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Christopher Martinez
Professor Havey
English 114B Mon/Wed (8:00)
25 April, 2014
Technology: Good or Bad?
How far will technology go? Just about a century ago we went through the industrial
revolution, when manufacturing technology was booming. We went from the telegraph to being
able to video chat around the world. Society has turned into one that revolves around technology,
from computers telling Wall Street brokers where to invest money, to helping people with
disabilities in their everyday lives. Technology has made major advances in the past 100 years
but have all these technological advances helped humans or harmed them. Such rapid advances
have to come with an effect on humans. In 1946 author Anais Nin wrote these words "The secret
of a full life is to live and relate to others as if they might not be there tomorrow, as if you might
not be there tomorrow...This thought has made me more and more attentive to all encounters,
meetings, introductions, which might contain the seed of depth that might be carelessly
overlookedThis feeling has become a rarity, and rarer every day now that we have reached a
hastier and more superficial rhythm, now that we believe we are in touch with a greater amount
of people, more people, more countries. This is the illusion which might cheat us of being in
touch deeply with the one breathing next to us. The dangerous time when mechanical voices,
radios, telephones, take the place of human intimacies, and the concept of being in touch with
millions brings a greater and greater poverty in intimacy and human vision."(Bartz). It is as if
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Nin saw to the future and knew what it held and what would happen. When it comes to the world
of technological communication it has greatly affected human interaction, negatively.
Technology was created to help humans but it has created a virtual wall between one another.
Technology advances like the smart phone have turned into a great distraction for people.
This has caused a virtual wall to be created between people. A device which was created to make
people come closer has done the opposite throughout the years. In a short YouTube skit I
Forgot My Cell Phone by Charlene deGuzman this is shown perfectly. We see how a smart
phone puts people in their own bubble and makes them ignore their surrounding which include
friends, family, and their significant other. This video shows how the smart phone has affected
human interaction negatively. We see that even from a young age children are stuck on their
phones rather than playing with their friends, making human interactions or socializing with
people. The act of being sucked into ones phones is what causes people to have bad relationships
with people, since they do not know how to communicate correctly or they end up not
communicating at all. One can see the negative effects smartphones have on people in their
social lives and their interaction with other humans.
Physical socialization has been decreased due to advances in communication technology,
one of them being the emergence of social networks. These social networks were created to
connect people that could not communicate because of distance issues. Humans have taken this
and used it for other reasons such as excuses not to talk to people face to face or avoid unwanted
situations. A study by Pew Research Center reported that 13 percent of Americas cell-phone
owners pretend to be on their phones in order to avoid interacting with people around them
(Shister). More than one in three Americans would rather pretend they are busy on their phone
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than actually socialize with people (Shister). One of the most commonly used scenarios of this is
while in an elevator, people will get out their phone and pretend to do something rather than have
a small conversation with the other person in it. People have become so anti-social and created
such an enormous virtual wall that they use cellphones so they cannot interact with other people
on purpose.
For many, using cell phones has become an addiction. A great example of this phone
addiction can be seen in the short film by Shae-Lee Shackleford The Anti-Social Network. It
goes into the life of someone who is obsessed with their smart phone and its social media
features. He is so into this digital network that it interferes with his chances of being with the
girl he meets at a bar. It shows the conflict created when someone is deeply into their phone
while the other individual is trying to enjoy the moment. Throughout the film one sees these
opposing forces clash with one another. At the end the girl ends up leaving him because of his
infatuation with his phone and social networking. The viewer sees how the combination of the
smartphone and social networking can completely take over someones life. Even though he still
tries to socialize with the girl he likes, he still have a virtual wall stopping him from fully being
there. The film shows the negative impact of smart phones and how they have created an
invisible virtual wall between people in an everyday scenario.
