms for assessing the impacts of new technologies in both the private and public sectors are primarily bureaucratic, symbolic processes rather than carrying any real weight or influence.

Technologists are often ill-equipped or unwilling to respond to the sorts of social problems that their creations have—often unwittingly—exacerbated, and instead point to governments and lawmakers to address those problems (Zuckerberg 2019) . But governments often have few incentives to engage in this area. This is because setting clear standards and rules for an ever-evolving technological landscape can be extremely challenging, because enforcement of those rules can be a significant undertaking requiring considerable expertise, and because the tech sector is a major source of jobs and revenue for many countries that may fear losing those benefits if they constrain companies too much. This indicates not just a need for clearer incentives and better policies for both private- and public-sector entities but also a need for new mechanisms whereby the technology development and design process can be influenced and assessed by people with a wider range of experiences and expertise. If we want technologies to be designed with an eye to their impacts, who is responsible for predicting, measuring, and mitigating those impacts throughout the design process? Involving policymakers in that process in a more meaningful way will also require training them to have the analytic and technical capacity to more fully engage with technologists and understand more fully the implications of their decisions.

At the same time that tech companies seem unwilling or unable to rein in their creations, many also fear they wield too much power, in some cases all but replacing governments and international organizations in their ability to make decisions that affect millions of people worldwide and control access to information, platforms, and audiences (Kilovaty 2020) . Regulators around the world have begun considering whether some of these companies have become so powerful that they violate the tenets of antitrust laws, but it can be difficult for governments to identify exactly what those violations are, especially in the context of an industry where the largest players often provide their customers with free services. And the platforms and services developed by tech companies are often wielded most powerfully and dangerously not directly by their private-sector creators and operators but instead by states themselves for widespread misinformation campaigns that serve political purposes (Nye 2018) .

Since the largest private entities in the tech sector operate in many countries, they are often better poised to implement global changes to the technological ecosystem than individual states or regulatory bodies, creating new challenges to existing governance structures and hierarchies. Just as it can be challenging to provide oversight for government use of technologies, so, too, oversight of the biggest tech companies, which have more resources, reach, and power than many nations, can prove to be a daunting task. The rise of network forms of organization and the growing gig economy have added to these challenges, making it even harder for regulators to fully address the breadth of these companies’ operations (Powell 1990) . The private-public partnerships that have emerged around energy, transportation, medical, and cyber technologies further complicate this picture, blurring the line between the public and private sectors and raising critical questions about the role of each in providing critical infrastructure, health care, and security. How can and should private tech companies operating in these different sectors be governed, and what types of influence do they exert over regulators? How feasible are different policy proposals aimed at technological innovation, and what potential unintended consequences might they have?

Conflict between countries has also spilled over significantly into the private sector in recent years, most notably in the case of tensions between the United States and China over which technologies developed in each country will be permitted by the other and which will be purchased by other customers, outside those two countries. Countries competing to develop the best technology is not a new phenomenon, but the current conflicts have major international ramifications and will influence the infrastructure that is installed and used around the world for years to come. Untangling the different factors that feed into these tussles as well as whom they benefit and whom they leave at a disadvantage is crucial for understanding how governments can most effectively foster technological innovation and invention domestically as well as the global consequences of those efforts. As much of the world is forced to choose between buying technology from the United States or from China, how should we understand the long-term impacts of those choices and the options available to people in countries without robust domestic tech industries? Does the global spread of technologies help fuel further innovation in countries with smaller tech markets, or does it reinforce the dominance of the states that are already most prominent in this sector? How can research universities maintain global collaborations and research communities in light of these national competitions, and what role does government research and development spending play in fostering innovation within its own borders and worldwide? How should intellectual property protections evolve to meet the demands of the technology industry, and how can those protections be enforced globally?

These conflicts between countries sometimes appear to challenge the feasibility of truly global technologies and networks that operate across all countries through standardized protocols and design features. Organizations like the International Organization for Standardization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and many others have tried to harmonize these policies and protocols across different countries for years, but have met with limited success when it comes to resolving the issues of greatest tension and disagreement among nations. For technology to operate in a global environment, there is a need for a much greater degree of coordination among countries and the development of common standards and norms, but governments continue to struggle to agree not just on those norms themselves but even the appropriate venue and processes for developing them. Without greater global cooperation, is it possible to maintain a global network like the internet or to promote the spread of new technologies around the world to address challenges of sustainability? What might help incentivize that cooperation moving forward, and what could new structures and process for governance of global technologies look like? Why has the tech industry’s self-regulation culture persisted? Do the same traditional drivers for public policy, such as politics of harmonization and path dependency in policy-making, still sufficiently explain policy outcomes in this space? As new technologies and their applications spread across the globe in uneven ways, how and when do they create forces of change from unexpected places?

These are some of the questions that we hope to address in the Technology and Global Change section through articles that tackle new dimensions of the global landscape of designing, developing, deploying, and assessing new technologies to address major challenges the world faces. Understanding these processes requires synthesizing knowledge from a range of different fields, including sociology, political science, economics, and history, as well as technical fields such as engineering, climate science, and computer science. A crucial part of understanding how technology has created global change and, in turn, how global changes have influenced the development of new technologies is understanding the technologies themselves in all their richness and complexity—how they work, the limits of what they can do, what they were designed to do, how they are actually used. Just as technologies themselves are becoming more complicated, so are their embeddings and relationships to the larger social, political, and legal contexts in which they exist. Scholars across all disciplines are encouraged to join us in untangling those complexities.

Josephine Wolff is an associate professor of cybersecurity policy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Her book You’ll See This Message When It Is Too Late: The Legal and Economic Aftermath of Cybersecurity Breaches was published by MIT Press in 2018.

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Technology and Its Impact on Humanity

Introduction, technology and discoveries, the internet, what does the term ‘human’ mean, internet’s contribution to loss of human qualities, delegation of certain aspects of our lives to technology, people’s reactions to advancement of technology, reference list.

In this paper, new technological developments have been discussed with special focus to the internet. Effects of the use of internet on what is truly human have been addressed and especially the negative effects. This has mostly arisen as a result of the delegation of certain aspects of peoples lives. There have been different reactions to the modern technology and specifically the use of internet with some embracing the use of internet to carry out different functions, others having a negative opinion about it while others holding a neutral opinion.

People have throughout the ages tried to simplify life through different means. More ways of improving the quality of life on earth are being discovered. A very common way that has been used is the use of technology. There have been a lot of technological discoveries recently and the rate at which more inventions are being made is still very high (Berg, 2009).

More new gargets are being fabricated and the existing ones are also being refurbished making the world more and more developed technologically. The issue of technological discoveries is not a very new concept because there have been numerous discoveries throughout history. From discovery of medicine like penicillin, cars, electricity and many other things which were non existent in the old age period.

