The Downside of Technology: Anxiety, Depression, and Loneliness
Technology is truly a marvelous thing. It can enable individuals on two opposite ends of the world to connect beyond the scope of what was once thought to be unimaginable. Be it through cellular communication or Facebook statuses, it is undeniable that technology has surely become a powerful force that drives the world today, and it is continuously evolving at a rapid speed to this day. A great amount of people incorporate the use of technology into their everyday lives, and it has become a link that bonds us all. Although technology reaps a multitude of benefits, at the same time, it is hindering society's social skills in a way that causes people to become more alienated from the outside world. Along with this, cyberbullying has become a prevalent issue within society due to technology allowing individuals to hide behind a screen while hurting others. Cyberbullying can be connected to an unsafe lifestyle in terms of mental health, showcased by rising depression and anxiety rates as a direct result of excessive technology use. Although technology has benefited society through strengthened communication and interaction across the world, technology can lead to negative outcomes including detachment, cyberbullying, and problematic mental health, which all connect to the loneliness that technology can provoke.
Social media can play a key factor in the eventual loneliness of users, as the pressure to constantly check it is sometimes unbearable, leading them to become attached and even addicted to social platforms. The main reason that social media is causing loneliness is because real social skills take a hit as a result of simply being able to talk behind a screen without conversing face-to-face (Siegle). When an individual becomes accustomed to being behind a screen and communicating online, they lose aspects of sociability. Being social online becomes second nature to many, and they lack physical interactive skills when it comes to social situations due to that reliance on technology. Nowadays, millions and millions of people have an account on at least one social media platform, and for some, this ends up being the only medium through which they
The beginning of the digital age began in 2002 opening its door to a new way of life and adding new problem to society. It not only affects one as an individual by wasting their valuable time lock on a digital monitor, but it has also disconnected society. Consequently, children and even adults have taken their own life from the pressures of this new habit that empower them. Being connected to the internet throughout a digital device, like a cell phone or a computer has lure individuals to a screen, rather than empathizing with other. Creating a lack of empathy and moral behavers. Bullying has evolved to cyberbullying and is the newest form of children showing power over another this is mostly done online through social media, texting and/or
In his article, “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” Stephen Marche argues that Facebook is the vital cause for loneliness and is luring people away from social capital. According to Marche, social networking isolates individuals and creates distance, mostly amongst family members. For some, it is not only isolation but rather social loneliness. The author claims that health can also be effected by loneliness. Nowadays, due to very little verbal person to person communication, he writes that people have never been so separated from one another because of social media. Facebook users, Marche argues, have an addiction to profoundly visit their account constantly leading to the feeling of loneliness and in most cases depression. The author claims that social networking, instead of demolishing isolation, is unknowingly spreading it. Ultimately, However, Stephen’s argument fails to convince due to his abundant false assumptions and the articles confusing organization.
Social media, like Facebook and Twitter seems to be growing popular worldwide in the last few years. Have you found yourself or someone else in an awkward situation and instantly pull out your phone to scrawl through Facebook or Twitter just to keep from talking to someone in the elevator or doctor’s office? Is social media like Facebook and Twitter making us lonely human beings? One man, Stephen Marche, wrote “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely,” published in May of 2012 issue in The Atlantic thinks that social media might play a role in it alongside with other things.
However, as more as the prevalence of cyberbullying climbs so do the people saying just what Brett Warnke says in his article “The Danger of Cyberbullying”, “why don’t kids just unplug?” Well, the thing is, that they can’t. Social media is everywhere and people are integrating it into everything now. Going back to Warnke’s article, Eden Foster comments on technology, “[The] use of technology has extended beyond simple entertainment”. Humans now use technology, not only to entertain ourselves, but also in our everyday lives, it’s like it’s “infiltrated the confines of the home” (Warnke 24). Things that happen solely online affect us in real life, especially negative things such as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is something that, according to Kirk Sigmon in his article titled “Sacrificing the First Amendment to catch ‘Cyberbullies’”, children should be able to avoid and ignore, but it just doesn’t happen that way. In The Ophelia Project’s fact sheet on cyberbullying there is a statistic that states “60% of targets said that their online experiences as a target of cyberbullying affected them at school, home, and with friends and reported experiencing feelings of frustration, anger, and sadness,” showing that these negative online experiences follow a person into the outside world. The feelings mentioned in the statistic can lead to a victim to hurt themselves or to develop mental issues, which is exactly what
In Stephen Marche’s article, “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” points out many reasons to which social media is making us lonely. One reason why social media is making us lonely is because we are so focused on the internet and we forget what is going on around us. Another reason is because we can see how our friends on Facebook are having a great life and we become lonely because our life is not as interesting as theirs. Even though I disagree with the author’s conclusion that social media is making us lonely, there is ample evidence to support my belief that the internet can also be a tool for communication.
In the reading, “Connectivity And Its Discontents,” by Turkle, the author contends that social media defends people against loneliness. She also states, that it controls the intensity of connections of how people connect with other people, and create ease to communicate and disengage if people wanted to. For example, he states, “We discover the network—the world of connectivity—to be uniquely suited to the overworked and over scheduled life it makes possible. And now we look to the network to defend us against loneliness even as we use it to control the intensity of our connections. Technology makes it easy to communicate when we wish and disengage at will” (190-191). Therefore, people using social media to communicate is good because people might have a busy life style that doesn’t allow them to spend time meeting with their friends. It also provides an outlet against loneliness because some people might not have many friends, and social media allows them to connect easier with people they can’t see through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many other forms of social media. It’s better for people to be open with other people online. People are able to socially interact with other people all over the world using computers, cell phones, and even tablets. The technology today doesn’t limit people from communicating, and web browsing to their hearts content. Social media and the technology
In Stephen Marche’s article, “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” he discusses how Facebook has changed our world into a very self-reliant place. Facebook has changed drastically since it was first created. When it was first released people all over the world went crazy. Everyone posted everything they did and for a little while it was doing the purpose that had been intended. While Facebook is still doing what it was intended to do the way it is doing that has completely changed. In general social media has created a way for people to stay connected online but destroy a real connection with anyone in real life, because of this many people have become lonely without even realizing what has happened to them because they are so busy doing other things.
