Impact of Technology on Social Interaction
Introduction
It has been witnessed that there is a movement of human kind into the era of digitization where people are being connected through a never stopping technological drift. This technological boom has changed the ways of social interaction of at both emotional and physiological level. The depth of this change has felt by people, institution and business. Certainly, there is no sign of slowing down technological expansion so it is very important to know the impact of such changes on the social lives . This paper will attempt to identify some pros and cons of the technological change on the social interaction of individuals.
Background and importance
It is observed that the evolution of humanity from Stone Age to 21st century is marked by the progress in technologies and it has made the human lives better. In this regard, the new method of communication via technology has entirely changed the ways of social interaction. Today, people have mobile phones, twitter and Facebook and they can access any informational resource or any person no time, but this is not the only side of the picture. The speed of this technological advancement, if not estimated, will make the lives of people frenzy. So it is important to identify the pros and cons of this technological advancement in the social interaction of individuals.
Bring friends and family closer
The advent of new media communication has decreased the distances among friends. The social networking website like Facebook and twitter help the people to reunite and get in touch with each other. The telecommuting allow the people to do job from anywhere in the world. As the availability of open communication media, it has become easy to voice your opinion. Through online portals, the voice of people can easily be raised without scrutiny of message. In addition, it provides people with freedom of expression and speech (Bargh & McKenna).
Cross cultural understanding
There is no doubt in the fact that the social sites like twitter, Linked In, Facebook, YouTube, and other forums provide people with an opportunity to gain knowledge about different cultures while sitting at their home. They can interact with anyone, living at any place at any time and in this way, a deep understanding of cross-cultures takes place via interaction with people living around the globe .
Saves time and cost
The social networking sites along with the application like watsapp, Viber, Skype, Line and many others have made it very easy for the people to interact with their loved ones without caring about the expense of calling them as these are free of cost. In addition, people communicate with their friends and families in such an effective way that it seems like they are on the same place. In this way, the technology in social interaction saves time of covering long distances.
Disadvantage of technology in social interactions
Addiction to the social interaction forums
It has been witnessed that the teenagers spend so much time on facebook, watsapp and twitter and do not pay sufficient attention on their studies of career building. It will lead to a serious threat to the competency of individuals in their professional lives.
Fake identities and weak relationships
Many people have fake accounts on the social networking sites and they try to trap girls and cheat them later on. In addition, married people have been a victim of cheating incidents as well resulting in divorce.
Real interaction becoming obsolete
There was a time when people loved to see each other by visiting the homes, but now, individuals are restricted to the social mediums of communication provided by the technological advancements. At present, people prefer to interact with their loved ones via messages or phone calls instead of physically meeting them (Mcgrath).
Lack of emotion during interaction
When people interact through technological devices, it is observed that there is not much transfer of emotions. The message can be conveyed, but the feelings cannot be conveyed by sending messages or commenting on the pictures. Some factors are critical for social interaction e.g. body language, eye contact, expressions, but they are lacking in interaction through technological devices. These factors help the listener to understand the true meaning of conversation or message .
Conclusion and recommendations
After considering the above mentioned discussion, it can be said that it is fast, cheaper, and informative for the individuals. Apart from this, it cannot be denied that the social interactions via technology have reduced the travelling distances, but on the other hand, there is an emotional distance created by technology. People prefer to chat via mobile or social networking sites instead of meeting the loved one physically to express their love and care. It is recommended that the people must use the technology for social interaction to a certain limit as the excess of everything is bad.
Works Cited
Bargh, John & Katelyn Y.A. McKenna. "The Internet and Social Life." Annual Review Psychology. 2004.
Humankinetics.com. Technology Can Have Positive and Negative Impact on Social Interactions. 2014. 14 Novemeber 2014 <http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/technology-can-have-positive-and-negative-impact-on-social-interactions>.
Mcgrath, Siobhan. "The Impact of New Media Technologies on Social Interaction in the Household." April 2012. 2014.
O’Donoghue, Zoe. "Friend Me”: The Impacts of Technology on Human Interaction."
Thiebaud, Jane R. "Effects of Technology on People:." Proceedings of the Media Ecology Association, Volume 11. 2010.
