Effects of Technology on Social Psychology - Research Paper Example

Technology in America: Effects of Technology on Social Psychology Technological advancements in America have had a great impact on the social aspect of American society. There are multiple consequences that have arisen as even more technological discoveries are made. As much as the new technologies have positive influences on the society, several negative effects have also been seen. The impact of technology on the social aspect is immense. New technologies have changed the way people communicate, feel about themselves and even led to new addictions, for instance, addiction to social media. Statistics indicate that over 97% of the young people in America (between 18 years and 31 years) use the social media, with a larger percentage of them using mainly Facebook. According to Beer (52) “the use of social media on the internet has been shown to reduce with increasing age”. Thus, technology has changed the social norms in the American society. Technology like the internet has revolutionized how individuals relate to each other. Family members, colleagues at work and even students in school can now communicate easily and faster among each other. The internet is fast and sometimes more private and this has increased social interactions especially on social platforms like Facebook, twitter, MySpace and Google plus. People no longer have to meet physically or send letters in order to communicate. They can even form groups and have meetings online without having to meet physically. With technology making interaction between individuals easy and efficient, an increase in the feeling of sense of belonging has been the observed in many of these individuals. According to the 2010 Consumer reports, Technology has fostered creation of new relationships and even sustained the ones that existed before. However, despite the many positive changes that technology has brought, many negative effects have been observed in the subsequent studies carried out. Dangers of online networking especially on the teenagers have been clear demonstrated. Social networking reduces face-to-face interactions among the teenagers and the consequence has been an increased level of loneliness and stress. Cross (40) states that “some teenagers even end up committing suicide as a result of feeling left out or inferior” A substantial number of the avid internet users have become addicted to it. They can hardly spend ten minutes without looking at their phones; staying away from their computers is a hard ordeal to them. Missing out in important activities has been the consequence if this addiction. Those who are students miss classes and other important activities that are meant to help them develop their personal lives. McGrath (80) then implies that this results in “an individual or individuals with very poor social and interpersonal skills”. Most of the life skills are acquired outside, during the normal, traditional face to face interactions. The gap has then been filled, therefore, by feelings of low self-esteem and inadequate capacity to cope or adapt with the day to day issues and problems that they encounter. All these effects lead to their poor performance in school, hence the poor grades. There is so much information in the internet, most of which is false. Innocent individuals who are not careful have, therefore, been manipulated. Information on some platforms is uploaded by people who want to manipulate individuals with little knowledge or awareness. In the industries, much of the work is now being done by robots. This has led to replacement of workers who initially were doing the manual work now being done by the robots. The consequence of this has been immense especially on the families of those individuals who used to work in the industries. Families involved might end up suffering from financial constraints. This increases levels of stress on the members of the family. They can no longer afford even to participate in social events that require one to spend money. This form of impact is on a secondary level (Kraut 17). Furthermore, cognitive overload and uncertainty has led to development of many mental conditions. These include conditions like depression, anxiety and panic disorders. Many of these conditions are a result of the addiction that comes with over-use of computers and other electronic gadgets. Kraut (32) acknowledges this by claiming that “the Straining involved while trying to read from a computer screen makes one develop fatigue which might also lead to psychological deficiencies, therefore, causing difficulties during social interaction” Introduction of electronic devices like cabled television sets has also affected relationships among the family members and especially between spouses. One of the spouses could be addicted to watching the TV. This acts as a barrier to proper communication and bonding between the husband and the wife. This is because the time that would have been used for having a proper talk or conversation is consumed by the electronic gadgets. Good communication gives a proper platform for couples to express their feelings towards each other. It also allows couples to solve any issues that might at times arise in the course of their daily lives. Presence electronic of gadgets that consume this valuable time creates a very of huge barrier. The consequences of this are severe to the family members. Arguments that might lead to separation of spouses or even divorce become imminent (Cross 60). The amount of social pressure that is created by such complications can overwhelm an individual. Many of them might indulge in drug and substance abuse in an effort to reduce stress and negative emotions. Issues of privacy have arisen due to technology. Many Americans post information about their personal lives on the social media. According to Ofcom (53), “Research conducted by Get Safe Online, supports the view that many people willingly post sensitive personal details about themselves online”. Also, the 2010 c0ncuemr report implies that “millions who use these services put themselves and their families at risk by exposing very sensitive personal information”. These social platforms are not always well regulated and the information is prone to misuse by criminals. In addition, people interact with strangers who could be cyber criminals. Abductions and other more serious forms of crimes can occur as a result of this insufficient level of privacy in the social platforms. Hackers can also easily access personal emails, databases for companies and other highly personal information that are supposed to be kept secret (Turkle 50). Social platforms offer a high level of anonymity. This allows individuals to play around with their identities and even manipulate the other unsuspecting members of the social platform. These individuals utilize this as an opportunity to escape reality. They explore new identities that allow them to escape their personalities. The reason for this could be to escape stereotypes and judgments