ABOUZAHRA 1

Mahmoud Abouzahra

Professor Sharyn L. Hunter

English 1201 Web

July 24, 2015

Technological Advancements Effect on Communication

Figure 1: Family Eating Breakfast While Ignoring Each Other

Computers, smartphones, and sophisticated devices are now accessible to the majority of

the American population, especially for millennial. It was during a family gathering, when I

noticed how my younger cousins are on their phones, not interacting/ talking to each other. I also

noted how my six years old cousin has an iPad and his eyes are glued to the screen. During my

childhood, I used to get excited about family gathering, my cousins and I would play around all

types of sports. It scared me when I noticed how my childhood is different than theirs. What

concerned me the most was when my uncle said, I have difficult times interacting and keeping
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up with them.. If technology is already damaging the communication between families as it is,

how much worse will it get through the years to come?

Over the years, I have noticed how our personal life is extremely dependent on

technology. Technology has advanced through the years and these advancements are evidential,

from the way we live, communicate, travel, learn, purchase products, and many others. As the

demand of technology increases, everything changes and advances to better and higher

standards. Technology has advanced rapidly that a laptop computer today is 96% cheaper than

1994 model with better processing system. Due to the rapid expansion of technology, many

individuals are concerned that people may be too immersed in this digital world and not present

enough in the real world.

Social media and digital communication have taken over the world and the reason behind

that is access. People has scarified connections, face-to-face interactions, and empathy for speed.

Having access to technology has strained communications skills and relationships between

family members, even young adults have shared their concerns, Adolescent men complain

about how they used to love watching Sunday sports with their dads, and now dads are on their

iPhones or laptops and they are completely sucked into the Internet space. (Adler, 2013).

Which begs the question, is technology taking away conversation time between us? A

majority of individuals felt the quality of their conversations degraded in the presence of

technology, and many individuals were bothered when friends or family used technology while

spending time together.

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Emily Drago, a graduate of Elon University with a bachelors degree in Strategic

Communication, has conducted a survey on the effect of technology on face-to-face

communication. Later her paper was published as a part of Elon Journal of Undergraduate

Research in Communications, the nation's only undergraduate communications research journal,

and was published 2015. Hundreds of Elon students were surveyed, and an analysis of previously

conducted studies provided evidence that the rapid expansion of technology is negatively

affecting face-to-face communication.

One of the major negative impacts of technology is evidential during a social gathering.

People tend to browse social media than engage in a conversation to avoid social awkwardness.

A student has shared his opinion on the use of technology during a social gathering saying, I

dont mind if its used to enhance a conversation (looking up important information or things

relevant to a conversation); otherwise, it typically takes away from the experience in general as

you can tell the other person(s) attention is divided and unfocused on the present moment.

(Drago, 2015).

Other students voiced their opinion regarding the matter expressing that they feel

neglected when their friends are on constantly on their phones while in they are present, Other

students shared sentiments that using technology to communicate is acceptable, but when used in

the presence of others is disrespectful. (Drago, 2015).

While others felt uncomfortable expressing themselves in face-to-face communication

and would rather communicate through a digital screen. According to the survey conducted by

Emily Drago, nearly half of survey respondents (46%) communicate more frequently with

friends and family via technology than in person, indicating strongly that face-to-face

interactions have decreased both in quality and in quantity. (Drago, 2015).

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Whereas Fatin Izatie Mohamad Adib, Halida Yum, and Saidatul Akmar Ismail, faculty of

Information Management, in the University of Teknologi MARA (UiTM) addresses the positive

impact technology has among family members. With the advancement of technology and busy

work schedule, family members hardly see each other, technology (such as a cell phone, tablets,

) has helped solve this issue. With the help of technology, parents can communicate with their

children via phones and do groceries from the comfort of their homes without worrying about

leaving their children.

the lives Earlier on, communication was almost impossible as there were only mailing

services and static or public telephones available for those who wished to connect with their

family. (Izatie, Adib, Yum, Ismail, 2016). The lives of immigrated families have changed

through the years, due to the constant evolving of technology and communication computers and

phone applications such as smartphones, tablets, FaceTime, Skype, etc.

Fatin Izatie Mohamad Adib, Halida Yum, and Saidatul Akmar Ismail had also addressed

the improvement technology had offered to special needs people, such as autism and visually

impaired children. Basically, the advancement of technology has positive impacts on disabled

children as it is now possible for them to communicate, where previously it wasn't. (Izatie,

Adib, Yum, Ismail, 2016).

