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Argumentative Essay – Does Technology Make Us More Alone?

Puneet Kamal Kaur

Norquest College

COMM 1007 – Written Communications

Bonnie Anderson

December 6, 2021
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We are meant to become more linked as a result of technological advancements. People can

communicate with their friends at any time via social media platforms such as Facebook,

Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media apps. Is it possible that technology is isolating

us? While technology allows us to contact individuals all over the world, it also has the

potential to isolate us. With the rapid advancement of technology, the digital world has

become accessible to practically everyone. Some would argue that social networking has

aided in bringing people closer together all around the world. However, people have become

overly reliant on technology. They'd rather exchange text messages rather than talk to one

other face to face, people send messages and communicate online (Gonchar, 2016). We will

discuss how technological pervasiveness has impacted three important areas in this paper: the toxic

influence on mental health, the destruction of quality of human interaction, and poor social skills.

Paragraph 1– Topic 1
People's interactions and communication with one another, as well as their ability to express

themselves and access vital support networks, have all been impacted by digital technology. It's

alarming how much harm social media and apps are doing to us and our relationships. These

technologies, rather than helping us feel connected and included, make us feel alone and detached.

Furthermore, by being hooked to our phones the entire time, we are isolating everyone around us

which is the most terrifying concept of all. Technology overuse or reliance can have negative

psychological consequences. The most common side effects of excessive use of technology and social

media apps are depression and anxiety. When people engage in negative social media activity, they

become more prone to self-comparison, which exacerbates depression and anxiety. On the internet,

the new generation is slipping into the trap of fallacy. They are striving to attain unrealistic standards,

and their failure to do so is causing severe body image issues and eating disorders (Johnson, 2020).
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Paragraph 1 – Topic 2

In today's society, the internet and technology appear to be quietly undermining the meaning of our

interactions with people, separating us from the world around us, and leading to an impending sense

of isolation. Rather than spending time with friends in person, we call, text, or snapchat with them.

Technology has an impact on social relationships because it does not develop solid bonds but instead

diminishes the importance of face-to-face interactions. When we meet someone online instead of

meeting them in person, it is not the same. People do not need to display their true personalities or

convey their feelings if they do not have face-to-face interaction. To put it another way, this makes

people feel more at ease and increases their confidence in establishing new friends without having to

share personal information. According to a study, people who use social media the most are more

likely to feel socially isolated than people who use it the least (Tarver, 2021).

Paragraph 1 – Topic 3

As we become more connected through social media in the digital sphere, it is causing a social skills

gap among each and every one of us. Eye Contact is one of the most important social skills that is

being impacted by technology. It's a crucial social skill to be able to maintain eye contact and

recognize when it's suitable. While people spend more than ten hours a day staring at a screen

they lose the capacity to know what to gaze at when they are having a one-on-one conversation. Due

to the excess usage of technology, people have increasingly low confidence to speak face-to-face. The

negative repercussions of not paying attention are becoming more obvious with growing technology

and interruptions. According to cognitive science research, the brain has a certain amount of

bandwidth; dual-tasking forces the brain to draw on a shared, restricted resource, reducing reaction

time. It also causes a lack of spatial awareness and a short attention span.

Paragraph 2– Topic 1
According to a 2017 OECD study, 54 percent of individuals feel awful if they don't have

access to the internet, and 61 percent of 15-year-olds lose track of time while using any
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digital gadget. Extreme internet users were also found to have worse life satisfaction and

wellness, according to the report. According to the World Health Organization, high

percentages of internet users, particularly teens, report the lowest levels of life satisfaction

(World Health Organization, 2016). Poorer sleep and higher levels of anxiety and depression

have been linked to increased social media use and emotional involvement in social media

(Woods and Scott, 2016). Bottino et al., 2015 found that exposure to cyber-bullying is

associated with a wide range range of negative outcomes, including depressive symptoms,

substance use, ideation, and suicide attempts.

Paragraph 2– Topic 2
Cigna surveyed over 20,000 adults and discovered that nearly half of them felt lonely at least

once a day, with only 53% saying they had relevant face-to-face encounters every day. Only

25% of teenagers socialise and spend time with their peers in person daily, according to Pew

Research Center (Ama, 2015). People spend all day on social media and not engage with

those who are physically present. These individuals are, in reality, completely neglected.

Phubbing is the term used to describe this type of behaviour. It means when you ignore

someone in favour of using your phone.  Misreading content has become a common thing

now since the media is continually expanding with new content. Many of these searches can

be completed in minutes and can result in bad emotions if we misunderstand an issue.

