Jackson Reed Truslow

ENC 2135
12/08/15
Professor Efstathion
Project 2
Throughout time, technology has played an integral role in how we develop and connect
in society. In the few decades, modern technology has begun to become predominately
surrounded by the Internet. This innovation of technology has correspondingly played a role in
how we connect in an interpersonal sense within society. This inverse development has been
defined by the way people use technology. This relationship begs the question, just how can
ones physical relationships be affected, both positively and negatively, by modern technology in
society?
It should be noted that technology is not to blame, but rather how people use it.
Unfortunately, people have become engulfed in technology. However, this does have positive
aspects. As we grow as a society, we are able to connect virtually and globally, which develops
our virtual relationships, which interfering with physical ones.
Jeffrey S. McQuillen, Ph.D. studied and analyzed the effect of technology as having a
direct influence and effect on our interpersonal relationships. He recognizes the discovery of
early tools as being involved in the evolution and innovation of technology. McQuillen also
observes that the world is becoming continually smaller (McQuillen, 617). He states that the
increased ease of technology decreases peoples opportunities to be interdependent. McQuillen
makes a valid point, however it can also be recognized that technology enhances certain aspects
of relationships, such as our ability to communicate on a rapid scale. On one hand, this allows us

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to communicate on a global scale, yet constant communication can detract from how we interact
when we are together. McQuillens statement that Television causes a culture to become
homogenized (McQuillen, 618) This claim is interesting, because although technology has no
direct effect on how we function in society, in can detract from our participation in the outside
world by distracting us. Furthermore, it constantly advertises technology and encourages the use
of it. Again, one should not blame technology. Though technology plays a strong role in how we
maintain societal relationships, people choose to use it at the level they do. has Entire societies
hereby become consumed by the technology they depend on. Society is integrated into
technology, and plays both a positive and negative role in how we develop relationships with one
another.
As Sherry Turkle stated in her book Alone Together, For those so connected [to
technology], there may be doubts (about life as performance, about losing the nuance of face-toface), but there is pleasure the of continual company (Turkle, 276). The point Turkle is making
is that those who heavily involved with a life of online, turn to it for the comfort of assured
company. However, Turkle is also correct in her statement that face-to-face interaction can be
risked being lost. Although, face-to-face interaction is tampered by this advanced use of
technology, people are able to maintain virtual relationships in a globalized and instant form, and
this is a positive side to this issue. If a person seeks constant company, with constant comfort and
knowledge of friendship, then online peers are valuable. However, for society as a whole,
overuse of this technological benefit is can have a negative effect. As technology, social media,
instant messengers, and the internet have developed, our generation has grown accustomed to the
consistency of company that correlates with these forms of technology. This is beneficial to our

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development of how we interact, but can interfere with our growth in a physical sense. This
growth of technology is becoming habitual in our society, and affects how we interact.
Our modern society has witnessed a revolutionary trend concerning the internet, in which
social media has come to play a dominant role in how we not only create, develop, and grow
relationships, but also how we maintain interpersonal relationships within our modern society. As
technology has grown to be an integral aspect of how we share ideas, and beliefs with the rest of
the world. With the power of such outlets as Facebook and YouTube, an individual is able to
provide access of their personal ideals to the rest of the world. This form of globalization has
allowed for our world to become integrated, and has formed our modern society. In Writing on
the Wall: Social Media, Tom Standage, discusses how technology plays a key role in our daily
lives, and therefore is an integral part of our world and of our society as a whole. Standages
comment that the Internet allows people to share information with unprecedented ease,
(Standage, 8) reflects the ideology that we as a society live in a world where privacy has become
more public, due to social media outlets. This is not necessarily negative, because it allows us to
transfer and access information in a more feasible way. An example of this feasibility would be
an English class that uses internet applications, such as Tumblr, in order to review and submit
work. This is beneficial in an educational sense and allows for students to relate, as well as
collaborate online. This social media perk creates a globalized world where ideas can be shared
and transferred. This ease with which people can access information can have a negative impact
as well, due to the lack of privacy. Person-to-person interaction may be somewhat tampered, but
information has never been so accessible, and that is an unforeseen revolutionary perk
concerning the innovation of technology, and has transformed our societal relationships in many
ways.

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The media and technology has seemingly formed a bond with our society and the way we
function, as well as how we are raised. As teenagers grow in their development through the
educational system, their exposure to technology has a direct effect on their ability to function in
schools. Ana-Maria Petrescu claims that the TV set replaces the playground (Petrescu, 46).
This is true in the sense that since the invention of technology, kids have spent more time inside.
From a personal perspective, I have found myself, as I still do, watching TV rather than spending
more time on campus or outside. Schools play a key role in socializing kids, however due to
technologys integration with youth, students become dependent on technology, rather than
relying on the necessity for interpersonal relationships. Facebook revolutionized the need for
kids to expand their friend groups in schools, and affected students abilities to communicate in a
physical, face-to-face relationship. In a positive sense, students are able to socialize via the
internet and social media. However, in a negative sense, these virtual relationships may interfere
with how students converse and socialize. The power of Google, as an example, has allowed for
students to access information expeditiously, as it has globalized and centralized information.
This allows for students to grow their knowledge; however, it detracts from the problem solving
skills gained during research.
Intelligence has also been threatened by the rapid innovation of modern technology.
Conventionally, intelligence is gained through the development of problem-solving skills such as
research and studying. Now in the modern generation, a person is granted the ability to gain any
information which he/she seeks. Search engines, which dominate the internet, are used by the
vast majority of the population of our society, as a means to retrieve answers and information.
Many people, including myself, find comfort in having instant access to boundless information
from across the globe in seconds. This is understandable, because of the fact that technology