Cyberbullying is a relatively new threat, and it is very similar to traditional bullying. Despite the fact that cyberbullying and traditional bullying both share the common goal of harassment, cyberbullying differs from traditional bullying in that it does not stop at the schoolyard, and can continue when the victim is far away from the aggressor. It is just as devastating as common bullying, and sometimes is even more damaging. Professors Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin note in their journal, “Cyberbullying Creates Dangerous Stress and Anxiety”, that cyberbullying affects anywhere between 10-40% of students (contingent on their age group) (par. 1). J.D. Kelly A. Albin, in her article “Bullies in a Wired World”, defines cyberbullying as “…the ‘willful and repeated harm inflicted through use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices’” (157). It is caused by the fact that children feel their actions are mitigated when they use social media, as it creates the illusion of indirectness, and its effects range anywhere from mild depression to suicide.
One of the myths carried by social media is that it makes users more socially connected, however, it worsens feelings of social isolation. Social media often tries to take the place of face-to-face relationships, ruining healthy ones (Norton 1). Technology has become an essential part of the way people communicate with one another and has increasingly taken the place of face-to-face communication. This allows people to substitute electronic relationships with physical ones, promoting social isolation. Replacing real-world relationships with social media use is detrimental to a user’s well being.
In Stephen Marche’s article, Facebook is a reason people are becoming move lonely and standard. The relationship between technology and loneliness is strong. According to the article people who spend their time on devices and social network sights are finding themselves lacking in the ability to communicate in person. One effect that is brought up throughout the article is loneliness, in which is made the more often one drowns themselves in social media. Facebook in particular, is the
The severity of smartphones impacting a child’s adolescence continues to increase each and every year. Forty years ago my parents were teenagers and none of them had a computer, let alone a smartphone. Flash forward to today and every single kid my age has a smartphone and some get one as young as ten years old! What will the next forty years entail? Vasts amounts of cyberbullying occurs online every day between high school students, so with time will this behavior continue into the workplace? Twenge shines a light on the fact that the more time spent on a social networking site, the unhappier the user felt. Not only does her article indicate we are on the brink of a mental health crisis, but we are also one the brink of a shift in basic human behavior. Before now, humans have never willingly spent such large amounts of time doing activities that leave them unhappy, unfulfilled, or worse off overall. Only time will tell, but time is not a luxury we possess, a response to this technology addiction needs to be formulated
Social media has connected us in unimaginable ways, and introduced us to a world much larger than our humble backyards. Nowadays, nearly everyone has a Facebook, an Instagram, or a Twitter account. Grandparents, teenagers, children, and even some pets are a part of one social network or another. While websites like Facebook are great for sharing pictures, stories, and interests, but they are also capable of raising awareness about important issues that may have been overlooked. Recently, the overuse of Facebook was thought to promote negative psychology well-being, including depression and loneliness. It 's safe to say that the world has become hopelessly addicted to social media. Plenty of people can 't make it through the day or in extreme cases a few hours without popping on their computers or scrolling through their smart phones to check the newsfeed on Facebook. As Stephen Marche says in his article, "Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?”, Facebook makes us miserable and lonely. In fact, even though there is evidence showing that we 're more detached or lonely than ever because given Facebook is about social relationships; however, the site also offers an extraordinary number of ways to connect with others. This is just a taste of what Facebook can do, and with a huge number of people utilizing them, its possibilities are only growing. Facebook does not replace real human relationship or create loneliness, but it does not exterminate it either. It all depends on ones usage.
Social networking gives narcissists another medium to be narcissistic. The rise of social networking gives people a source of entitlement. People can be described as having more than just an addiction but unhealthy attachment to spending time on social networks. The pull towards using social media is because of instant gratification caused by jolts of energy. Over time social networking can compulsively help socially anxious individuals with their mood. However, it will not have long term benefits, but
Social networking sites (SNSs) have made up an important area of research for those interested in online communication technologies and their impact on individuals interactions (Steinfield, Ellison & Lampe, 2008). The use of these technologies are said to have mixed effects on loneliness and connectedness. While these sites create a more convenient avenue to stay in contact with people (Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2007) they also limit the depth of genuine relationships (Kraut et al., 1998). It is difficult to determine whether it is these SNSs that are making people lonely or whether these sites are reconfiguring our notions of loneliness, as these are not static concepts (LaRose, Connolly, Lee, Li & Hales, 2014). Research has also found that individuals who have high levels of conscientiousness are less like to engage with SNSs as they promote procrastination (Hughes, Rowe, Batey & Lee, 2011).
We use technology in almost every aspect of our daily lives; it is how we stay connected in this fast-paced world. Technology provides many benefits, but it has the potential to destroy many people. With technology use on the rise, bullying has taken a new, more destructive form. Cyberbullying, as defined by the Cyberbullying Research Center, is the willful and repeated harm inflicted through the medium of electronic text (qtd. in Chait). Cyberbullying is a serious problem and has serious consequences.