I FEAR THE DAY WHEN TECHNOLOGY WILL SURPASS OUR HUMAN INTERACTION. THE WORLD WILL HAVE A GENERATION OF IDIOTS
~ALBERT EINSTEIN
Our era has come to see the vital importance of digital technology in our daily lives. It allows us to unlock a huge collection of information and communication data. Each kind of task, be it a regular task or a job specific task requires digital proficiency or literacy. Digital literacy can be defined as “the ability to use digital technology, communications tools, and or networks to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information in order to function in a knowledge society.
The utilization of digital devices such as computers, TV, mobile phones and video game has escalated substantially over the past few years globally. Technology has helped humanity get things done faster and there is no doubt or shortage of recognition of these increased benefits to mankind.
How far both Digital media and social media have become integrated in the lives of most of the global population is shown here as at 31st March 2011, with the exception of some third world countries such as Liberia and Ethiopia. At the other end of the scale Asia has the largest percentage of internet user at 44% of all users globally from its population of 3.8 billion, a penetration of 24%. China is by far the highest population of users at 485 million and India at 100 million.
We live in a digital environment ; just short of being pixelated or virtual ourselves, the things around us continue to get smarter, faster, more accurate and the connection becoming increasingly more digital. Customer relationships are digital; Business channels are digital; Our conversations are digital, and our social interactions are slowly being affected by this digital world. With the existing of new and emerging technologies through the past decade, it is an undeniable fact that digital technologies have made a significant contribution to improvements in our lives. It has made our lives effortless, placing more of our daily activities to the online web and being able to communicate across long distances. For example, currently being on exchange has allowed me to connect with my family back home via FaceTime an online video application.
Computer systems and the Internet have altered human interactions arguably in the most critical ways when compared to non-computer technological systems that have been developed in the last few centuries. The alterations in how humans communicate with each other in the modern day – which is largely via smart apps, through the Internet/WiFi – has both good and bad consequences. The wide availability of Internet-capable smart devices means that it is now possible for loved-ones to be in close contact wherever they are on earth
While technology-
- has helped bridging a global gap by connecting people via the digital world, This bridge has allowed multitudes to learn about the world, and connect with others, in ways that were previously impossible
- The Internet has also provided endless source of resources, educational materials, and learning systems for people to learn or work from their own home, without interacting with anyone
- Additionally, for social interactions, people often meet friends or dates using apps, from the convenience and comfort of their own home. This is contrasted with a previous age of meeting friends and dates via day-to-day mingling outside of one’s own home.
As technology are becoming more prevalent in everyday life, the assessment of technology’s presence in relationships and its impact on how humans interact with one another is an emerging area of study. There are diff outlooks on the relationship between technology and human interactions and relationships. It is purported that the integration of technologies in everyday life can have intense effects on human relationships.
Nevertheless, the downsides of technologies cannot be ignored; which is why I will be discussing the negative implications that the digital technology can bring into the social face-to-face interactions of our relationships today.
Humans are made to form relationships since we have an innate longing to share our lives with family, friends and partners. This social interaction is important but often intricate as people take in face to face communication in different ways. The nature of social interaction has changed as technological advances have provided new methods of contact. Consider the evolution from in-person contact and letter writing to the telegraph and telephone and, most recently, to ever more individualized and electronic forms of contact such as cell phones, video calls and social media (e.g., Facebook). We know very little about how different forms of communication influence social relations, health, and well-being. However today, instead of spending time in person with friends, we are consistently choosing to communicate via online mechanisms such as applications like Facebook, IMessage, Snapchat and Instagram. These four are only some of the new ways that offer ways of interaction and engagement allowing us to be as physically close to one another as possible in a virtual world
Technology has both eliminated a gap and created one. Virtual distance is the phenomenon where people are physically together but detached from each other due to being completely absorbed with their technological device. This is called Virtual Distance. Additionally, modern Technology is often linked to an over exposure to EMFs, and is linked to excessive blue light exposure, while developing children not only face possible cognitive changes due to constant exposure to the above factors, but often grow up in a possibly more isolated manner due to constantly being “wired” to their smart devices instead of physically spending time with friends.
However, the biggest difference: conversations that happen over technology lack content. You never really know when someone is being sarcastic, funny, or serious. Misunderstandings, miscommunication and assumptions impact how we view others, and happen very often when there is no face-to-face communication. Online contact still falls short and fails to deliver personal touch despite all these advances
Conversations that now happen through social media and have taken the place of traditional interactions is causing people to leave their houses less and less since they do not need to leave to communicate with others. This can lead to social isolation.
- High level of usage of Digital Technologies are associated with decline in communication within family members.
- Domestication of Digital Technologies in household & technologisation of childhood has led to a bedroom culture & digital divide in a negative way
- There is an individualism & privatization within a household regarding digital technologies
It is not uncommon for people to prefer texting instead of actually meeting, or at the very least, calling and thus hearing another human voice. It is also not uncommon for people to walk around, or even sit with others, head bowed to their digital device without saying a word or even noticing anything about anyone else. Human interactions and relationships have thus largely decreased, while intimacy and human-to-human interactions have been replaced with human-to-machine interactions. Technology has helped to modify human behavior by creating a gap between people and reducing intimacy. In an age where robots and AI are slowly replacing humans within the workplace, this interaction between humans and machines is only set to increase.
One of the main areas of interaction that has been impacted by Virtual Distance and technology besides parenting is dating. With the advent of popular dating apps like Tinder, people do not utilize social skills to meet potential mates, but simply swipe through a “catalog” of people. Additionally, ghosting (simply disappearing from the digital world when one is no longer interested) is often very prevalent, which results from a lack of social skills – or courage – to end a relationship in the old fashioned way. Thus, virtual distance directly results in the reduction of refined social skills that was previously universal.
CONNECTIVITY REALLY MEANS DISCONNECTION
Though technology has helped to bridge global gaps, devices and social media/messaging apps, for instance, have largely helped to create a larger disconnect between people. Increased isolation, decrease in social interaction and social skills, and increased human-to-machine interactions are all a result of an excessive use of technology, which has created a wall between many people globally
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