The Negative Effects Of Technology

Technology has taken over the lives of humans by rendering the way people think, say and do things. From role models and identities to communication and safety, nothing is what it used to be two decades ago and humans have technology to thank for that. The articles in unit three of Writing on the River, display and explain the negative impacts technology has on society. If technology had limitations, perhaps humans would reconvert back to reality after their long-spent time in the world of technology. Some people claim technology has only benefited the world, but these articles have the evidence to prove the cons outweigh the pros.

In the article, Robinson demonstrates how while technology has many benefits, it has a plethora of downfalls. Social media is ruining our perception of the world, from people editing their photos to look better, to people lying about who they are. 97% of teenagers are on social media, and about 37% of social media users report feeling upset or having negative thoughts after using apps like Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Lawrence Robinson, the managing editor and author at HelpGuide.org states, “Ironically for a technology that’s designed to bring people closer together, spending too much time engaging with social media can make you feel more lonely and isolated—and exacerbate mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.” (Robinson 2).

The effects of technology usage have long been a topic of debate, with the negative consequences often being brought up. Authors such as Robert Samuels, Alison Gopnik, Nicholas Carr, Gary Small and Vorgan Gigi have all addressed this topic in their own articles. In Samuels’ “Breaking Down Borders: How Technology Transforms the Private and Public Realms,” he discusses the creation of private bubbles in public spaces due to technology, and the consequent alienation of others. “Diagnosing the Digital Revolution” by Gopnik argues that the habits that tech users have today have always existed, while Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” states that technology is actively changing the way humans think. “Meet Your iBrain” by Gigi and Small covers how technology affects brains and alters them. This paper will use the articles and an interview with a peer to analyze the perceived negative effects of using technology, particularly worse memory, shorter attention span, exacerbation of bad habits, and shifting emotions.

Over the years, technology has had a detrimental effect on society by altering critical thinking, reading techniques, and the human thought process. In the article, Is Google Making Us Stupid, author Nicholas Carr, explains the disadvantages the web has had on modern day citizen’s creativity and ability to read efficiently. In contrast, in the article, Is technology producing a decline in critical thinking and analysis? Composer Stuart Wolpert dwells on how technology has improved societies visual skills. While both novels use quotes, research,

In today’s world we are surrounded by information technology and social media, which brings with it many changes in the ways we interact with each other in our daily lives. It now only takes a matter of seconds to connect with someone on the other side of the world in many different forms. While many of these advancements are seen as beneficial, there are a number of concerns regarding the subject. For example, there have been a number of recent studies which have made definite links between social media and mental illnesses, especially in teens and young adults. This can range from addictive use of social media sites, to clinical depression; both of which being very real problems in our society today. It is even said

About 90% of young adults use social media and majority of user’s check-in at least once a day. (Lin, Liu, 2016). Social media can have positive impacts in our lives when it comes to communication, and research show that it is changing young adults and our youth for the worst in a negative way. So, how does social media cause depression? Social media can lead to poor mental and physical health: cyberbullying and social isolation can cause depression; this depression leads to alcohol use.

Believe it or not there was once a time when humans had to talk to each other in the car instead of play games and listen to music on their phones. Times are changing and Technology is becoming a necessity in today’s society, but does that mean society needs to let technology form and manipulate its brain? This is a very prominent topic in the world today that needs to be addressed and thought about. There are definitely positives effects of technology in society and there is definitely negative effects of technology in society. I believe that overall technology has a negative effect on the human brain.

From the telegram to the cell phone, technology has been vital in keeping communication alive and efficient in the world. It no longer takes days for an important message to reach someone because it was sent by pigeon or in the mail. Apps like Skype even allow for people to see each other face to face who otherwise may not have a chance to. Yet even with these advantages, it is still argued that technology has decreased social tendencies of teenagers. This isn’t necessarily true though and some may instead say that social interactions have just taken a new form. Teenagers today are just as social today as they were years ago and maybe a little more due to technology because of convenience, the efficiency of sending messages, and natural protection making it easier to spread views on a topic.

Technology has a major impact on society. With how integrated it is in the world today, it is hard to find something not affected by it. Everyday life is based around technology with cell phones, televisions, and cars being standard to most families in America. This makes some people think that it has a negative effect on society. While there are some negatives, overall, technology has a positive effect on society.

My focus article from this journal was “Online Social Networking and Mental Health” written by Igor Pantic. The focal point of this article was how social media has changed the way people communicate and searches to find if this has had profound effects on mental health. Many studies have found that social media is directly related to depression, low self- esteem, and many other things that affect mental health.

In recent discussions of technology in general, a controversial issue whether the social media provide a net good for the society, has raised wide concern. That is due to the fact the technology has developed so fast and affected our society in various aspects, such as the way of communication and self-assessment. On the one hand, some argue that technology makes our life easier and more convenient. That is definitely true. For example, we can learn what just happened in the world immediately at any time and any place via the Internet. From this perspective, technology is good for the society because it helps us get can get closer to the world. On the other hand, however, others argue that technology is influencing people negatively. There

In the first place, social media is a an extraordinary way to stay connect with friends, relatives, acquaintances, and significant other in reality this is not the case in real world, not electronically, but human contact world. According the article, “ Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” by Stephen Marche states how we as people have been dependent on the use of social media thus making us more lonely than before. As well we don 't know about people’s lives until posted on the social media one example, is the tragic death of Yvette Vickers who died in her home and was not found until months later due to the celebrity 's disconnection from the world. Marche states, “[Vickers] had long been a horror-movie icon, a symbol of Hollywood 's capacity to exploit our most basic fears in the silliest ways; now she was an icon of a new and different kind of horror: our growing fear of loneliness” (60). Marche states about our dependence on

The advancement of technology in American has caused many changes across modern day aspects of life. Civil workers have better equipment to perform tasks safer and more effectively. Engineers have produced advanced computers, that allow the design process to accelerate faster, furthering more technological development. A majority of everyday people now holds these computers and is practically apart of their person. I personally would feel uncomfortable if I had left my phone at home and had it missing. Although technology has done quite a lot to improve American development in general, technology such as the cell phone might have some negative side effects in regard to the individual. Technology might be seen to cause face-to-face anti-social tendencies, risks in potential networking opportunities, and overall health of the individual.

88 percent of teenagers, ages 13 to 17 have a smartphone, or have access to a smartphone. (www.growingwireless.com) Due to the fact that people are exposed to technology at a young age, they become very reliant on technology for the remainder of their lives. Throughout the years technology has evolved to make people’s lives easier, possibly too easy. As the generations evolve, people are forgetting how to live their lives without a cell phone, iPad, or laptop, which is causing people’s social skills and independence to become much worse than those of people’s just a decade ago. Millennials have the reputation of constantly being glued to their cell phones and are seen as being addicted to their devices twenty four seven. Technology is detrimental to today’s society and has negative long-term effects, because it causes people to become lazy, it is a distraction, and people are being cyberbullied.

Social media has connected more people on a global level, but it has also influenced how socially invested people are and are not in face-to-face conversations. The way people network with each other has changed dramatically since the availability of the internet and cellphones has increased exponentially. Since the dissemination of mass media, more people have become infatuated with the social world. This has caused most people to worry about how certain aspects of their lives look to others. People are losing the ability to maintain their well- being with the effects of social media.