Smart phones have caused people to no longer to be present. In an article by Dr. Harke,
Dean of USC School of Cinematic Arts, he explains people are becoming less present because
they are sucked into another world while on their phones. Dr. Harke uses the term "present" to
describe those moments when a person is fully engaged in the current situation (Harke). When
people are not present they are in a techno trance. Dr. Harke defines this being in a state when
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common sense, manners, and awareness get put to the side (Harke). Being put into this trance
makes people less sociable and can bring negative consequences. For one it can ruin a first
impression whether on a date or interview. It causes a person not to be fully living in the
moment. This creates the problem of not talking with the people around them. Dr. Harke
explains how technology has brought our presence down a majority of the time whether in a
classroom, dinner, or any other event, this harms people in the long run (Harke). He explains
how being present is a great skill which will lead you to success, in ones social life as well as
professional, while being stuck in a techno trance can lead to relationships and professional lives
to be ruined. The points he makes cannot be anymore precise of what happens to people when
they are sucked into their phones.
Surprisingly many people will say that smartphones do not make people anti-social. A
recent poll created on Debate.org showed that 64% of people said that smartphones did not make
people anti-social, while the other 36% said yes (Debate). The main argument of the people who
disagreed with smartphones making people anti-social said that they bring people closer
together, via Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Facetime, Text, and E-mail. While this might be true,
that people can now connect more easily even with distance barriers, none of them brought up
the idea of people being socially online effects their ability to be social in person (Debate). On
the other hand the 36% that did agree with smartphones making people anti-social, their main
argument was that with the use of smartphones it causes people not to pay attention to their
surroundings and not socialize in an environment that requires socializing (Debate). They still
believe that used correctly it can be a great tool because you can connect with people around the
world within seconds, but they argue that majority of people who have a smartphone do not do
that (Debate). Even if they are socializing online, they are not present and socializing in real life.
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The solution to being present is simple, and it involves smart phones. As shown above
one can see why technological advances are harming us instead of helping us in our social lives.
But there is a way to use this technology to our advantage. There are application that have been
developed to help people socialize in person. Apps like Hypotheticals and Ice Breaker both give
conversation starters when no one knows what to say or talk about (The Strait Times). These
apps help people to socialize in person not just through social media. The idea behind this is
great. It gets people a chance to interact without having a virtual wall up. Even though these are
great applications to help socialization in person, not a lot of people will actually use them.
Instead they will just keep on doing what they do best and create a virtual wall instead of
bringing it down.
Advances in technology were created to help in the everyday life of people, but doing so
it has created a virtual wall between them. No longer do people have the same interactions they
had a few years before. As seen in the films one can see how excessive phone usage can
negatively affect people. They miss the chance to truly enjoy the moment. Dr. Harke explains
how this way of being affects people in relationship and in their professional life. Not being
present is a great skill that is being lost when one is not fully there. Even though many believe
that smartphones are not causing people to be anti-social it is easy to tell that they are. One
cannot go anywhere without seeing people sucked into their phones. There is a solution to all this
which is fairly simple but sadly most people will not put enough effort to change their habits of
being sucked into their phone. At the end of the day the thing that was created to make us closer
together is what is pulling us apart. A technological advance in communications that was
supposed to help us, is consequentially harming our social skills and human interactions.
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Work Cited
Bartz, Andrea. 10 smartphone habits you should avoid CNN. Web. 2012.
April 25, 2014
Chua, May. Anti-antisocial apps: Do smartphones and tablets encourage antisocial habits?
The Straits Times. Web. 2012
April 25, 2014
deGuzman, Charlene. I Forgot My Phone Video Clip. Youtube. 2013.
April 18, 2014
Do smartphones/tablets make people antisocial? Debate. Web. 2013.
April 25, 2014
Harke, Brian. Is Social Media Making Us Anti-Social? Huffigton Post. Web. 2011
April 25, 2014
Shackleford, Shae-Lee. The Anti-Social Network - Short Film Video Clip. Youtube. 2013.
April 18, 2013.
Shister, Gail. Do Smart Phones Make Us Antisocial? Philly Mag. Web. 2011.
April 25, 2014

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