Most of the technological discoveries have been applauded by people because of their ability to make life a better (TheQuestionConcerningTechnlogy, n. d ) . For example the invention of mobile phones has made communication to any part of the world very easy. This is a lot easier and faster compared to the use of letters and telephones were used before this discovery. The invention of cell phones is one of the major successes in technology. Many homes today do not see a need for the telephones which were not portable because all members of the family own cell phones which they carry everywhere.

Technology is a common term in this age with too many possible definitions. According to Heidegger, it can mean a way that is used to achieve something. It can also be used to mean a human action (Adeline, 2009). The two definitions are however related because human actions are involved in achieving a certain intended goal. Part of technology is also the things which have been invented to help improve the human life by making work easier, faster and more efficient.

In the past, the use of simple stone or metallic tools was employed in carrying out certain tasks as there were no complex tools. More discoveries have continued to be made throughout generations from inventions of simple things like fire to complex things like robots. Recently, there have been a lot of discoveries which are a threat to humanity.

For example, the latest discovery by scientists of ‘Home Assistant Robot’ (HAR) was designed to help in household tasks. They can carry out the not so complex tasks like cleaning and arranging furniture. It is amazing how the robots work because they have been made as human like as they can learn and even rectify their own mistakes (Purdy, n. d).

There are also those robots which are capable of making breakfast and serving one the breakfast in bed. This is a step forward technologically and with this trend, we are left to wonder what scientists are going to make next. The accuracy with which these robots perform tasks that could only be done by human beings is amazing and scaring at the same time.

According to Adeline (2009), the rising trend of numerous discoveries some which are completely or partially replacing human activity has led to some fundamental questions: has technology made our lives better or it has made us worse off? Have we been doing the right thing by allowing most of our lives to be driven by technology? Is this trend leading us to be liberated or it is going to be our undoing in the long run? In this paper, these questions will be tackled as we examine a very common technological instrument that is being used by almost everyone who can access the computer, the internet.

This is one of the most outstanding discoveries in human history. The record of existence of internet dates back to the 19 th century when the computers were invented.

A series of interconnected networks is basically what internet is all about. Some services available on the internet are World Wide Web, and other communication services for example messaging services and electronic mails. The internet has been a useful tool to many people ranging from the students, researchers, business people and even ordinary people seeking for information or entertainment. By use of internet services, one can access any material required at the click of a button.

This has come with a lot of advantages and disadvantages too. With the ever increasing information available in the internet, it is threatening to become a source of destruction for what is essential in life. The major threat caused by the internet is the threat of separating people from what is truly human. In the rest of the paper, we shall examine how internet has threatened to rob people of what is truly human after understanding what ‘truly human’ exactly mean.

The human nature is a term that can have different definitions from different perspectives. The definition differs from one religion to another and also is defined differently by philosophers. In this discussion, we will consider the human nature as those unique features found in human beings. They comprise of how an individual reasons, feels or does things.

These unique features occur naturally in all human beings. What is essentially human therefore include characteristic features like being able to communicate with each other, socialization, ability to think and invent new things, reasoning capability among other distinctive features common to human beings only.

Internet has undoubtedly contributed massively to loss of important human qualities. One of the ways is by increasing the distance between how people communicate and how they interact (Berg, 2009). The current trend is pointing towards a direction that physical interaction and seeing face to face as a communication strategy will be very rare or even impossible.

This is due to over reliance on the social sites like Facebook, Twitter and other electronic messaging and mail services for communication. This is a dangerous trend because socialization at a personal level is slowly being replaced by communication through the available social networks. Since socialization is one of the distinct qualities of human beings which make them distinct from animals, it becomes an issue when the quality is robbed from them by technology.

Facebook and other social networks are not entirely bad and especially when communicating with people and friends one meets but has no other way of reaching them. It becomes a menace when one uses it as a means of communicating with people who one has access to and can use other more interactive ways to communicate for example verbal communication. Meeting with people and talking to them is better than the use of internet.

Another quality that is slowly but surely being eroded by technology and especially the social networks sites is that of truthfulness and honesty Heidegger, 1977). It is not an uncommon phenomenon for people to lie when using social networks. People are comfortable lying about any aspect of their lives and mostly concerning their marital status. This has led to the disintegration of the family unit which is a very important part of the human being. The quality of being honest is therefore on the verge of disappearing from the human beings because of the use of the internet.

Although internet has been an important source for people seeking for new knowledge and information, it has been blamed for other serious problems related to generation of new information. Creativity among individuals is slowly disappearing and is being replaced by the internet to search for any material one may need even if one is in a position to generate his/her original ideas.

Due to this growing trend and especially among the scholars, the use of human mind to think and come up with useful information is declining hence fewer discoveries or copying from the already existing inventions. The question that therefore comes to mind is the fate of human beings in the coming years if things do not change (Wright, n. d). Such a way of doing things also limits the creative minds that could have come up with great inventions if they were not limited by the use of internet.

People wonder why they should go to the pains of thinking about certain important concepts when they can easily and readily find them in the internet. Everything can now be goggled and information availed immediately. Important things like birthdays, anniversaries and appointments can also be found on social networks sites like the Facebook. This has contributed to the loss of our capability to think and come up with new things as human beings which are essential qualities of being truly human.

It is odd how people would think of any one who does not have an account with the social networks as being backward. People consider such connections as big achievements and especially when one has many friends in his/her account. The question however is the importance and the value that such adds to ones life. On the contrary, one spends a lot of time in updating and commenting on peoples’ statuses instead of doing other productive works.

This reduces an individual’s productivity in the area of work because it is very common for people to open their social networks accounts at the place of work. Cases of addiction to accessing these sites are also very common. Some people spend excessively long hours chatting with friends or doing other unimportant things in the internet or using the social networks. Again, this is harmful both to the individual and the people around him/her because it reduces the time for interaction with others gradually and makes one live in isolation and interpersonal skills and other skills necessary for living are not acquired.

It is also common for people to meet friends and start relationships through the internet. Many people are turning to the internet as a site for meeting spouses and even getting married. This is because the time one spends on the internet is too much and there is hardly enough time left for one to visit social places where there are high chances of meeting new people and interacting face to face.

The problem with relationships formed through the internet is that most of them are based on lies and many people end up being deceived into marrying the wrong people or end up losing valuables or even their lives. Since marriage is supposed to be based on fundamental human qualities like love and companionship, marriages established between people who meet through the internet are likely to lack these important human qualities.

Children have also suffered from the problems that technology has brought (Eisenstein, chapter 2). This is because parents have left the responsibility of bringing up children to technology and they hardly spend enough time with them. The strong bond that is supposed to exist between the parents and their children is longer there.

There is too much reliance on the internet for the children to learn what they should otherwise have learnt from their parents. Because of easy access to the internet by the children, moral decadence has been on the rise (Dreyfus, 1999). Cases of children accessing pornographic and other harmful information are very common. The internet therefore corrupts the good morals of the children because of the unlimited access to these sites by them.