Karen Zilberstein, a child and family therapist and Clinical Director of A Home Within in

Northampton, MA; discusses the effects technology has on our brain and behavior. Studies show

little scientific evidence that supports the claim that technology strains social interaction between

ourselves. On the contrary, results from a neuroimaging study have shown that there is more

brain activation, particularly in visual areas, than did reading, while using the Internet.
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Technology also has a negative impact on the development of speech on children and

toddlers. children who spent more time with hand-held screens were more likely to exhibit signs

of a delay in expressive speech. (Akpan, 2017). A study of 900 toddlers have showed a direct

link between the amount of screen time a toddler has, and the increase of speech delay. toddlers

build and increase their speech skills by using them with the people around them. more toddlers

are spending time watching a screen.

Zulberstein concluded the following from her research, While social media certainly

alter how people relate in some areas, research suggests that it has not revolutionized the value

placed on intimate relationships and peoples willingness to pursue such affiliations, nor has it

radically eroded a generations sense of self. (Zilberstein, 2013).

Jim Rubin, teaches at Union College, Barbourville, Kentucky; raises an important

question about whether the technology has put limitation on youths potential to the basis of

problem solving and creativity. Young people dont feel motivated to go to school because

everything is presented online. They choose to play on their electronic devices, rather than join a

sport time or read, which omit them to be an active member of our society.

Rubin compared learning back in the fourth and fifth centuries BCE, where they

practiced the intellectual pursuit of challenging ideas through oral dialogue, while as now a day

ideas are shared through a text or a discussion board online. His method of oral discourse

extended the pursuit of honing memory skills for purposes of verbatim recall, pushing the power

of logic and thought toward higher/creative levels (Rubin, 2012).

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It is clear to us that technology has hacked and taken away from the privacy of

individuals. It is hard to maintain privacy online as invasive technology is here to stay. As a

matter of fact, Technology now allows and aids many to follow and stalk through social media.

Many crimes and accidents that occur every year are facilitated through technology. The fact

that technology now allows an individual to carry such information in his hand does not make

the information any less worthy of the protection for which the Founders fought. U.S.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in Riley v. California (2014).

Another aspect of our lives technology has negatively impacted is our jobs. Technology

has negative impact on other fields that go beyond communications. Industries that have around

for ages have been affected by the rapid increase of technology. The taxis industry has already

been affected by the applications like Lyft, and Uber. These applications made it easy for the

consumer to find a ride to and from location, but made it hard for taxi drivers to find as many

customers. These applications have caused a 42% decrease in the number of trips taken by a taxi

according the Los Angeles city records (Nelson, 2016). This decrease is not limited to Los

Angeles, other city like Boston, New York City, and many more have showed a similar decrease.

Lyft and Uber have also had a positive effect on the consumers. Rural Areas similar to

Dayton Ohio have a low number of taxi drivers, and a poor public transportation system

compared to major Urban cities like New York City. These applications have given the rural

population more options to choose from. Also, some public transportation are difficult to use for

disabled customers. Lyft and Uber made it easier for the disabled to go from one location to

another with more ease. Lyft and Uber have also created jobs for those who have been
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unemployed or laid off. The 42% decrease in Taxi drives shows an increase in jobs for the

unemployed.

Although It might seem like technology is taking over our jobs and life, but we can't deny

its positive impact. We see its impact whether through transportations, medicine, equipments,

and other tasks/tools a man can't safely achieve. The problem is people don't fully understand the

impact of technology on them, yet they blindly follow it without care.

One crisis is that people depend on technology on daily basis, that without technology

they might not be able to perform a simple task. Libraries became extent, people use electronic

devices to navigate the cloud, when they need to look something up. They became invested in

their devices that they disregard each other.

There are entrepreneurs and inventors who had limited resources, yet they created

systems, devices, and many more which are in use to this day. These people having limited

resources didn't hold them back, on the contrary, It pushed them to achieve it. The benefit of

limiting the technology use for children is to give them a chance to fully develop, before

introducing them to technology. I believe once they are fully developing and can access

technology they will be able to achieve more. A drawback of introducing technology late in a

child life is, it will be time consuming for them to learn how to use and implement it.

It is clear that technology have made globalization affordable to our generation.

Hundreds of social media applications and programs are created daily. Mark Zuckerberg,

founder of Facebook, announced that more than 2 billion people are connected on Facebook,

including more than 1.3 billion people who use Facebook every day. Further, more than 250

million people use Stories everyday on Instagram, and 250 million on WhatsApp. This

connection between all sides of the world has profited and educated people on different cultures.
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Studies have shown that people use social media sites like Facebook so they can meet their basic

need of socializing and connecting to others by keeping taps on their friends lives and updating

their status. (Zuckerberg, 2017)

Unfortunately, this connection has been converted into a massive need to attention

through the amount of likes and comments they receive on their updates. In fact, a

Kaspersky lab study has found that 42% of social media users admit the feeling of jealousy when

a friends post receives more attention through likes and comments than their own. Further,

a large group have admitted posting embarrassing photos of their friends especially under the

influence of alcohol to gather likes on their posts , as a consequence, up to 58% have admitted

being embarrassed of their friends posts about them through social media. (Fergusson, 2016)

Another application of technology is dating sites. Many dating applications now exist like

tender, elitesingles and match.com. While it is a great service for people to meet life partners, up

to 59% millennials consider online dating sites a great way to meet people, up to 54% admit that

they do not believe every detail posted online about their significant other (Manago 2015).