Paragraph 2– Topic 3
Teens spend an average of 7.5 hours on their digital gadgets, according to a new survey by

common sense media. As a result, it becomes difficult for them to have a decent conversation

with individuals in real life by making eye contact. In 2021, only 28% of Facebook users

believed their Facebook friends to be authentic, while 39% of those same users stated they

are linked to people they have never met in person. According to research, passive social
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media use makes us feel more lonely since we observe other people enjoying themselves

outside, with their friends, or on vacation (Tarver, 2021).

Paragraph 3– Topic 1
If we need evidence of how technology is affecting our mental health, we don't have to look

far. The usual day of this generation begins and finishes with them looking at their phones.

People check their phones 80 times every day according to a study by Pew Research Center.

This is an indication of a toxic addiction. Technology is disrupting our ability to

communicate on a deeper level. When we use social media, the chemicals released are similar

to those released during drug addiction.  According to the same study, 31% of people

experience anxiety when they are separated from their phones. The fear of being without our

phones, known as nomophobia, is on the rise. In reality, we use our phones as a "security

blanket" in anxiety-inducing social situations to alleviate feelings of loneliness or

embarrassment. However, looking at your phone further isolates us from those around us, the

same ones who could help us feel less lonely (Tarver, 2021).

Paragraph 3– Topic 2
I'm sure we've all been in a situation where everyone in the room or on public transportation

is engrossed in their phone. The issue with easy access to technology is that it eliminates

boredom but promotes solitude. Every free moment that would have been spent conversing

with a stranger in an elevator or on the bus before phones existed is now filled by the device

in our hand. We don't communicate with others around us, even if they are relatives or

friends. We don't raise our heads. We don't interact with our environment or our community.

We come across as distant and 'busy.' As a consequence, we are lonely (Tarver, 2021).

Paragraph 3– Topic 3
Human interaction has changed completely due to texting. It doesn't capture our actual vocal

inflections, body language, or subtle facial expressions. Human interaction and

communication have played a crucial role in our evolution as a species. When paired with

voice, body language, and words, the complexities of our ability to communicate through

human facial expressions are limitless. We're sending those laughing emoticons, but we're not

laughing or feeling any of the emotions we're feigning (Fodeman, 2020).

Conclusion

One epidemic is still wreaking havoc around the globe. The larger epidemic, on the other

hand, is still lurking among us. We must recognise it and begin to take action to protect our

future generations from a variety of psychological, psychosocial, and even physiological

consequences. Only humans are capable of sharing and comprehending emotion, thus we

deserve high-quality social contact. No technology will ever be able to replace a person's

social abilities. Technology, on the other hand, is successfully robbing us of our basic human

abilities, emotions, and even the ability to develop social attachments.

References

Bottino, S. et al. (2015), “Cyberbullying and adolescent mental health: systematic review”,

Cadernos de Saúde Pública, pp. 463-475.

Fodeman, D., & Moerland, A. (2020, January 9). The impact of technology on socialization

and communication skills. Brookwood School. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from

https://brookwood.edu/the-impact-of-technology-on-socialization-and-communication-

skills/.

How technology affects your social skills. Liberty Classical Academy. (2021, September 20).

Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://libertyclassicalacademy.org/technology-

affects-social-skills/.

Johnson, J. (2020, February 25). Negative effects of technology: Psychological, social, and

health. Medical News Today. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/negative-effects-of-technology.

OECD (2017), PISA 2015 Results (Volume III): Students' Well-Being, PISA, OECD

Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi. org/10.1787/9789264273856-en.

Tarver, H. (2021, February 11). Facebook loneliness: Lots of "friends" but no real

connection. The Roots Of Loneliness Project. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from

https://www.rootsofloneliness.com/facebook-loneliness.

Tarver, H. (2021, November 3). Connected without connection: Technology makes us more

alone. The Roots Of Loneliness Project. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from

https://www.rootsofloneliness.com/does-technology-make-us-more-alone.
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Tarver, H. (2021, October 25). Social media, loneliness and isolation often go hand-in-hand.

The Roots Of Loneliness Project. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from

https://www.rootsofloneliness.com/social-media-loneliness.

Woods, H. and H. Scott (2016), “#Sleepyteens: Social media use in adolescence is associated

with poor sleep quality, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem”, Journal of

Adolescence, pp. 41-49.

World Health Organization (2016), Growing up unequal: gender and socioeconomic

differences in young people’ s health and well-being, ISBN 987 92 890 1423 6