The increasing development of technology has brought modern people efficiency and convenience, yet the growth of technological advancements has negatively Influenced the social Interactions of Individuals because It Isolates them from reality, hinders communication, and perpetuates the concept of Immediate satisfaction. The technological era Is a symbol of highly commercialese and well-developed society because it costs ultimate knowledge and money to keep them in the place. Ender the perfect cover of this symbol of wealth, technology overwhelms individuals to be more notionally isolated though they seem to be able to connect easily. “ Alone Together” by Sherry Turtle, illustrates the fact that technology separates individuals’ ideal lives from practice. Based on hundreds of interviews, the author describes new unsettling relationships between friends, lovers, parents, and children, and new instabilities in how individuals understand privacy and community, intimacy, and solitude. The author describes technology as the architect of people’s intimacies.
The virtual world is built upon Individuals’ Imaginations of how they want their virtual images would be o look Like rather than the truth in the real world. This high-tech, overwhelmed and Imaged world Is driven by the modern capitalists society, which Is also described In “ From the Frying Pan Into the Fire” by Earlier Russell Household, who emphasizes the competition between ideal and practice, by starting with a magazine advertisement for instant oatmeal pitched at mothers who are too busy to show love and affection to their children.
Rather than focus on the balance between capitalism and family value, Household argues that technology increasingly lets individuals seek care from experts, and ignore the interaction with family members, which is the most important part of family relationships. This misunderstanding of using technology leads individuals’ lives to a new solitude. As technology ramps up, people’s real emotional lives ramp down. The growth of internet technology detracts the young generation from the communication abilities of society.
It Is a fact that young people are willing to text on the keyboard rather than making phone calls or face-to-face Interactions In order to hide their emotions and to keep a certain distance. Yet when Individuals’ immunization skills are gradually lessened, they begin spending less time talking to families, experiencing more daily stress, and feeling more lonely and depressed. Young people use the technological internet to save them time from communicating, in case of there will be too many topics going on.
However, they enjoy surfing online looking for something interesting and they are distracted by those things they like. Turtle mentions, “ If the problem is that too much technology has made us busy and anxious, the solution will be another technology that will organize, amuse, and relax s” (272). The author tells readers a fact that technology Itself builds a barrier for individuals from entering their real emotional lives, as technology is both creating and solving problems.
Especially for young people, they are using technology to make them an Ideal virtual world, at the same time they never practice their Ideals In reality, soul as they are getting depressed, they reach out to technology for Intimate help rather than communicate their problems with family and friends. Individuals try online. Household asks the question, “ But the ethic of ‘ saving time’ raises the question of what we want to save time for” (185). It is true in a capitalistic society that time is money, yet for most working people, they have a regular routine and still rush to save time for things they believe are important.
Both authors mention that by constantly being cut off from personal interactions and new experiences because of a technological device, a generation, especially young people with substandard social abilities is being groomed. Technology is the most advanced form of communication that shortens the physical distance between individuals. Maybe died chat is a much easier to stay connected with someone so far away, but people will never know the true emotions of their families and friends when they are multitasking with their high technology. That means priorities are confused.
Turtle writes, “ As we instant-message, e-mail, text, and Twitter, technology redraws the boundaries between intimacy and solitude” (272). When people are using social technology to enlarge their insight of the world, they are breaking their interactions with friends by testing, e-mailing and reading the timeline of Faceable. They forget hat the meaning of chatting with family is a way to find real feelings of intimacy. They are even confused by themselves as doing video calls with families, yet replying e-mails to be anxious and busy. Household describes technological society, “ We separate ideal from practice.
We separate the idea of ‘ spending time with X from the idea of ‘ believing in the importance of X. ‘ We don’t link what we think with what we do” (186). Individuals are enjoying the virtual world with their virtual identities. They build a world they like but is not realistic. In this world, individuals can do everything hey want because no one can truly tell what they are doing. When a mother is chatting with her son on a video call, though they are “ face-to-face”, she can never tell whether her son is putting his heart into this conversation or Just pretending to be listening and surfing the internet for fun.
Both authors point out that the creation of various portable technological devices has slowly introduced the idea of instant gratification and stimulated individuals to hide their real intimacies under the cover of “ screens”. With gadgets like the ASS or mini laptops, which allow users to play Ames anywhere, or cell phones that let people keep in touch virtually everywhere and at any time, internet-using individuals grow up learning that whenever we want pleasure or enjoyment, it will automatically be granted. Yet keeping in touch with families costs them time and attention.
Technology is a negative influence on people because it separates individuals from reality. 20 years ago people would walk down the road to their friend’s house to make plans. Now with the internet, a cell phone, and text messaging people do not have to see a person to make plans or talk. All they have to do is send a message. As these new mediums become more popular, people have begun using testing, voice mail, and e-mails to end their relationships. Relationships represent closeness and good communication, yet people are now avoiding talking to a person that they once had close bonds with.
The only thing that people need to do is open a person’s Faceable and read the timeline to find out the information needed. The timeline expresses a person’s life, a life the person wants to show to the public. Turtle mentions, “ We can write the Faceable profile that pleases us. We can edit our messages until they project the self we want intercommunicating with each other in order to satisfy their personal needs of peace of mind. The more they become lonely, the more pressure they are going to endure because they are leaving their families and friends’ psychological support.
Once they start seeking satisfaction in the virtual world, it will be hard to go back to the true loving family because they are actually seeking help from another group of virtual world. In other words, families are suffering in the pressure of capitalistic society and unable to see the truth in reality as Household mentions, “ Another way of resolving he contradiction between ideal and reality was to critique the fun ethic and say, in effect, ‘ Family life isn’t supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be a hassle, but we’re in the hassle together, and why isn’t that okay? (188). Though people are trying to be good parents, reality holds them back because social structure forces them to be as busy as possible. Technology works as the same force here, as it is a matter of fact everyone is guilty of using technology at one time or another to push people away, even if they do not do it intentionally. Technology negatively affects individuals by repainting the mindset of immediate satisfaction and let them ignore the procedure of interacting with families and friends in reality.
Although technology has its advantages, overuse or abuse will cause people to live separated lives from the rest of the world. Interpersonal communication has become more rare as people become more involved in their technology. Technology does save individuals’ time, but the saved time should be used in the right way. Individuals need to prioritize to better themselves, becoming a more mature and responsible person instead of seeking personal satisfaction in a virtual world.
The young generation is being cut off from personal interactions and new experiences because of technological devices. Although technology allows people to connect with each other in a more efficient way, simultaneously it helps individuals hide their real emotions and keeps the distance even between their close families. If people do not try to interact with people in reality and feel the emotion from gestures and the tone of voices, the world will soon be filled with technological bubbles that keep people in their own disconnected worlds.