from others, since one uses a false identity. Escaping reality has gave rise to people who are find it difficult to accommodate their usual real life personalities since they are used to pretending in the social media. Antisocial behavior is the product of this; the individuals affected may feel that they cannot fit into certain social circles as a result low self esteem and inferiority complex (McGrath 70). Technology in the transport sector has also improved social cohesion among people from different geographical locations. People in different states can now travel faster and efficiently using electric trains. They can also book their train or air tickets over the internet, at the comfort of their homes. Such improved systems have enhanced the psychological wellbeing of the people who use these transport systems more often. Another effect is on sustaining family and friendship ties since people can meet any time the like because of the fast and efficient transport systems. Family and friends no longer have a reason to miss important social functions that bring them together, for example, weddings. The growth in and development of children in terms of psychology has been greatly influenced by the technological advancements. Children of the modern day are exposed to electronics and other technological products at a very early stage of their lives. Proper development of the child has been greatly interfered with. Children grow in an almost ‘automatic world’ and this diminishes their ability to develop skills essential in relating to other human beings. Their innovativeness and explorative minds are also affected since they are no longer exposed to real life problems that require solutions. However, Turkle (84) argues that “the use of internet and other platforms equivalent to it by children have been shown to somehow enhance their cognitive ability”. Mental health is crucial part of the general human health. The ability of one to think logically and soberly, while remaining in touch with reality, is of great importance. Excessive use of the internet has led to sleep disorders. The amount of sleep has been shown to be indirectly proportional to the number of hours spent on the internet. Inadequate sleep due to internet addiction has further led to the victims suffering from fatigue and stress. This tends to interfere greatly with their ability to function or behave normally in their daily duties or activities. In fact, this reduces their sense of wellbeing. Another disorder that might develop due to uncontrollable internet use is Attention Deficit Disorder. This is where an individual ability to pay attention to tasks at hand is diminished. These individuals cannot keep their minds on one thing before they go for another. Their minds wander all over and they eventually end up producing little or no result. For those who are students, their school performance drops drastically, evident from the low marks they score (McGrath 20). The future of technology in America is brighter as more technological innovations come into place every day. Many of these innovations are improvements of the existing ones. Therefore, more integration of the new upcoming technologies into our social lives is expected. The increased integration means that more serious challenges are expected to be seen. Many technology-based industries have a lot in store (Beer 50). They in fact have master plans running for so many years into the future. Less use of man-power will be evident in the industries and many other companies as the workers are replaced by robots and other machines that do the work much faster and efficiently. On the other hand, individuals might be forced to work from their houses making them to adopt a sedentary lifestyle leading to obesity. Obesity and other physical health effects are basically attributed to little or no physical activity. Unemployment might be one of the products of this increased use of technology in many aspects of our lives. The gradual increase in the number of jobless individuals will mean increased vices like crime and prostitution which hurt the social wellbeing of an individual indulging in them. Conclusion Clearly, technology has a great impact on the lives of most Americans. It shapes and determines their lifestyles, behavior and general well-being. Some of these impacts encompass the political, social and economic aspects. These effects have changed the way people lead their lives. Technology has revolutionized aspects like communication and transport systems that in turn have affected many aspects of the social behavior. These effects are both positive and negative. The negative effects are as a result lack of proper regulations that govern the use of technology. The stakeholders in the various aspects of the American society have to come up with strategies to educate the people on the use of internet. Every single person who is a potential user of the internet or technology of similar nature should be educated on proper use of such technology. Parents should learn how to control the technology at the disposal of their children, for example, the use of mobile phones, tablets and computers. They should be able to train their children on the rational use of these technological inventions so as to avoid the negative effects associated with improper use of such gadgets. Experts who can help those who have been negatively affected with technology should also be trained. As such, Technology has brought about as many benefits as demerits to the American society. Social psychology has changed because of the heavy interaction with wide technological inventions. The negative effects are already evident but more are yet to be seen as more advancement occurs. Technology is slowly replacing the important elements of the human nature and it is imperative that every individual adapts such changes. Work cited Beer, D. "Social network(ing) sites …revisiting the story so far: A response to danah boyd & Nicole Ellison." Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (2008): 516 – 529. Consumer Reports. Social insecurity: What millions of online users dont know can hurt them (2010). Retrieved from http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/2010/june/electronics-computers/social-insecurity/overview/index.htm Cross, D. et al. Australian covert bullying prevalence study. Perth: Edith Cowan University, 2009. Kraut, R. E.Patterson, M., Lundmark, V., Kiesler, S., Mukhopadhyay, T., & Scherlis, W. "Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and." American Psychologist (1998): 53, 1017-1032. McGrath, H., & Van Vugt, J. Young people and technology: A review of the current literature (2nd edition). Melbourne:: Alannah and Madeline Foundation, 2009. Ofcom. Social networking: A quantitative and qualitative research report into attitudes, behaviours and use (2008). Retrieved from http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/media-literacy/report1.pdf Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together. New York: Basic Books, 2011. Read More