The internet can be used as a means of getting money. This depends on the complexity of the job one does use the internet services. It is therefore possible for people to work from their homes at their convenience with many people preferring doing this. In attempt to earn more, one ends up spending more time on the internet than with the family. One also becomes separated from other people because one just works alone without any interaction with clients.

Initially, technological discoveries were designed to make life easier and better. For example, the internet was majorly used for research purposes and communication through emails. This was done moderately and there were few cases of misuse of these services.

No doubt these services served a very important role in communication industry by making it faster and cheaper and still do have a vital role in communication. It is very easy to reach any one in any part of the world cheaply and very conveniently (Dreyfus, 1999). Important information for any one intending to research a particular topic is also available in the internet.

However certain important aspects have been left entirely to the internet. When things which make us human, like socialization are entirely left to the internet, it becomes a major problem that needs to be addressed without delay. Internet in itself is not a problem per se, but the problem arises when there is misuse of it, which has been the case in the recent past. Such misuse is what, if not addressed promptly would lead to a technological calamity on humanity.

When vital aspects of human life are delegated to machines, we are left to wonder what would happen in case the machines fail to follow the commands given to them by human beings (Montalbano, n. d ) . If ever such a thing happens, it would be catastrophic for the human race which has not been so keen in addressing this problem. The dangers of such delegation are therefore very real and something needs to be done before a problem of greater magnitude than there is now arises.

People have put a lot of trust and confidence in technology and have forgotten to take care of what makes them truly human. Ignoring aspects of importance like creativity and leaving them to the internet to get any information shows great negligence and is a threat also to new inventions which are very necessary in this age.

It is important to note that this delegation is already having many negative effects on people. For example, the use of internet has been associated with increase in the rate of crimes. People have been conned and others have lost many valuables through internet crimes (Wright, n. d). There have been cases of people accessing confidential information from companies or even government agencies through the internet. Worse still, important information has been lost in some cases never to be recovered again.

These are just some of the possible problems that could arise when important aspects are delegated to technology. Other worse problems could arise if people continue with the trend of having a lot of trust in the internet and using it to carry out human activities that could be done by people themselves. This is a wake up call to the people to rethink about their opinion on the internet services and other technological advancements that are a threat to the future.

There have been different reactions to modern technology. Some are pessimistic about the different discoveries for example some philosophers like Herbert Marcuse see technology as having adverse effects on the society. He therefore views technology as a hindrance to people’s liberty and a cause of psychological ill health.

Other philosophers like Martin Heidegger hold the view that technology is not entirely bad but it depends with how an individual applies it (Eisenstein, chapter 2). He is of the opinion that people should not overly rely on technology to the point of it enslaving them. On the other hand, people should not shun technology and try to do things without using it because it is a helpful tool to achieving a certain desired goal and efforts to avoid it may be futile. According to Kuang, 2002), there should be a balance in the use and also in how people view technology so that it becomes a useful tool in their hands instead of being a source of destruction and enslavement.

The other question that has been raised is whether computers then can be programmed to behave like human beings. This is because it seems that this is the direction that latest developments have been heading. Otherwise how else can one describe the efforts of scientists to come up with robots which can carry out human activities very efficiently?

Programming computers to be more human may be a great challenge because computers can not perform all human functions. They can only be fed with data and commands they are supposed to obey (Wright, n. d). It is human beings who come up with facts as they try to create new things that are beneficial to them.

People are therefore responsible for organization of their world by using their creative minds to improve it. It is impossible then to achieve this kind of organization done by the human beings through other means like the use of technology. Human beings and technology need to work together to achieve a balance instead of leaving things to be done by technology alone or by use of human efforts alone which may be futile in the end.

Technology is a useful tool in the hands of people which helps to achieve a lot that can not be done by human means only. When used appropriately, modern technology and especially the internet can be said to be one of the best discoveries in the human history. On the contrary, technology if not used well as a servant and not a master can have devastating effects on people.

The internet for example can be very dangerous and can bring about negative effects on the society and vital values and morals. Caution needs to be taken when dealing with the modern technology, particularly the internet to avoid future problems.

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Berg, K. K. (2009). The Impact Of The Internet On Human Behavior . Redding: Third Door Media. Web.

Dreyfus, H. L. (1999). What Computers Still Can’t Do: A Critique of Artificial Reason. Cambridge: The MIT Press. Web.

Eisenstein. C. (2008). The Ascent of Humanity. Web.

Heidegger, M. (1977). ‘‘the Question Concerning Technology,’’ in The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays, trans. W. Lovitt . New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1977, pp. 25–6.

Kuang, W.T. (2002). Technology, Humanity, Conscience . Philadelphia: Missionary Institute. Web.

Montalbano, D. (n. d) Humanity among Technology. Web.

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Wright, C. (2007). Technology could soon replace human beings on frontline . Web.

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Essay on Effects Of Technology On Human Interaction

Students are often asked to write an essay on Effects Of Technology On Human Interaction 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.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Effects Of Technology On Human Interaction

Introduction.

Technology has greatly changed the way people interact with each other. It has made communication easier and quicker. We can now talk to people who are far away from us in an instant.

Positive Effects

One good thing about technology is that it allows us to keep in touch with our loved ones. We can chat, call, or video call them anytime we want. This is very helpful especially for people who live far from their families.

Negative Effects

On the other hand, technology can also have bad effects. People can become too dependent on it. Instead of talking face-to-face, they prefer to chat or call. This can lead to less personal and meaningful interactions.

In conclusion, technology has both good and bad effects on human interaction. It can make communication easier but it can also make it less personal. It is important for us to use technology wisely to enjoy its benefits and avoid its downsides.

250 Words Essay on Effects Of Technology On Human Interaction

Technology has changed the way we interact in many ways. It can make life easier, but it also has some negative effects on how we communicate with each other.

One of the best things about technology is that it lets us talk to people far away. We can send messages, make calls, and even see each other on video chats. This is great for people who live far from their family and friends. It also helps in learning and working from home.

On the other hand, technology can also make us feel lonely. People often spend too much time on their phones or computers. They don’t talk to the people around them. This can make them feel alone and sad.

Changes in Communication

Another change is that people often use text messages instead of talking. This can lead to misunderstandings. When we talk, we use our voices to show how we feel. But in a text, it can be hard to tell if someone is happy, sad, or joking.

So, technology has both good and bad effects on how we interact. It’s important to use it in a balanced way. We should enjoy the benefits of technology, but also make sure we spend time talking to people in real life.

500 Words Essay on Effects Of Technology On Human Interaction

Technology has changed the way we live and interact with others. It has made our lives easier, faster, and more convenient. But it also has some effects on how we communicate and relate with people. This essay looks at how technology shapes our human interactions.