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grants the ability for people to not only communicate in a global context, but transfer information
as well. The only negative aspect is the social constraint search engines place. As an example,
people are less likely to utilize research, or contact others, in order to gather information. Though
it detracts from these aspects, it gives people the ability to connect in a universal way. Modern
educational systems, have been granted the ability to progress in a more advanced way with this
rise of technology, though it comes with the social downfalls. Lucy Resnyanskys claim that the
Internet is an information source and social space (Resnyansky, 45) in our society, validates
the ideology that it benefits our ability to communicate on a universal scale. However, in a
society maintained by physical, interpersonal relationships, technology may affect how we our
physical social spaces. Resnyanskys analysis of how our social identities are put to risk by this
easy access to information reflects both the positive and negative aspects of technology on our
society. This idea that technology advances all of our society, has been formed by the excessive
use, and overstimulation to technology that our society has been exposed to. It is not technology
that is to blame however, it is the power and control it has over us a society. Society has become
somewhat desensitized to this overuse of technology. People do not recognize, and therefore are
unaware, of the power of technology over our societal and interpersonal relationships. Search
engines may slightly detract from social relationships, however they overall grant the ability to
connect in a virtual sense, and therefore contribute to our development and evolution as a
society.
As humans have grown and evolved, we have become socially adapted beings. We crave
social attention and public relations. We also attempt to maintain personal relationships, whether
they be physical or virtual. As we have evolved, so has technology, and with the innovation and
progression of technology, many physical, person-to-person relationships have integrated into

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virtual ones, as well. This evolution of digital culture (Santaella, 137) is understood by Lucia
Santaella as being a emergence (Santaella, 137), that places societies, lifestyles and the
human psyche under the control of algorithms (Santaella, 137). Santaella is correct in her claim
that technology has coevolved with our society, and she is stating that it is an integral part of how
we interact. It interferes with certain parts of our relationships, however this coevolution has
been conclusively beneficial to how we are able to communicate in a virtual sense through
outlets such as social media and instant messengers. Though this coevolution detracts from our
connections face-to-face, it allows to be more connected than ever, and is still evolving.
There are many unrecognized features of technology that are prevalent in society. Peter
Kilpatrick, a Dean of Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, gave a speech in which he
spoke on this topic. Rather than blame technology for the impact on interpersonal relationships,
Kilpatrick proposes that we humans must establish widely agreed upon worldwide standards for
ethical and moral decision-making in technology (Kilpatrick, 568). In other words, Kilpatrick is
stating that we as a society should learn to control our usage of technology, and recognize its
influence. As a means of refraining from allowing technology to dominate our society,
individuals should learn to integrate it as a power and a privilege, rather than take advantage of
it. This ideology still supports the idea that technology is currently having a harmful effect on
society, while proposing the possibility that humans can learn to control the use of technology
and social media. By taking on a positive and negative perspective, Kilpatrick is able to properly
analyze the effect of technological innovation in our modern society.
As can be seen by close analysis of the topic, our societys culture is heavily influenced
in a positive and negative sense by the modern innovations of technology. In one hand, it benefits
how we relate to one another virtually, yet it also detracts from our face-to-face interactions, and

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how we develop personal relationships. This transition to a virtual society reflects our modern
inabilities to interact in a physical sense, while also showing how we as a society can benefit
from virtual relationships. Our society is currently predominately focused on virtual relationships
over than physical ones, which is due to our desire to connect an a global scale. Though we
attempt to control technology itself, we must recognize that technology is not solely to blame for
this shift in our society. In order to return to a society whose focus is on the whole rather than the
individual, we must understand the true power of technology, and be cautious of its power over
physical relationships.
Works Cited
Santaella, Lucia. "The Fluid Coevolution of Humans and Technologies." Technoetic Arts: A
Journal of Speculative Research 13.1 (2015): 137-51. Print.
Standage, Tom. Writing on the Wall: Social Media -- the First 2,000 Years. N.p.: n.p., n.d.
Print.
Resnyansky, Lucy. "The Internet and the Changing Nature of Intelligence." IEEE Technology
& Society Magazine 28.1 (2009): 41-7. Print.
KILPATRICK, PETER. "The Relationship between Technology and Ethics." Vital speeches
of the day 76.12 (2010): 567-70. Print.
McQuillen, Jeffrey S. "The Influence of Technology on the Initiation of Interpersonal
Relationships." Education 123.3 (2003): 616. Print.
Wagner, Lori Ann. "When Your Smartphone is Too Smart for Your Own Good: How Social
Media Alters Human Relationships." Journal of individual psychology 71.2 (2015): 114-21.
Print.
Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each
Other. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
"Exposure to Restorative Environments Helps Restore Attential Capacity." Journal of
Environmental Psychology (2005): n. pag. Research Gate. Web.
Petrescu, Ana-Maria. "The Influence of Media on Education - a Socio-Psycho- Pedagogical
Approach." Petroleum - Gas University of Ploiesti Bulletin, Educational Sciences Series 62.1
(2010): 44-9. Print.
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Dolnicar, Vesna, Katja Prevodnik, and Vasja Vehovar. "Measuring the Dynamics of
Information Societies: Empowering Stakeholders Amid the Digital Divide." Information
Society 30.3 (2014): 212-28. Print.

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