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Keith Calhoun
La Sierra University
English 112-4
Ms. Lacey
January 30, 2015
Technology and Its Effects on Loneliness
In a contemporary society, which is ruled by the latest technology trends, a
question has arisen: Does technology breed loneliness? Ever since personal computers
have become available to the public, this question has been asked and studied and I will
state claims to both sides, but I have seen that technology does not breed loneliness. In
fact, technology is a key component to defeating loneliness.
As personal computers started becoming popular during the 1980s, millions of
tech hungry consumers were eagerly accepting the computers into their households and
families. In 1980, more than one million personal computers had been sold and by the
mid-1980s, this figure had risen to 30 million (The Personal Computer,
historylearningsite.co.uk). This technology trend of personal computers, to say the least,
has completely taken over the world. Bill Gates and his business partner Paul Allen had
dreams of the 21st century when a computer would be on every desk in every home. (Bill
Gates, scietnificamerican.com). Id say their dream has come true because in this age its
rare to walk into any home without seeing at least one desktop and everyone in the family
having their own laptop. You may wonder though, how has this technology affected our
socialness and relationships with people? Has it lead to loneliness or has it possibly
contributed to humans being more social and communicative?
In a case study conducted near the beginning of the Internet, around the late
1990s (ecommercetimes.com) a group of psychologists examined the social and

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psychological impact of the Internet on 169 people in 73 households during their first 1 to
2 years on-line (American Psychologist, Vol. 53(9)). These psychologists used a
technique described as Longitudinal Research to gather data and information on their test
subjects. This type of research is a method used to find correlation between variables
unrelated to various background variables (psychology.about.com). To make it simple,
data is first collected at the outset of the study, and may then be gathered repeatedly
throughout the length of the study (psychology.about.com).
During this study the subjects used the Internet substantially for communication
but oddly the test results showed an increase in their depression and loneliness.
GreateruseoftheInternetwasassociatedwithdeclinesinparticipants'communication
withfamilymembersinthehousehold,[and]declinesinthesizeoftheirsocialcircle
Thisbringsaboutasortofawkwardparadox.Whydidtheuseofcommunicationonthe
Internetleadtolesscommunicationwithsocialcirclesandfamilymembers?Arewe
morecomfortablebehindascreenandkeyboardthaninperson?
Uponfurtherstudy,beingbehindascreenandkeyboardisfoundtobemuchmore
comfortablethaninperson.ManypeoplesufferfromsocialanxietyandtheInternethas
helpedtobeabufferbetweenthemandtheworld.Itallowsthemtointeractwithpeople
inawaywheretheycancontrolthesituation,intimacy,andtheirtiming.Accordingto
JanetMorahanMartin,anonymityandlackoffacetofacecommunicationonlinemay
decreaseselfconsciousnessandsocialanxiety,whichcouldfacilitateprosocialbehavior
andenhanceonlinefriendshipformation(ScienceDirect.com).InthisstudyJanetused
277undergraduatesandassessedtheirInternetusagebetweenlonelypeopleandpeople
thatwerenotlonelybasedontheUCLALonelinessScale.Inherfindings,thelonely

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peopleshowedmoreinterestintheInternetandwerereportedtoformmoreonline
friendshipsthanpeoplethatwerenotlonely.ThisdoesntmeanthattheInternetbreeds
lonelinessthough.Inthisscenarioithashelpedpeoplewithsocialanxietybygivingthem
amorecomfortablewaytointeractwiththeworld.
Inanothercasestudy,asimilarexperimenttookplacebutthe222subjectswere
allseniorsovertheageof55.Theresultsfromthisstudywerejustaboutthesameas
before.AccordingtotheauthorsinInternetUseandLonelinessinOlderAdults,
multipleregressionanalysesrevealedthatgreateruseoftheInternetasacommunication
toolwasassociatedwithalowerlevelofsocialloneliness(online.liebertpub.com).This
wasonlytruethoughwhentheseniorswerecommunicatingwithcontactstheyalready
hadintherealworld.Whenitcametofindingnewpeopletotalkto,therewasahigher
resultofemotionalloneliness.Thiswasthemajordifferencebetweentheseniorsstudy
andtheundergraduatestudy.Theyoungerpopulationfoundthemselvesbeinglesslonely
byfindingnewfriendsonline.
Accordingtothecasestudiesprovideforourtopic,itsdifficulttosaywhether
technologyhasbreadlonelinessinourlivesbylookingattheresultsalone.Youhavetwo
conflictingideasandargumentsthatbothseemlogicalsowhenitcomesdowntoyour
finaljudgment,takealookatyourlifeandreflecthowtheInternetandtechnologyhas
affectedyoursocialstanding.Haveyoubecomelonelierduetotechnologybecauseit
allowsyoutoavoidformingrelationships?Orpossibly,hastechnologybeenakeytool
foryoutointeractwithpeopleandbuildfriendships?Inmypersonallife,technologyhas

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alwaysbeenthereformetomeetandinteractwithlikemindedindividualswhenthereal
worlddidntprovidethattome.Iamproofthattechnologydidnotcausemetobelonely.
Cherry, Kendra. "Longitudinal Research - Psychology - About.com."
Psychology.about.com. Web. 23 Jan. 2015.
<http://psychology.about.com/od/lindex/g/longitudinal.htm>.

Spiegel, Rob. "When Did The Internet Become Mainstream?" When Did The Internet
Become Mainstream? 12 Nov. 1999. Web. 23 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/1731.html>.

Gates, Bill. "A Robot in Every Home." Scientific American Global RSS. 1 Jan. 2007.
Web. 23 Jan. 2015. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-robot-in-everyhome/>.

"The Personal Computer." The Personal Computer. Web. 23 Jan. 2015.

<http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/personal_computer.htm>.

Kraut, Robert, Michael Patterson, Vicki Lundmark, Sara Kiesler, Tridas Mukophadhyay,
and William Scherlis. "Internet Paradox: A Social Technology That Reduces
Social Involvement and Psychological Well-being?" Ebsco Host. US: American
Psychological Association, 1 Oct. 1998. Web. 23 Jan. 2015.
<http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=10&sid=7b0c82f7-7156487a-af2d-

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edbb478f014d@sessionmgr111&hid=118&bdata=JmxvZ2luLmFzcCZzaXRlPW
Vob3N0LWxpdmU=#db=pdh&AN=1998-10886-001>.

Morahan-Martin, Janet. "Download PDFs." Loneliness and Social Uses of the Internet.
Elsevier Ltd., 3 May 2003. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563203000402>.

Sum, Shima, Mark Matthews, Ian Hughes, and Andrew Campbell. "CyberPsychology &
Behavior." Internet Use and Loneliness in Older Adults. Mary Ann Liebert Inc.,
18 Apr. 2008. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.
<http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cpb.2007.0010>.