Impact of Technology in Social Interactions

When was the last time you saw someone without a phone in their hand or headphones in trying to ignore anyone that walks by? In our modern society, this is the new norm. People refuse to leave the house without their cellular device and if it’s misplaced, it’s the end of the world. Most of our everyday interactions stem from our phones with Snapchat, Instagram, and other social media apps. Sure, it makes completing school work a lot easier and Google Drive makes your life a little bit more organized, but what’s the point of all that when the average human can barely hold a conversation?
Memories of being in eighth grade and all my friends having boyfriends just came flooding back to me. As my best friend Kate and I walk down the hall, we pass her boyfriend Mason. Mason stares at the ground trying his best to avoid all contact while Kate stares at her phone. Five seconds later I peep over at Kate’s phone only to see a Snapchat being sent to Mason, “it was nice seeing you in the halls! Love you!” Not even a hello in person. This is our generation’s idea of dating.
According to the New York Times, human interaction is the number one thing people crave in life whether they realize it or not. Being socially connected is essential to our survival. The most common ways of communicating our feelings are with facial expressions and body language, which are non-existent over the phone. Without face-to-face contact, humans are more likely to lose touch with their own abilities to communicate their emotions as well as have an emotional connection with someone else. The use of technology makes people have no need to go out to interact with other people when they are able to virtually interact using their fingertips.
As a younger tween, I always had my phone in hand when eating dinner with my family. Me, my two older siblings, parents, and my youngest sister always eating and scrolling through Instagram at the same time. It wasn’t until my older siblings left for school that I realized how important it was to spend time with them and not to focus on technology.
The ability to have technological devices is an extreme privilege taken completely for granted. Our society does not realize how appreciative we should be that we even have technology in the first place. Our generation is becoming less appreciative, attentive, and emotionally functional. As reported by bucknell.edu, “More than 70 percent of elementary, middle and high school teachers say media use has hurt students’ attention spans, while more than 40 percent believe it has interfered with students’ critical thinking and their ability to engage with subject matter, according to a 2012 study by Common Sense Media. The instant gratification of being able to go on your phone whenever you choose can cause one to become constantly impatient. With this in mind, face to face interactions are less likely to be pleasant interactions since people are disconnected to our world.
Besides friendships and relationships, another important interaction that is common in our society are business meetings. With the ability to meet in person, you are able to solve things much quicker than you would over the phone. With technology, there are often miscommunications with not being able to read a person’s body language or tone of voice. These miscommunications can also cost businesses money and before we know it me and my peers will be entering the business world as well.
With the addition of technology in our society we have become a society void of emotions. Emails convey no emotions and it replaces what would have been a conversation with your math teacher and would increase open communication. Conversations that should occur face to face, like asking for a written letter of recommendation, are being sent over email and as a student, you are not showing your ability to interact like a mature young adult. Serious topics such as asking for extra credit should always be discussed in person and you are most likely able to negotiate instead of having words set in stone in an email.
As a society, we need to stop caring about our phones and improve our interactive skills. Like a chain reaction, when one person is on their phone, another person goes on their phone. A solution to this issue is to limit the amount of time you spend on your phone per day. This will result in people of our society looking up instead of down at their devices. Limiting our own usage of technology will overall improve our generation’s ability to interact with one another. So, while you think about snapping a pic of you and your friends just remember that your phone will always be there but the moment won’t.