Improved Communication

One of the biggest changes technology has brought is in the area of communication. In the past, people used to write letters, which would take days or even weeks to reach the recipient. Now, we can send messages instantly using smartphones, emails, and social media. This makes it easier for us to stay in touch with friends and family who live far away. We can also meet new people online, from different parts of the world.

Decreased Face-to-Face Interaction

While technology has improved communication, it has also led to less face-to-face interaction. Many people now prefer to text or chat online instead of talking in person. This can lead to less personal and meaningful conversations. It can also make it harder to understand people’s feelings and emotions, as we can’t see their facial expressions or hear their tone of voice.

Increased Distraction

Technology can also be a big distraction. Many people find it hard to focus on their work or studies because they are always checking their phones or social media. This can lead to less productive conversations and interactions. It can also make us feel more stressed and anxious.

Changed Learning Methods

Technology has also changed the way we learn and share information. In the past, we used to learn from books and teachers. Now, we can learn from online courses, videos, and websites. This makes learning more flexible and accessible. But it also means that we spend less time interacting with teachers and classmates.

In conclusion, technology has both positive and negative effects on human interaction. It has made communication easier and more convenient. But it has also led to less face-to-face interaction and more distractions. As we continue to use and develop technology, we need to find ways to balance its benefits and drawbacks. This way, we can enjoy the conveniences of technology without losing the personal touch in our interactions.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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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

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Fábio Duarte

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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
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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

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

Eva Ariño-Mateo
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David Pérez-Jorge

Risk assessments of virtual interactions on Saudi families

Hanaa Faize A. Moubarak
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AI chatbots contribute to global conservation injustices

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Exploring the effects of modality and variability on EFL learners’ pronunciation of English diphthongs: a student perspective on HVPT implementation

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Can digital tools foster ethical deliberation?

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

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

Annika Kreuder
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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

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

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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

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How are today’s biggest tech trends affecting our human rights?

Big data poses new challenges - and opportunities - when it comes to human rights

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Next year it will be 70 years since the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration is a ground-breaking agreement affirming the rights of individual citizens, including the right to freedom from discrimination, the right to education, the right to a free and fair world and many more.

As a technological revolution, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is changing the way we live, work and interact with one another. It also has the potential to both challenge and uphold human rights. How are today’s three biggest technological trends impacting these rights?

Automation and the right to fair and decent work

The increasing use of AI and automation is disrupting the global jobs market and significantly impacting the right to fair and decent work. Experts estimate that by 2020, 85% of all customer interactions will be handled without a human agent , with support coming in the form of chatbots and self-service technologies. The OECD estimates that AI is currently meeting or exceeding human performance in a significant number of domains .

A subset of AI, Machine Learning (ML), is expanding rapidly, unlocking pathways to increasingly efficient, accurate, and powerful processes ranging from diagnosing cancer to enabling self-driving cars. Data is the key ingredient that makes machine learning possible. Companies like HireVue are uses AI and facial analysis to measure tone and delivery, for example, to make the hiring process more efficient.

However, not all data is created equal, nor is it equally available across geographies and demographics. The biggest sources of risk for data-related discrimination are inadequate data availability and biased or error-ridden data. In hiring practices, for example, algorithms mimic human decision-making, which can be based on bias.

The internet and the right to freedom of expression

The internet provides huge opportunity for individuals to exercise the right to freedom of opinion and expression through communication and exchange of ideas. More than 3 billion people now use the internet, a 2.3 billion rise since 2000.

Yet governments around the world shut down the internet more than 50 times in 2016, according to the United Nations – suppressing elections, slowing economies and limiting free speech. So called ‘fake news’ proliferated in the 2016 US election, a phenomenon familiar to countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia where online news has huge reach and influence. Technology companies’ ability to take down extremist content in real time is limited.

The Internet of Things and the right to privacy

The Internet of Things is perforating domains that were previously private. As a result, the distinction between private and public spheres is blurring and the individual’s right to privacy is being threatened. Business Insider projects there will be 34 billion devices connected to the internet by 2020. All of those devices have the ability to interact with and track our personal data, from smart phone location tracking to motion sensors with inbuilt video cameras filming your movements.

Millions of us are giving away our private data without even realising, despite many of us valuing privacy more than ever. This has an impact on children as well as adults. There is a growing industry of ‘smart toys’ equipped with AI and speech recognition that can interact with children, learn and send data back to the manufacturers - potentially violating the privacy rights of the child.

Three ways technology can protect human rights

1. Online learning and the right to education

More than 120 million children and adolescents around the world are out of school. Technology is becoming a major asset in the pathway to ensuring a quality education for all.

Online learning platforms are proliferating globally thanks to the internet. Platforms such as the Khan Academy, which has 10 million unique visitors a month, have been training children and adults since 2006. Africa alone has nearly 700 million mobile phone subscribers, offering opportunities to share educational content. BYJU’s is India’s largest app, with 7 million subscribers using digital animation and videos to share lessons with a focus on maths and science.

EdTech is disrupting education. Companies such as RoboTutor are creating open-source apps that enable children with little or no access to schools to learn basic reading, writing, and arithmetic. Chimple is using gamification and cognitive research to develop open-source software to autonomously help children learn – in groups or alone.

Primary school children share an electronic tablet in a school in Nice.

2. Big data and human rights

There is a now a vast amount of data available on environmental conditions, migration and conflict situations thanks to social media, crowd-sourced data and tracking devices on vehicles, mobile phones and other sensors. Cloud computing and big data analysis can use this data to analyse key trends and provide early warnings for critical issues before they occur, aiding the prevention and rapid response to humanitarian disasters.

Microsoft is collaborating with the United Nations to develop Rights View, a “dashboard” that will allow UN human rights staff to aggregate large quantities of internal and external data on specific countries and types of rights violations in real time. OCHA has opened a Centre for Humanitarian Data in the Netherlands that is focussed on increasing the use of data in humanitarian work. Before Hurricane Harvey hit the US earlier this year, agencies including NASA and NOAA were using technology to predict when the storm would hit.

3. Protecting human rights in the supply chain

Modern-day slavery still exists in the supply chains of many corporations. An estimated 30 million people are currently in forced labour in supply chains across multiple industries from electronics to fishing. Blockchain is an authentication mechanism that can enable transparency in supply chains from sourcing through to the customer purchase.

Blockchain is already being tested to eliminate abuses in certain supply chains. Everledger uses blockchain to track the provenance of diamonds – in particular whether or not they come from conflict zones. Provenance has tested tracking the origin of fish initiated by the catcher on the boat – in an industry where slavery is rife.

What’s next for technology and human rights?

In September, the World Economic Forum co-hosted a workshop for civil society and technology companies at its Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution together with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Microsoft. The aim was to explore what human rights mean in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, and Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, concluded the day with a call to action: business, civil society, policy makers and technology companies have a responsibility to create solutions that keep humans at the core of emerging technologies. The newly created Partnership on AI , in which Microsoft is playing an active role, is an example of such public-private collaboration to advance human rights.

