The impact of technology has been massive in all of our lives. We can now connect with people across the globe with the click of a button. Initially technology has helped up to reconnect with each other and gain more access to, and share, information online. It has been a saviour for many, but now people have become so dependant on technology. This has caused a shift in many peoples lives and preferences to change, which has ultimately made many people feel more alone.
The question is has technology continued to allow us to connect, or has it made us all feel more alone? Whilst this is subject to each person individually, there are some key pros and cons to consider that are identified below.
Technology Unites People
A great example of technologies importance and unification of people is the COVID 19 pandemic. This global catastrophe has depended on the use of technology to bring people together when they physically cannot be. It has saved numerous jobs and peoples livelihoods too. Technology has been the only thing that has allowed us all to maintain some sort of social life via online platforms such as zoom, Skype or Microsoft teams. In this example technology has really united people and allowed them to keep their sanity, relationships and work life on track.
With the use of social media outlets many people can connect with other likeminded users to discuss ideas, share information and get to know one another. Many sites are now a primary source for people to get to know new people, or they use their social media presence and personalities to better understand them. Some people use technology to make new friends or connect with others in a social based way to help them feel more connected.
Recently more and more people have taken to technology to help them find new relationship opportunities. There are many sites to help people talk and try to find partners. At first these sites were not taken so well, now they are kind of a staple of our society. A lot of people use these as a starting place to get to know new love interests, now many relationships have blossomed because of this.
How Technology Makes us Lonely
Technology has a tendency to make us feel more alone because we are more dependent on our online connections rather than our real life ones. We spend so much more time on our phones, tablets or computers to keep us informed and updated on social media. Imagine the current reports from Internet Advisor shows that an average person spend 60.5 percent of their time in social media. Many psychologists have warned that overtime our dependency on technology will lead to us feeling more alone and anxious.
Many people really idolise the lives that they see being lived, or at least portrayed, via social media. This has caused so many to think that they are underachieving or not living their lives to the fullest because they do not have to same lives as their idols online. These unrealistic lives, bodies and relationships are so overly hyped and are usually fake. Most people cannot see that many influencers or celebrities do not really lead these lifestyles.
This ideology has really implicated the younger generation, many of which have become completely addicted to social media and the use of smart phones or tablets. Due to their easy to use features, toddlers and young teens are gifted these items to keep them entertained. However, they are now becoming more and more addicted to this form of socialising or information gathering that they barely engage in real life conversations or socialisation.
There have been many cases of young teens playing violent video games so much that they too believe that they can act the way the characters do in said game. This kind of reaction is what we are facing now with social media, it is more important to have a good online presence than to actually lead a good fulfilling life. This has caused so many people to feel lonely and use technology as the only source for communication. Whilst this is highly dependent on the type of person that you are, it has affected many people to have these same ideologies, no matter how confident the person is.
Technology has undoubtedly made it easier to connect with other people, but in doing so many people have forgotten how to connect with one another in person. We use texting abbreviations as part of our natural dialogue now, we are more likely to look up a person on social media to learn about them before meeting and many more examples. Whilst it initially helped us to not feel alone, we now use technology as a crutch to know more and develop an idealistic version of ourselves.
Conclusion
Technology has been the rise and demise of our society; it was built with pure intentions to make our lives easier. We always asked for the next best thing, fast service, better picture quality or more in depth videos and explanations of things, and we got it. Now we are facing the backlash for wanting so much, we rely on the Internet and technological advancements for all of our information, for social connections and to de-stress after a long day. We must become more aware of the things we really require to help us feel less lonely, lead healthier and more aware lifestyles.
Technology has become our default setting, if you are bored, on your own or need some kind of stimulation most people will go to technology for a quick fix. To help us to not feel so alone we should use technology wisely, remembering that there is so much more out there to contemplate and fill our time with. This way we will feel much more fulfilled in our lives, thus not feeling so alone.
