The Loneliness Of The Interconnected Summary

There have been many studies done on the negative psychological and sociological effects of technology while some may be true technology has its share of positive effects on society. The advances of technology have aided in the access to information from relatively anywhere. According to Hepburn (2013) “By the end of 2014, the number of Internet users was expected to be almost 3 billion, two-thirds of whom live in the developing world, and the number of mobile broadband subscriptions was expected to reach 2.3 billion globally” (as cited in Yáñez, Okada, & Palau2015, p.89). It has become easier to stay connected to family, friends, access personal information, and has improved educational opportunities. Technology is always evolving and changing for the better. “Mobile technologies and networks are increasingly expanding in their sophistication and capacity, and new applications (software programs) are enhancing the ways in which individuals interact” (Giota, 2014).

Technology has helped connect people and created friendships that without technology couldn’t happen. A big way for people to connect with each other is by using social media like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram. Facebook connects more of us to more of our friends and family than we have ever been connected before (Document 2). Every "Like, every Share, every comment is a way for us to renew on a tiny scale our connections with our friends (Document 2). Our phones are devices that can connect us to anyone around the world in the matter of seconds (Document 5). Technology is not only connecting us with other people it is also connecting us to more information.

The internet has become a popular source used by society of a worldwide computer network that provides a variety of information and communication facilities allowing individuals to communicate with one another easily. The internet it self has brought people together but has changed the way people interact with each other, created isolation, some addiction and being unsafe. Nowadays, anything can be shared to the wide world through any device that is able to connect to the internet; where this can lead to what Charles Seife terms as “no privacy” in his article, “The Loneliness of the Interconnected.” According to Seife, the Internet’s vast interconnectivity made it possible for everyone to hear everyone else - and to be heard by everyone else.

In the adaptive environment of technology and social media, quantifying exact usage of social media by adolescents remains fluid. However, the following statistics are staggering when considering the implications, 7.5 million children under the ‘required’ age of 13 have Facebook accounts, despite the terms of service agreement set forth by the social media network. In addition, on average, 11-18 year-olds spend 11 hours a day exposed to electronic media. (Shapiro)

There are few places on this Earth, if any, where the possibilities are truly endless. However, if you detach yourself from the physical world and emerge into the “online” world, you find that this just might actually be accurate in this realm. The World Wide Web has had so much to offer to us since the early 1990s, but with this comes controversy. Unleashed onto a plane of seemingly immeasurable freedom of anonymity, was the world ready for such responsibility? Since those early days when new emerging technology changed our lives immensely, have we at all become a better place, or have we bitten off more than we can chew, and doomed our human relations forever? Exploring these concepts are three in-depth articles, including: “Growing Up Tethered” by Sherry Turkle, “The Loneliness of the Interconnected” by Charles Seife, and “Cybersexism” by Laurie Penny. Although it is thought that the Internet brings the world together, it actually does not help us politically, culturally, and economically like one would believe, as it makes us unable to be independent, isolates us from different points of view, and encourages real-world violence against women and other minority groups.

Sherry Turkle's article "Growing Up Tethered" exposes the change in adolescent's demeanor while growing up in a technology-fueled world. This modern world inhibits growth towards independence, causes psychological problems, and an intense amount of pressure to uphold online identities. She opens up with various experiences today's youth have gone through trying to stay connected. Some go as far as to risk their own lives and the lives of others to check their phone.

Thanks to technology we have never been more connected-or alienated. Have you ever noticed when there is a family gathering the majority of the time the family members are spending their time using technology rather than socializing? One will notice that almost every person will be using technology whether it is cell phones, iPods, tablets or the television. After watching PBS Digital Nation I believe that “being connected” all the time ultimately does hinder us as a society in many ways.