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The Impact of Technology on Human Relationship, Essay Example

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Technology is the application of scientific skills and knowledge to accomplish different purposes. Technology has made life easier in the modern world by allowing human access to complex machinery that can help make work easier. The advancement of technology and its impacts on human relationships have created many debates and discussions worldwide. In one group, a team holds that technology has improved human relationships through social platforms and the Internet, enabling humans to share information easily. Conversely, a party claims that technology has caused more harm to human relationships, such as social isolation and moral decay. This paper seeks to explore how technology affects human relationships.

Technology has made more accessible access to different places of the world by improving the transport system. Through the invention of modern means of transport such as airplanes and electric trains, individuals can travel and explore different parts of the world within a short period (Wolfram et al., 1-23). For instance, electric trains replaced fuel trains which moved slower and caused environmental pollution. Electric trains travel at high speed, enabling individuals to save time and reach their destinations faster. Modern airplanes allow individuals to travel to different countries faster and accomplish their purposes instead of the old days when traveling to foreign countries overseas was a big challenge. When traveling to new places, technology provides navigation tools that enable individuals to find directions for their traveling. Technology, therefore, plays a crucial role in the transport sector.

Technology has enabled easier sharing of information and enhanced communication. The invention of smartphones has helped individuals to share information on Internet through social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. This makes it easier for people in different places worldwide to get information about other areas that are far away from them. Technology has also made communication more effective as people can talk to each other through phones from different geographical locations. Initially, radios and newspapers were the primary means of sharing news, but the invention of Television enables easy sharing of information worldwide. It is easier to know what is happening in another country when breaking news on Television. Additionally, it is easier to find news through smartphones with apps that share information. This has made a recognizable step in the communication industry as people can communicate and share news in different places within a short period.

Additionally, technology has enhanced learning and improved social interactions. Students can get learning materials and articles on the Internet and download helpful information for learning purposes (Ghavifekr et al., 175-191). Lecturers can offer a lecture through the Internet by connecting with students on zoom or other social platforms. Students can also complete and submit their assignments to their lecturers through the Internet. For instance, technology has made it easier for people to conduct online classes and improved online courses, providing easier access to quality education.

Finally, technology has improved social interaction among people in different places. Through social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, individuals can meet and make friends at their comfort. Interacting with people in other areas can improve creativity among individuals by sharing ideas on social media platforms.

Conversely, as much technology has made life easier by enhancing communication, transportation, and ease of access to information, it has dramatically affected human relationships. Technology negatively affects human relationships, leading to social isolation, moral decay, time wastage, and distraction. The most affected category of individuals is youth as they are highly addicted to technological equipment.

Technology has significantly lead to isolation among individuals. Most individuals spend time in their homes or workplaces while interacting with their friends and relatives on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. People tend to believe that there is no need to meet physically as they can easily communicate through social media (Khosravi et al., 594-603). This spirit of social isolation significantly affects society as a whole since individuals cannot meet physically to share ideas; thus, this can lower creativity among individuals. Social isolation has many effects on individuals as it may lead to depressions and stress among individuals. Many families and relationships fail as partners spent most of their time on social media and fail to have time with their loved ones. The interaction of human to human is now replaced by human-machine interaction where individuals use most of their time on a machine than with fellow individuals. Parents now spent most of their time on technological devices than with their children. This character is passed on to their children, affecting the next generation as parent-child interaction will replace parent-machine interaction.

Technology has also led to moral decay among youths. Due to constant interaction with the Internet, many children get access to adult content on the Internet and download it to view in their free time (Swierstra & Tsjalling, 5-20). The young generation wastes most of their time on pornographic sites watching adult content and use less time to do constructive things in life. At the same time, others create groups where they share nude photos and adult content materials. Parents are most blamed for allowing their children to use phones and tablets for communication. Uncontrolled access to technological devices will make the next generation be significantly affected by moral decay in society.

Finally, technology leads to time wastage and distraction at the workplace. Individuals spend most of their time on technological devices such as tablets and computers accessing the information on the Internet (Beland et al., 61-76). They forget to do other essential activities that could be productive and instead concentrate mainly on their computers and tablets. For instance, students spent most of their time playing video games and computer games and spent less or no time on their education, leading to poor results in their studies. The use of technological devices also causes distraction at the workplace and during study time. Most employees are disrupted by their phones when they receive pop-up notifications and messages from their friends. This makes workers concentrate on their phones for a long time and use less time focusing on the work they intend to do, resulting in low productivity. Emails and messaging Apps are significant causes of distraction at the workplace; thus, managers should always advise their employees to turn off all notifications and receive only priority calls and messages that can help improve the firm’s productivity. Additionally, students are now heavily addicted to their phones and try to study; they try to use their phones simultaneously. Since phones are more addictive, they overweigh students’ ability to concentrate on studies instead of using their phones.

In conclusion, technology started a long time ago, and more advancements have been made to make it more complex and perform unique tasks to make life easier. The use of technology has positively impacted human relationships by enhancing communication, transport, and ease of access to information. Nonetheless, as technology has many benefits to human relationships, it has caused many problems to humankind, including social isolation, moral decay, distraction, and time wastage. Appropriate measures have to be implemented to ensure individuals make good use of technology to avoid other effects.

Works cited

Beland, Louis-Philippe, and Richard Murphy. “Ill communication: technology, distraction & student performance.” Labour Economics 41 (2016): 61-76.

Ghavifekr, Simin, and Wan Athirah Wan Rosdy. “Teaching and learning with technology: Effectiveness of ICT integration in schools.” International Journal of Research in Education and Science 1.2 (2015): 175-191.

Henrie, Curtis R., Lisa R. Halverson, and Charles R. Graham. “Measuring student engagement in technology-mediated learning: A review.” Computers & Education 90 (2015): 36-53.

Khosravi, Pouria, Azadeh Rezvani, and Anna Wiewiora. “The impact of technology on older adults’ social isolation.” Computers in Human Behavior 63 (2016): 594-603.

McDaniel, Brandon T., and Jenny S. Radesky. “Technoference: Parent distraction with technology and associations with child behavior problems.” Child development 89.1 (2018): 100-109.

Osseiran, Afif, Jose F. Monserrat, and Patrick Marsch, eds. 5G mobile and wireless communications technology . Cambridge University Press, 2016.

Swierstra, Tsjalling. “Identifying the normative challenges posed by technology’s ‘soft’impacts.” Etikk i praksis-Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics 1 (2015): 5-20.

Wolfram, Paul, and Nic Lutsey. “Electric vehicles: Literature review of technology costs and carbon emissions.” The International Council on Clean Transportation: Washington, DC, USA (2016): 1-23.

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200-500 Word Example Essays about Technology

Got an essay assignment about technology check out these examples to inspire you.

