Abstract
Communication plays an important role in almost every aspect of modern society. Technological advancements in the communication sector have changed the way people communicate, search for information, conduct businesses, work, manage their daily lives, and look for government services. As Technology touches on everyday lives, it influences macroeconomic growth, which further affects society by promoting infrastructural developments and standards of living. Additionally, the world is becoming increasingly digital, where the Internet of Things (IoT) is taking over human roles in the workplace by automation of duties (Harper & Leicht, 2018). However, some argue that Technology is bad for society because it exposes people to vices. Technological advancement is being blamed for decreasing human contact, bullying, and legal violations. Hence., Technology has both positive and negative implications that affect the quality of living.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology on Social Interactions
Advantages
In modern society, Technology has altered how people communicate and interact with one another daily. Disruptive innovation in the communication domain has significantly reduced the need for human-to-human exchanges, which has made communication fast, efficient, and cost-effective. Applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp have made meeting new people and making friends easy. Moreover, the wider availability of internet-enabled decides it means that people can remain close to their loved ones even when they are miles apart (Harper & Leicht, 2018). Additionally, Technology has made dating and finding love easy through numerous online dating apps such as Tinder, and Bubble, among others that have emerged. Introverted individuals now dare to venture online and find love through anonymity provided by Technology.
Technology has eliminated the traditional communication barriers that limit social interactions. Social media has given people the option of becoming members of an online community with like-minded individuals. Persons with disabilities can now engage with their peers through computers and forget their physical boundaries while at the same time building confidence to meet people face to face (Harper & Leicht, 2018). Additionally, sending messages gives people a chance to process information and formulate a response, while face-to-face communication requires an immediate reply (Harper & Leicht, 2018). Traditionally, communication across the globe was limited to people interacting with members of their immediate community. However, Technology has eased communication, which has increased the level of interactions between members of different ethnic, races, communities, societies, and orientations.
In the workplace, social media has had a profound impact on recruiting and hiring. Employers have turned their attention to professional social network recruiters such as LinkedIn to recruit and headhunt talents. Social network platforms allow people to create and market their brands, which makes them stand out in their profession. Some hiring managers make their hiring decision based on the information they gather on social media. For example, CareerBuilder’s 2018 conducted a social media recruitment survey that revealed that 70% of human resource managers were using social networks to reach job candidates (Harper & Leicht, 2018). Hence, Technology is changing the workplace landscape by altering how companies identify, recruit, and evaluate talents.
Disadvantages
The advancement in Technology has been blamed for many ills in society; the major complaint is that it has reduced human contact. Many people are increasingly relying on Technology to communicate with their friends and family members. As the coronavirus spread across the world, many people were advised to continue working from home, which gave online platforms prominence as channels of communication and education (Li & Lalani, 2020). As such., there is less human contact now than in previous years. Remoting working has become the new norm, and transactions have become automated, with machines becoming self-driven. Among the elderly, it has led to increased loneliness as they now rely on transactional encounters as the primary source of social contact with their loved ones.
Advancement in Technology has also increased incidences of bullying because of the anonymity that it provides. Cyberbullying has emerged as the new frontier where bullies hide behind the computer façade as they continue with their heinous acts (Roztocki et al., 2019). However, children have become a target of bullies online, which is a worrying trend. On the other hand, adults are also targets of bullies online, with some committing suicide because of the trolls they receive. Moreover, catfishing, which is creating a fake online identity, has been on the rise lately. According to a 2018 survey by YouGov poll, 9% of the respondents indicated that they had been stalked, abused, and trolled online, which has affected their mental health (Roztocki et al., 2019). Hence, Technology is increasing the mental problems of its users.
Technology has led to eroding of personal privacy and the misuse of personal space. Online users are facing personal attacks, stalking, identity theft, and misuse of information. However, in most incidents, users are to blame because of sharing personal information in the public domain. Nevertheless, confusion arises from the lack of understanding of how private and public features of social media work, and this predisposes them to attacks by cybercriminals (Roztocki et al., 2019). Unfortunately, by the time the shared private content is shared, it is already too late. Lastly, Technology has encouraged people to cherish social media relationships and friendship than real-life ones. Real friends know each other, meet face-to-face, and have a shared bond as opposed to an online one.
How Technology has Impacted My Life and Previous Generations
Technology advancement in modern times can be described in a single word, “convenience.” It has helped to bring services to the people and bridge the traditional gaps that existed in communication, the workplace, socially, and internationally. Shopping has been simplified with the introduction of online platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba, and eBay, among others, in delivering goods to the doorstep. To the previous generation, making friends has been simplified by social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Skype taking the lead in connecting people despite the distance (Su, 2021). Traditionally, people used to make long queues to book a flight or hotel while traveling. However, with the advancement in ICT, booking is made through mobile devices, computers, and tablets in the comfort of one’s home.
Monitoring the health of an individual is important because it gives vital signs to the body. The previous generations had to visit physicians physically to have their vitals checked. However, smart bracelets and health apps have allowed people suffering from chronic illnesses to monitor and alter their personal health through computational statistics. Additionally, hospitals now have computers equipped with advanced security, which allows doctors to monitor the health situations of their patients via WiFi-enabled nano pills and medical tricorders (Su, 2021). Hence, Technology has altered life for the previous generation as they knew it in the past to the new norm controlled by computers and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Predictions of the Impact of Technology on the Future
Considering the rate of growth of Technology in the last thirty years and how the ambitions of scientists have widened recently, then it is easy to predict what role technology will play in the lives of people. First, the Internet of Things will take over, and most operations and transactions will be automated. Home gadgets will be interconnected with each other to enhance the quality of living. In the medical field, personalized therapies will be developed, and drugs synthesized to meet individual needs and conditions. Transportation will be revolutionized with self-driven vehicles hitting the roads. Additionally, general-purpose robots will be developed not to do household chores and replace human efforts. Therefore, the future will be commanded by intelligent machines and will render many people jobless.
References
Harper, C., & Leicht, K. (2018). Exploring social change (7th ed.). Routledge.
Li, C., & Lalani, F. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has changed education forever. This is how. World Economic Forum. Web.
Roztocki, N., Soja, P., & Weistroffer, H. (2019). The role of information and communication technologies in socioeconomic development: Towards a multi-dimensional framework. Information Technology for Development, 25(2), 171-183. Web.
Su, J. (2021). Social Media for Future: The use of collective emotions in online social movement campaigns. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2021(1), 14945. Web.