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

The internet is home to many dangers such as sexual predators and hackers, however the biggest threat to us on the internet is actually ourselves. People have unknowingly isolated themselves by connecting to the internet which causes a multitude of problems that not only affect our online lives, but person everyday lives. In The Loneliness Of the Interconnected, by Charles Seife, readers become privy that because of the information, power, opinions, and people that are available online to everyone results in society becoming even more isolated, ignorant, and misinformed more than ever before with every “like” button being clicked. . Life is a tough place where ideas and opinions can be smacked down by anyone at anytime, but because of the internet people can find a lifeline in others when they log online.

A concerned expression emerges upon her face as the constant beeping and buzzing from the neighboring room drifts into her ears. Knowing her obligation as a parent, she rises from her bed and heads toward the room of the noises. When she enters the room, she finds herself facing a disaster; his head is tilted forward, his eyes are fixed on the screen of his iPhone, his fingers are moving rapidly, and all of his attention is wrapped around nothing else but the activity he’s doing on his iPhone. The disaster that appears before her is the teenager of modern day. In the article, “Antisocial Networking?,” the author, Hilary Stout, claims that social media is inimical to adolescents due to the fact that youngsters who use it become less interested

In “Living Networked On and Offline” Barry Wellman, a retired Sociologist Professor along with Keith Hampton, Professor of Media and Information, elaborate on the ways which technology advances have enhanced our method of communicating with others. Indeed, this great technological has greatly increased people ability to communicate with family, friends, and associates across the globe. Certainly, technology communication is cheaper, easier and faster way to access and connect people. Truly, the ability to communicate with technology has increased the speed of spreading information from friend to friends and neighbor to neighbor. Also, technology such as emailing has led to the feeling that we have access to everyone, anytime and anywhere. In

In the CNN article, Go offline for National day of Unplugging, supports my claim “electronics devices has grown in recent years as it's become increasingly difficult to step away on activities from the online world” (Kelly). One day technology might become everyone downfall of what the real world use to be, remember as child to make a friend all you have to do is bat a smile and introduce yourself in a calm and righteous way then everything would usually fall in place and that’s when interpersonal skills would come play the yes-or no game how to make and keep a friend for a lifetime (until high-school appears), but now children have skip the steps and head-clash for social media at an early age to develop a friendships. It becomes a stigma to witness how common functions are being

Most people in the world today are distracted by cell phones, tablets, and computers. Without any of those items there wouldn't be much connection going on. Technology hinders personal communication, which negatively impacts our age- group. Data shows that those who use the internet frequently spend over 100 minutes less time with friends and family than non-internet users, according to Norman H. Nie and D, Sunshine Hillygus in their paper “ The Impact of Internet use on Sociability.” The internet actually distracts from the communication skills are gradually lessened. Technology negatively affects us by perpetuating the mindset of immediate satisfaction. We as people will not be positively impacted by communicating through a computer screen, if we already do not have the self-confidence to socially interact in reality. I believe the advancement of technology has negatively impacted our social interactions because it detaches us from what is happening around us. The world must learn to embrace technology without allowing it to negatively impact the creation of functional adults in

The internet is used every day by billions of people around the world. According to Nielsen's Total Audience Report, the average American adult spends more than 11 hours a day online. All of that time is used for things such as schooling, watching videos, playing games, and communicating. These days the internet is an essential part of life. But it is also being used by militant extremist groups in the middle east such ISIS, to recruit and share their ideas of destruction. People are leaving their homes and planning domestic attacks on their home country due to these posts and articles written by these extremists. Extremism today is fueled by social media and

“Closeness Is Not Related to Distance” is an advertising slogan, seen at the Blackberry Store at the Hartsfield International Airport. From a subjective viewpoint, has the Internet and other technologies added to our sense of connectedness and well being in our families and communities? The Internet was lauded as the technology that was going to connect the world together with the ability to communicate and work with people of like minds who may live around the corner or across the world. When it appears on the surface people are communicating more frequently with their intimate circles and others of like mind, what is the quality of those relationships?