Technology is a rapidly evolving field that has completely changed the way we live, work, and interact with one another. Technology has profoundly impacted our daily lives, from how we communicate with friends and family to how we access information and complete tasks. As a result, it's no surprise that technology is a popular topic for students writing essays.

But writing a technology essay can be challenging, especially for those needing more time or help with writer's block. This is where Jenni.ai comes in. Jenni.ai is an innovative AI tool explicitly designed for students who need help writing essays. With Jenni.ai, students can quickly and easily generate essays on various topics, including technology.

This blog post aims to provide readers with various example essays on technology, all generated by Jenni.ai. These essays will be a valuable resource for students looking for inspiration or guidance as they work on their essays. By reading through these example essays, students can better understand how technology can be approached and discussed in an essay.

Moreover, by signing up for a free trial with Jenni.ai, students can take advantage of this innovative tool and receive even more support as they work on their essays. Jenni.ai is designed to help students write essays faster and more efficiently, so they can focus on what truly matters – learning and growing as a student. Whether you're a student who is struggling with writer's block or simply looking for a convenient way to generate essays on a wide range of topics, Jenni.ai is the perfect solution.

The Impact of Technology on Society and Culture

Introduction:.

Technology has become an integral part of our daily lives and has dramatically impacted how we interact, communicate, and carry out various activities. Technological advancements have brought positive and negative changes to society and culture. In this article, we will explore the impact of technology on society and culture and how it has influenced different aspects of our lives.

Positive impact on communication:

Technology has dramatically improved communication and made it easier for people to connect from anywhere in the world. Social media platforms, instant messaging, and video conferencing have brought people closer, bridging geographical distances and cultural differences. This has made it easier for people to share information, exchange ideas, and collaborate on projects.

Positive impact on education:

Students and instructors now have access to a multitude of knowledge and resources because of the effect of technology on education . Students may now study at their speed and from any location thanks to online learning platforms, educational applications, and digital textbooks.

Negative impact on critical thinking and creativity:

Technological advancements have resulted in a reduction in critical thinking and creativity. With so much information at our fingertips, individuals have become more passive in their learning, relying on the internet for solutions rather than logic and inventiveness. As a result, independent thinking and problem-solving abilities have declined.

Positive impact on entertainment:

Technology has transformed how we access and consume entertainment. People may now access a wide range of entertainment alternatives from the comfort of their own homes thanks to streaming services, gaming platforms, and online content makers. The entertainment business has entered a new age of creativity and invention as a result of this.

Negative impact on attention span:

However, the continual bombardment of information and technological stimulation has also reduced attention span and the capacity to focus. People are easily distracted and need help focusing on a single activity for a long time. This has hampered productivity and the ability to accomplish duties.

The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies has been one of the most significant technological developments of the past several decades. These cutting-edge technologies have the potential to alter several sectors of society, including commerce, industry, healthcare, and entertainment.

As with any new and quickly advancing technology, AI and ML ethics must be carefully studied. The usage of these technologies presents significant concerns around privacy, accountability, and command. As the use of AI and ML grows more ubiquitous, we must assess their possible influence on society and investigate the ethical issues that must be taken into account as these technologies continue to develop.

What are Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning?

Artificial Intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence in machines designed to think and act like humans. Machine learning is a subfield of AI that enables computers to learn from data and improve their performance over time without being explicitly programmed.

The impact of AI and ML on Society

The use of AI and ML in various industries, such as healthcare, finance, and retail, has brought many benefits. For example, AI-powered medical diagnosis systems can identify diseases faster and more accurately than human doctors. However, there are also concerns about job displacement and the potential for AI to perpetuate societal biases.

The Ethical Considerations of AI and ML

A. Bias in AI algorithms

One of the critical ethical concerns about AI and ML is the potential for algorithms to perpetuate existing biases. This can occur if the data used to train these algorithms reflects the preferences of the people who created it. As a result, AI systems can perpetuate these biases and discriminate against certain groups of people.

B. Responsibility for AI-generated decisions

Another ethical concern is the responsibility for decisions made by AI systems. For example, who is responsible for the damage if a self-driving car causes an accident? The manufacturer of the vehicle, the software developer, or the AI algorithm itself?

C. The potential for misuse of AI and ML

AI and ML can also be used for malicious purposes, such as cyberattacks and misinformation. The need for more regulation and oversight in developing and using these technologies makes it difficult to prevent misuse.

The developments in AI and ML have given numerous benefits to humanity, but they also present significant ethical concerns that must be addressed. We must assess the repercussions of new technologies on society, implement methods to limit the associated dangers, and guarantee that they are utilized for the greater good. As AI and ML continue to play an ever-increasing role in our daily lives, we must engage in an open and frank discussion regarding their ethics.

The Future of Work And Automation

Rapid technological breakthroughs in recent years have brought about considerable changes in our way of life and work. Concerns regarding the influence of artificial intelligence and machine learning on the future of work and employment have increased alongside the development of these technologies. This article will examine the possible advantages and disadvantages of automation and its influence on the labor market, employees, and the economy.

The Advantages of Automation

Automation in the workplace offers various benefits, including higher efficiency and production, fewer mistakes, and enhanced precision. Automated processes may accomplish repetitive jobs quickly and precisely, allowing employees to concentrate on more complex and creative activities. Additionally, automation may save organizations money since it removes the need to pay for labor and minimizes the danger of workplace accidents.

The Potential Disadvantages of Automation

However, automation has significant disadvantages, including job loss and income stagnation. As robots and computers replace human labor in particular industries, there is a danger that many workers may lose their jobs, resulting in higher unemployment and more significant economic disparity. Moreover, if automation is not adequately regulated and managed, it might lead to stagnant wages and a deterioration in employees' standard of life.

The Future of Work and Automation

Despite these difficulties, automation will likely influence how labor is done. As a result, firms, employees, and governments must take early measures to solve possible issues and reap the rewards of automation. This might entail funding worker retraining programs, enhancing education and skill development, and implementing regulations that support equality and justice at work.

IV. The Need for Ethical Considerations

We must consider the ethical ramifications of automation and its effects on society as technology develops. The impact on employees and their rights, possible hazards to privacy and security, and the duty of corporations and governments to ensure that automation is utilized responsibly and ethically are all factors to be taken into account.

Conclusion:

To summarise, the future of employment and automation will most certainly be defined by a complex interaction of technological advances, economic trends, and cultural ideals. All stakeholders must work together to handle the problems and possibilities presented by automation and ensure that technology is employed to benefit society as a whole.

The Role of Technology in Education

Introduction.

Nearly every part of our lives has been transformed by technology, and education is no different. Today's students have greater access to knowledge, opportunities, and resources than ever before, and technology is becoming a more significant part of their educational experience. Technology is transforming how we think about education and creating new opportunities for learners of all ages, from online courses and virtual classrooms to instructional applications and augmented reality.

