Technology Does Wonderful Things for People - Research Paper Example

?Technology Does Wonderful Things for People but It Also Enables Them to Isolate Themselves Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Thesis Statement 3 Discussion 4 Conclusion 6 Works Cited 7 Introduction Technology is often regarded as a boon for mankind owing to the fact that it enriches the life of people in a society with better interacting opportunities. Technology is also considered to act as a key driver of globalization and mobilization which deliberately reduces divergences in terms of geographic and economic barriers. The inclusion of technology has, thus, transformed human life vastly in the present day phenomenon significantly assisting in providing better medical facilities, communication systems and military services. Although technology has helped in the development of the world, the recent arguments accused technology to impose certain ill-effects by isolating people restricting them to socialize. The arguments have mostly been concentrated on the grounds that people get socially isolated owing to their favoritism of game consoles or their experiences of internet bullying (“How Technology Affects Us”). Thesis Statement The discussion would emphasize on the development of technology and correspondingly on its role in causing social isolation. Stating precisely, the objective of the essay would be to evaluate the reality behind accusing technology to cause isolation among individuals in the current day context. Thus, the discussion henceforth will attempt to analyze the various advantages and limitations of technology which especially concentrates on its functions as a means of communication and a driver of globalization. Discussion Social isolation is referred to the act of developing a gap or distance between an individual and their belonging community which further results in lessened interaction of people with their surroundings. In the modern phenomenon, one frequently attributed reason for social isolation, especially among teenagers has been indicated towards the ill-effects of rapidly increasing influence of technology on modern lifestyles. It has been thus argued that people are getting immensely attached to game consoles as well as social networking sites which cause a negative impact on the society in terms of isolating individuals by limiting their reasons to interact with the outer world (Biordi & Nicholson 68-115). Conversely, from a generalized perspective, the advancement of technology has been signified to facilitate better interaction of communities throughout the world involving web services as well as mobile phones. For instance, the numerous social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Friendster, Linkedin, MySpace and Spoke are immensely popular among people today. These sites are mainly used with the purpose of interacting with people anywhere in the world which apparently presents an opposing perspective towards the criticism of technology acting as a causing factor of social isolation (“Social Networking Sites; More Harm than Good?”). However, stating for or in favor of the argued statement, human beings are revealed to get immensely attached to televisions and game consoles which restricts them from socializing within the community and their surroundings. Today, people are getting hugely immersed with technological gadgets which cause a negative impact on the socializing activities of individuals. For instance, technology advancements as video games have immensely affected the young generation as well as adults being increasingly preferred as relaxation activities by people. It is in this context that recent researches reveal playing video games continuously as well as deciphering excessive dependence on it may cause an individual to minimize interaction with their surroundings. Hence, in a way, playing excessive video games may isolate an individual from the society. It may also develop an unfavorable affect on the behavior of an individual as many games may be designed with the inclusion of violent contents. Apart from isolating individuals from the society, it also affects their health as well as their psychological development to a certain extent (“How Technology Affects Us”). In addition, media, such as television, have also been examined to segregate people from their community as excessive viewing of television may cause adverse effects on their health as well as behavior. It majorly affects children for expending more time viewing television reducing the time to be spent with family members as well as friends. It has also been examined to de-motivate children from being involved with other physical activities which not only affects their physical health but also effects their psychological development of children (Biagi 163-164). The advancement of technology has created a sense of instant satisfaction among people owing to which the modern day society is becoming increasingly dependent on technology. People today not only use technology for gathering information from the international dais but also use the facility to perform shopping, communicating and recreational activities. From a positive perspective, this depicts the advancement of the entire mankind to perform any task at a click; conversely, it also indicates towards the de-motivation of modern day people to move outdoors and actively socialize with their surroundings at frequent instances (Browne 297-298). Therefore, it can be stated that technology does partially influence the social isolation of an individual in the modern day context. However, it certainly depends on the usage pattern and the level of addiction deciphered by the individual concerning technology advancements. Conclusion The development of technology has emerged as an inevitable factor in the advancement of mankind being considered as a driving factor for globalization. In the present day context, technology not only signifies the rapid modernization of lifestyle, but is also termed as a significant attribute reflecting upon the social status of a person. The progress of technology is helpful to people on various grounds. For instance, it has provided with better communication systems such as mobile phones and social networking sites where people can share their feeling and perceptions with other members of the community irrespective of the socio-economic and geographic barriers. However, it has also been accused to impose a few negative impacts on people. Arguably, it has often been affirmed that technology has led to the isolation of people, especially adolescents and teenagers from their surroundings which is majorly owing to their addiction for indoor games and television. From a critical perspective, it can be thus stated that technology does influence social isolation amid the society by a degree or rather partially. However, its benefits and its limitations can be argued to be largely depended on the psychological preferences of the individuals which further shall determine technology as a boon or a curse on mankind. Works Cited Biagi, Shirley. Media Impact: An Introduction to Mass Media. United States: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Biordi, Diana L. and Nicholas R. Nicholson. “Social Isolation”. Jones and Bartlet Publisher, LLC. (n.d.): 68-115. Print. Browne, Ken. An Introduction to Sociology. United Kingdom: Polity, 2011. Print. “How Technology Affects Us”. Emerson Media., n.d. Web. 06 Sep. 2012. “Social Networking Sites; More Harm Than Good?”. Online Conference on Networks and Communities, 2011. Web. 06 Sep. 2012. Read More