A recent study has found that there is a strong correlation between social media use and

divorce, as it has found that increased using of social media is correlated with increased divorce

and unhappy marriages. According to Forbes Magazine, this is due to lack of personal attention

and additional tension and jealousy, infidelity and distrust (Rohampton, 2017).

In a survey conducted by Pew Research center, 25% of the respondents have claimed that

their partner was too distracted with their phone during their conversations and family time. The

distrust and jealousy created by social media is true as 34% of women and 62% of men admit
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checking their partners phone which have caused higher rates of unhappy marriages and

divorces. (Wallace, 2015)

The constant use of cellphones, tablets and laptops may cause negative physical impact

on the body. According to New York spine surgeon, Dr. Kenneth Hansraj, staring at a cell phone

or tablets all day may break the spine as tilting the head for 60 degrees adds pressure to the neck

and further break the overall body stature.

Furthermore, social media can cause mental illness as staring at screens can mess with

sleep as it the glowing light affects sleeping cycles. Googling everything includes sickness and

symptoms can cause anxiety. Browsing Facebook may cause loneliness and desolation feelings.

Finally, the increase use of technology through social media, texting and emailing rewires our

brains. According to Dr. Gazzaley, We are exposing our brains to an environment and asking

them to do things we werent necessarily evolved to do. (Holmes, 2014)

The excessive use of technology affects all aspects of our daily lives from

communication, dating, jobs, and privacy. It also has a huge impact on the creativity and

development of a child. It's evidential that technology makes our daily tasks easier, but it's

crucial we learn how to execute simple tasks on our own.

One way to change the way we behave is limit the use of technology, especially in the

early years of children, to help them navigate their way and help develop their problem solving

skills. Another way to help they way we regard the subject is for a family to put their devices

away to spend quality time together. Studies has showed that children feel neglected when their

parents are on their devices, which affects their communication skills negatively.
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Work Cited

Adler, Iris. "How Our Digital Devices Are Affecting Our Personal Relationships." Wbur. N.p.,

17 Jan. 2013. Web. 30 July 2017. <http://legacy.wbur.org/2013/01/17/digital-lives-i>.

Curtis, Sophie. "Men Twice as Likely to 'mobile Snoop' than Women." The Telegraph. Telegraph

Media Group, 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 21 July 2017. Web. 22 July 2017.

Drago, Emily. "The Effect of Technology on Face-to-Face Communication." Elon Journal of

Undergraduate Research in Communications 6.1 (2015).

Holmes, Lindsay. "Sneaky Ways Technology Is Messing With Your Body And Mind." The

Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 05 Dec. 2014. Web. 30 July 2017.

<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/05/health-effects-of-technol_n_6263120.html>.

Manago, Adriana M., and Lanen Vaughn. "Social Media, Friendship, and Happiness in the

Millennial Generation." Friendship and Happiness (2015): 187-206. Web.

Mohamad Adib, Fatin Izatie , Halida Yu, and Saidatul Akmar Ismail. "IMPACT OF

TECHNOLOGY TO SOCIAL INTERACTION AMONG FAMILY ..." N.p., n.d. Web. 16 July

2017.

Nelson, Laura J. "Uber and Lyft have devastated L.A.'s taxi industry, city records show." Los

Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2016. Web. 22 July 2017.
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Roberts, John. "Privacy & Technology." American Civil Liberties Union. N.p., May 2017. Web.

25 July 2017. <https://www.aclu.org/issues/privacy-technology>.

Rohampton, Jimmy. "Millennials, Here's How Social Media Impacts Your Relationships."

Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 04 May 2017. Web. 20 July 2017.

Rubin, Jim. "Technology's Impact on the Creative Potential of Youth." Creativity Research

Journal, vol. 24, no. 2-3, 01 Jan. 2012, pp. 252-

256.EBSCOhost,ezproxy.libraries.wright.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx

direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1088470&site=eds-live Web. 22 July 2017.

Wallace, Kelly. "Is It Ever OK to Snoop on Your Partner?" CNN. Cable News Network, 26 May

2015. Web. 22 July 2017.

Zilberstein, Karen. "Technology, Relationships and Culture: Clinical and Theoretical

Implications." Clinical Social Work Journal, vol. 43, no. 2, June 2015, pp. 151-158. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1007/s10615-013-0461-2. Web. 22 July 2017.