Technology's Benefits for Education

The capacity to tailor learning is one of technology's most significant benefits in education. Students may customize their education to meet their unique needs and interests since they can access online information and tools.

For instance, people can enroll in online classes on topics they are interested in, get tailored feedback on their work, and engage in virtual discussions with peers and subject matter experts worldwide. As a result, pupils are better able to acquire and develop the abilities and information necessary for success.

Challenges and Concerns

Despite the numerous advantages of technology in education, there are also obstacles and considerations to consider. One issue is the growing reliance on technology and the possibility that pupils would become overly dependent on it. This might result in a lack of critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, as students may become passive learners who only follow instructions and rely on technology to complete their assignments.

Another obstacle is the digital divide between those who have access to technology and those who do not. This division can exacerbate the achievement gap between pupils and produce uneven educational and professional growth chances. To reduce these consequences, all students must have access to the technology and resources necessary for success.

In conclusion, technology is rapidly becoming an integral part of the classroom experience and has the potential to alter the way we learn radically.

Technology can help students flourish and realize their full potential by giving them access to individualized instruction, tools, and opportunities. While the benefits of technology in the classroom are undeniable, it's crucial to be mindful of the risks and take precautions to guarantee that all kids have access to the tools they need to thrive.

The Influence of Technology On Personal Relationships And Communication

Technological advancements have profoundly altered how individuals connect and exchange information. It has changed the world in many ways in only a few decades. Because of the rise of the internet and various social media sites, maintaining relationships with people from all walks of life is now simpler than ever.

However, concerns about how these developments may affect interpersonal connections and dialogue are inevitable in an era of rapid technological growth. In this piece, we'll discuss how the prevalence of digital media has altered our interpersonal connections and the language we use to express ourselves.

Direct Effect on Direct Interaction:

The disruption of face-to-face communication is a particularly stark example of how technology has impacted human connections. The quality of interpersonal connections has suffered due to people's growing preference for digital over human communication. Technology has been demonstrated to reduce the usage of nonverbal signs such as facial expressions, tone of voice, and other indicators of emotional investment in the connection.

Positive Impact on Long-Distance Relationships:

Yet there are positives to be found as well. Long-distance relationships have also benefited from technological advancements. The development of technologies such as video conferencing, instant messaging, and social media has made it possible for individuals to keep in touch with distant loved ones. It has become simpler for individuals to stay in touch and feel connected despite geographical distance.

The Effects of Social Media on Personal Connections:

The widespread use of social media has had far-reaching consequences, especially on the quality of interpersonal interactions. Social media has positive and harmful effects on relationships since it allows people to keep in touch and share life's milestones.

Unfortunately, social media has made it all too easy to compare oneself to others, which may lead to emotions of jealousy and a general decline in confidence. Furthermore, social media might cause people to have inflated expectations of themselves and their relationships.

A Personal Perspective on the Intersection of Technology and Romance

Technological advancements have also altered physical touch and closeness. Virtual reality and other technologies have allowed people to feel physical contact and familiarity in a digital setting. This might be a promising breakthrough, but it has some potential downsides.

Experts are concerned that people's growing dependence on technology for intimacy may lead to less time spent communicating face-to-face and less emphasis on physical contact, both of which are important for maintaining good relationships.

In conclusion, technological advancements have significantly affected the quality of interpersonal connections and the exchange of information. Even though technology has made it simpler to maintain personal relationships, it has chilled interpersonal interactions between people.

Keeping tabs on how technology is changing our lives and making adjustments as necessary is essential as we move forward. Boundaries and prioritizing in-person conversation and physical touch in close relationships may help reduce the harm it causes.

The Security and Privacy Implications of Increased Technology Use and Data Collection

The fast development of technology over the past few decades has made its way into every aspect of our life. Technology has improved many facets of our life, from communication to commerce. However, significant privacy and security problems have emerged due to the broad adoption of technology. In this essay, we'll look at how the widespread use of technological solutions and the subsequent explosion in collected data affects our right to privacy and security.

Data Mining and Privacy Concerns

Risk of Cyber Attacks and Data Loss

The Widespread Use of Encryption and Other Safety Mechanisms

The Privacy and Security of the Future in a Globalized Information Age

Obtaining and Using Individual Information

The acquisition and use of private information is a significant cause for privacy alarm in the digital age. Data about their customers' online habits, interests, and personal information is a valuable commodity for many internet firms. Besides tailored advertising, this information may be used for other, less desirable things like identity theft or cyber assaults.

Moreover, many individuals need to be made aware of what data is being gathered from them or how it is being utilized because of the lack of transparency around gathering personal information. Privacy and data security have become increasingly contentious as a result.

Data breaches and other forms of cyber-attack pose a severe risk.

The risk of cyber assaults and data breaches is another big issue of worry. More people are using more devices, which means more opportunities for cybercriminals to steal private information like credit card numbers and other identifying data. This may cause monetary damages and harm one's reputation or identity.

Many high-profile data breaches have occurred in recent years, exposing the personal information of millions of individuals and raising serious concerns about the safety of this information. Companies and governments have responded to this problem by adopting new security methods like encryption and multi-factor authentication.

Many businesses now use encryption and other security measures to protect themselves from cybercriminals and data thieves. Encryption keeps sensitive information hidden by encoding it so that only those possessing the corresponding key can decipher it. This prevents private information like bank account numbers or social security numbers from falling into the wrong hands.

Firewalls, virus scanners, and two-factor authentication are all additional security precautions that may be used with encryption. While these safeguards do much to stave against cyber assaults, they are not entirely impregnable, and data breaches are still possible.

The Future of Privacy and Security in a Technologically Advanced World

There's little doubt that concerns about privacy and security will persist even as technology improves. There must be strict safeguards to secure people's private information as more and more of it is transferred and kept digitally. To achieve this goal, it may be necessary to implement novel technologies and heightened levels of protection and to revise the rules and regulations regulating the collection and storage of private information.

Individuals and businesses are understandably concerned about the security and privacy consequences of widespread technological use and data collecting. There are numerous obstacles to overcome in a society where technology plays an increasingly important role, from acquiring and using personal data to the risk of cyber-attacks and data breaches. Companies and governments must keep spending money on security measures and working to educate people about the significance of privacy and security if personal data is to remain safe.

In conclusion, technology has profoundly impacted virtually every aspect of our lives, including society and culture, ethics, work, education, personal relationships, and security and privacy. The rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning has presented new ethical considerations, while automation is transforming the future of work.

In education, technology has revolutionized the way we learn and access information. At the same time, our dependence on technology has brought new challenges in terms of personal relationships, communication, security, and privacy.

Jenni.ai is an AI tool that can help students write essays easily and quickly. Whether you're looking, for example, for essays on any of these topics or are seeking assistance in writing your essay, Jenni.ai offers a convenient solution. Sign up for a free trial today and experience the benefits of AI-powered writing assistance for yourself.

