Adoremos 1

Jilianne Marie Adoremos

Professor Rodrick

English 115

06 October 2017

Technologys Effects

How would society, or even the world in its entirety, be different if technology and social

media did not exist? Surely, fears such as nomophobia would not exist. If you do not know what

nomophobia is, Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as the fear of being without access to a

working cellphone. Ask yourself, how would you feel if you did not have access to your phone

for a day, or even months? In essence, technology has an extensive effect on defining our

character we would not be who we are today without it because we all, especially our

generation and the generations after us, have depended on it so much. Be that as it may,

technology does have positive aspects to it. Though technology is extremely useful in the

modern world, it has been slowly changing the way we live which shows that technology affects

our self-identity.

Sherry Turkle, a sociologist and psychologist, speaks to her audience at TED Talk about

the ways technology has influenced the lives of people. Most do not acknowledge the reality of

how something so little and simple like mobile phones, can shape the way we live. Turkle points

out the simple truth that technology has changed not only what we do with our lives but also who

we are. It can be seen anywhere, especially in a business setting, where everyone is on their

phones. Additionally, a group of friends may claim to hang out together but in reality, they are

occupied by their phones and are only enjoying each others2 silent company. Turkle also

discusses how humanity has come to a point where we developed sociable robots as a
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replacement for humans. These robots are usually used in elderly homes to make the elderly feel

as if they have someone to confide to since the sociable robots create an illusion of

championship, as Turkle stated. By being on our mobile phones, we have started to become

accustomed to being physically alone because through technology, we can still connect with

people online. What Turkle is most concerned of is how younger generations will only know

how to be lonely since they will seek companionship through their phones. Overall, this video

explained how technology has been shaping our lives even if we do not realize it.

If cellphones were not to exist, some fears may not have ever developed. For hundreds of

years, people have been able to live a life without technology. It may not have been the most

efficient way but it is possible. However, in the past decade, we have seem to be more dependent

on it, namely with smartphones. Others consider their smartphones as a luxury while others

consider it only as a commodity since they may claim it as something they need rather than

want. It has come to a point wherein a fear, like nomophobia, has developed (Rahim). This

fear has emerged because the mobile phone has made [changes] to human habits, behaviors, and

even the way [they] perceive reality (Rahim). With the invention and the rapid advancement of

smartphones, it has slowly replaced the previous past times of children, teenagers, and adults.

People who are addicted to their mobile phones might not even know what to do with their

time if their phones were suddenly taken away from them. I have heard people say that they live

for their phones and that they would not be who they are today without it. The company,

Google, made searching things up so effortless that we often do not bother memorizing things

that people back then had to and this demonstrates how technology has been subtly molding

our everyday lives.

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In prior years, before the pronounced popularity of smartphones, anxiety disorders were

rarely heard of and often disregarded. There has been a recent study that was conducted last year

wherein researchers tried to distinguish the relationship between social media usage and various

anxiety disorders. They came to a conclusion that each social media site could potentially lead to

a different type of anxiety disorder (Duong). Their study found that Facebook, Instagram, and

Reddit often led to social anxiety disorder (SAD) because of online rejection and judgment

from strangers while Twitter and Pinterest often led to obsessive compulsive disorder or OCD

(Duong). The distress caused by obsession and/or compulsion is called OCD and social anxiety

disorder is the fear of social situations (Merriam-Webster dictionary). In the case of Instagram,

Duong gave an example of how Instagram can affect a persons mentality. She describes a

scenario where a person uploads a photo of themselves and if not a single person who follows

him/her likes the photo he/she uploaded, it can lead to them feeling self-conscious of their

physical appearance and possibly second-guess if their body resembles the standard of society.

This example is a representation of how social media can affect our self-identity. People, often

girls, tend to feel insecure about themselves because of the way media portrays women. Once

they post a photo, whether or not their account is private or public, they are nonetheless setting

themselves up for judgement from their friends and even strangers. This, of course, is not always

the case for everyone.

Older generations often judge adolescents because they believe that excessively using

technology has a negative effect. It is safe to assume that the majority of the population is part of

at least one social media network. If everyone somehow developed an anxiety disorder from

social media usage, there would most likely be a point where the government will start enforcing

laws. But thankfully, that is not the case. The usage of technology may lead to anxiety disorders
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and fears but with controlled and monitored usage, this can be easily avoided. Accessibility is

one of the things technology can offer whether it may be contacting a person or paying for

something. However, all these conveniences come with a price. Papazafeiropoulou states that

many people feel overwhelmed, anxious, or depressed by the information overload that comes

from being connected to the Internet 24/7, and this is true because we absorb and/or receive so

much information from the internet that it comes to a point wherein we may not know how to

process everything we get thoroughly. This can be compared to receiving multiple homework

assignments from each class because it can be extremely overwhelming. Despite this,

Papazafeiropoulou argues that if the usage is managed correctly, technology can still have a

positive influence in the [users] lives. One of the most basic ways to avoid information

overload is to question whether or not a text, tweet, or post is absolutely necessary

(Papazafeiropoulou). This is crucial in the process of managing ones use of social media

because the whole world does not need to know what one person is up to every single hour or

even every day. This illustrates how technology has been influencing our lives because we feel

the need to respond to every notification we receive and share events in our lives that other

people could not care less about. With this, it can come to a situation where we get overwhelmed

and might have a mental breakdown.

Technology has been incredibly beneficial, and often entertaining, in modern society.

Nevertheless, it has actually altered how humans live whether it be for the good or for the bad.

With the invention and mass production of smartphones, it has easily become accessible to

everyone that it led to a modern fear called nomophobia. When one owns a smartphone, it can

be assumed that he or she is part of at least one social media site. Since smartphones allows easy

access, it can lead to an addiction to social media or the internet in general that may lead to
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different types of anxiety disorders that can later affect how a person views oneself. Like what

Papazafeiropoulou stated, all of the things mentioned above may be avoided as long as the

person is able to manage their priorities instead of entertaining their phones every time they

receive a notification from a text message, game, social media, etc.

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Works Cited

Duong, Dana. Social Media Can Cause or Worsen Anxiety Disorders. Does the Internet

Increase Anxiety?, edited by Tamara Thompson, Greenhaven Press, 2016. Gale,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010967205/OVIC?u=csunorthridge&xid=5b7801

6d. Accessed 15 Sept. 2017.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-

webster.com/.

Papazafeiropoulou, Anastasia. Using Technology Mindfully Can Reduce Anxiety from Digital

Overload. Does the Internet Increase Anxiety?, edited by Tamara Thompson,

Greenhaven Press, 2016. Gale,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010967209/OVIC?u=csunorthridge&xid=d99163

44. Accessed 15 Sept. 2017

Rahim, Olivia. Mobile Device Separation Anxiety is a Growing Problem. Does the Internet

Increase Anxiety?, edited by Tamara Thompson, Greenhaven Press, 2016. Gale,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010967202/OVIC?u=csunorthridge&xid=01462c

30. Accessed 17 Sept. 2017

Sherry Turkle: Connected, But Alone? TED, 2012.