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Essay on Effects of Technology on Human Beings

Essay on Effects of Technology on Human Beings, which is to be a short academic essay that will be submitted to the college to earn a higher education, is one of those subjects that many students tend to get intimidated in when preparing for the exam. However, if you would just look at the subject matter of this particular essay on effects of technology on human beings from an objective point of view, then you may just be amazed at how easy it is to write such an essay on its own. The same goes with the essay on effects of technology on human beings that you submit as well.

Paperback and hard copy versions of this essay can both be found in libraries across the world and in most college or university bookstores. However, the same applies to essays on effects of technology on human beings that you submit online. You can find hundreds of such essays on the internet for free that you can even print out so that you could review it on your computer screen.

The same as how you would read any other academic papers, such essays are written using a different style than other essay writing. What makes it different from other essay writing is the fact that the writer of such an essay must be able to think of several interesting ideas, but then must also be able to find an interesting way to say these ideas down in written form. It is not enough that the ideas in this essay are good; it is also necessary that the writer comes up with interesting ways to present them.

If you have any doubts about how to write an essay on effects of technology on human beings, all you need to do is get started writing your own essay. Here are some tips that might help you start off.

One of the first things that you need to consider when you are writing your own essay on the topic of effects of technology on human beings is to decide what your topic actually is. You need to know where your essay is going before you begin writing it because this will be the determining factor of how you write. Once you have decided on the topic, you would then need to go through the entire essay on the topic in one sentence at a time.

Next, you should consider breaking each paragraph or each section of the subject into paragraphs to make it easier for you to read. When you do this, you would find that each paragraph would turn out as a cohesive unit instead of just being an accumulation of unrelated ideas.

Last, but not least, you should also look for important details that you will want to include in your essay. The first two paragraphs of the essay on effects of technology on human beings are very important as they are the ones that will be read by the faculty of the college.

Thus, as long as you follow these tips, your essay on the effects of technology on human beings should come out as perfect. In fact, it would be your perfect essay and would make you stand out amongst the crowd.

But before you can get started with the task of writing a good essay on the topic of effects of technology on human beings, you should make sure that you have all of the materials necessary. This means that you should not only have the text book that is associated with your topic, but you should also have copies of the essay on the same topic. You should also have a copy of the sample essays that the professors give out to students. This way, you will be able to see how each paragraph is written and if the author has succeeded in making his or her essay appealing to the eyes of the reader.

When it comes to writing an essay, there are many tips that you can take into consideration. However, the most important one is that you must not worry about the number of words that you use in your essay. Since you are writing for an exam, you should be able to stick to the topic of the article without going overboard with the words that you use.

After you have written your essay on the effects of technology on human beings, you would now need to pass your essay to the professor or whoever will be giving it to you for evaluation. When the test is passed, you will know that you did well and that you have learned from your own efforts.

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Impact of Technology on Human Beings
Impact of Technology on Human Beings Essay. Media and communication technologies have significantly impacted the lives of human beings today. Such technology has improved the ability of people to communicate over long distances while simplifying monotonous tasks. However, despite the numerous benefits of such technology, there are concerns of ...
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advancement. Technology is the story of innovation of techniques and tools that made the work of human beings significantly easy after 20th century, when human face technology evolution their lives were affected in various forms. Technology took its place among people and effected their relation significantly. Even now almost
Going digital: how technology use may influence human brains and
Thus, "screen time" has different effects for different people. Digital technology use tends to exert short-term effects on well-being rather than long-lasting effects on life satisfaction. "The dose makes the poison": both low and excessive use are related to decreased well-being, while moderate use increases well-being.
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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.
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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 ...
What Makes Technology Good or Bad for Us?
A quick glance at the research on technology-mediated interaction reveals an ambivalent literature. Some studies show that time spent socializing online can decrease loneliness, increase well-being, and help the socially anxious learn how to connect to others. Other studies suggest that time spent socializing online can cause loneliness ...
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Humanity is entering an era where the biological makeup of a human being alone, will no longer be the sole requirement of being human. The world is now at a critical inflection point where the interventionist power of technology is allowing humanity to forge a path towards a new superhuman race.
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lack of attention. low creativity. delays in language development. delays in social and emotional development. physical inactivity and obesity. poor sleep quality. social issues, such as social ...
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The internet and digital technology may be impacting our physical and psychological development to a larger degree than we expected. In the last few decades, technology has progressed at a staggering rate. Smartphones, the internet, cloud computing, and hundreds of other inventions are changing every facet of our lives.
How Is Technology Changing the World, and How Should the World Change
This growing complexity makes it more difficult than ever—and more imperative than ever—for scholars to probe how technological advancements are altering life around the world in both positive and negative ways and what social, political, and legal tools are needed to help shape the development and design of technology in beneficial directions.
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Human beings and technology need to work together to achieve a balance instead of leaving things to be done by technology alone or by use of human efforts alone which may be futile in the end. ... Heidegger, M. (1977). ''the Question Concerning Technology,'' in The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays, trans. W. Lovitt. New ...
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Conclusion. In conclusion, technology has both positive and negative effects on human interaction. It has made communication easier and more convenient. But it has also led to less face-to-face interaction and more distractions. As we continue to use and develop technology, we need to find ways to balance its benefits and drawbacks.
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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 ...
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Technological determinism is a theory that the development of both social structures and cultural values driven by the society's technology. The term is believed to have been invented by an American Sociologist, Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929). Technological momentum is also a theory that states the relationship between the society and ...
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Three ways technology can protect human rights. 1. Online learning and the right to education. More than 120 million children and adolescents around the world are out of school. Technology is becoming a major asset in the pathway to ensuring a quality education for all. Online learning platforms are proliferating globally thanks to the internet.
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The use of technology has positively impacted human relationships by enhancing communication, transport, and ease of access to information. Nonetheless, as technology has many benefits to human relationships, it has caused many problems to humankind, including social isolation, moral decay, distraction, and time wastage.
200-500 Word Example Essays about Technology
Direct Effect on Direct Interaction: The disruption of face-to-face communication is a particularly stark example of how technology has impacted human connections. The quality of interpersonal connections has suffered due to people's growing preference for digital over human communication.
Essay on Effects of Technology on Human Beings
The first two paragraphs of the essay on effects of technology on human beings are very important as they are the ones that will be read by the faculty of the college. Thus, as long as you follow these tips, your essay on the effects of technology on human beings should come out as perfect. In fact, it would be your perfect essay and would make ...

Impact of Technology on Human Beings Essay

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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

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Negative effects of technology: What to know

Psychological effects

Depression and anxiety

Physical health effects

The 20-20-20 rule for digital viewing

Poor posture

Sleep problems

Reduced physical activity

In children

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Technology and Its Impact on Humanity

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Positive Effects

Negative Effects

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Changes in Communication

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Improved Communication

Decreased Face-to-Face Interaction

Increased Distraction

Changed Learning Methods

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