Human Kinetics. Technology can have positive and negative impact on social interactions. Dimensions of Leisure for Life. 2010. http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/technology-can-have-positive-and-negative-impact-on-social-interactions
Accessed 16 April 2018
This article is an excerpt from the book “Dimensions of Leisure for Life” by Human Kinetics. The article discusses how technology has both negative and positive effects on communication and interpersonal relations. The emphasis of the reading is that the social media has had a more significant negative impact on the younger generation. The author of the article points out that the primary aim of social media has always been to bring people closer together. Although most of the research on the relationship between technology and personal relationships indicates that social media has created a rift between people, it has negatively influenced personal relationships. According to the paper, social media does have advantages which include giving people an avenue to connect with people to share the same interests in life.
The author also states that social media can enforce a narcissistic personality in people as online users are more concerned about online popularity than creating and maintaining quality personal relationships. The papers also analyses how gaming can negatively and positively affect personal relationships, the author states that gaming can have a negative impact on interpersonal relationships when played alone, but it could also strengthen personal relationships when played with others. The author concludes the article by asking people to reflect on how technology has affected their relationships. The author supported this research by factual evidence, the paper that three graphical representations of the statistics that backed up the discussion. The article is unbiased as it analyses how technology negatively and positively affects interpersonal relationships.
Lickerman, Alex. Psychology Today. The Effect of Technology on Relationships. June 8, 2010. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/happiness-in-world/201006/the-effect-technology-relationships
Accessed 16 April 2018
This source provides a detailed discussion of the effect of technology on personal relationships. The first issue that is discussed in the article is the matter of addiction to the Internet. According to Lickerman, whenever a person begins to value online relationships more than personal relationships, the individual ends up feeling isolated as the individual will have no physical contact with other people. Technological advancements have made people addicted to their electronic gadgets, the generation that is most attached to the internet is the young people. The new era of technology has made a face to face communication nearly impossible. People hide behind their phones to avoid confrontation which according to Lickerman, should be done face-to-face.
Confronting a person through a phone call or a text is not easy as the phone acts as a barrier to face to face communication which allows for expression of emotions and conveyance of the right information.Lickerman states that online connection should only be used to talk about inconsequential matters while feelings should be expressed in person.Lickerman concludes the article by saying that significant issues such as emotions should not be communicated online or over a phone call as online platforms do not convey actual messages such as those shown through face-to-face communication. The author of the article admits that technology has its advantages but he also insists that it should not be used to express emotions as one’s message can be misinterpreted.
Simons, Sean. Technology Destroys Interpersonal Communication. October 27, 2010. http://www.collegiatetimes.com/opinion/columnists/article_9af9d508-244c-5cdf-9bbf-312152f682f4.html
Accessed 16 April 2018
Simon Sean, the author of the article, discusses how technology has affected people’s interpersonal relations. Simon does admit that technological advances have many advantages, but he also mentions how it affects interpersonal relationships. Simon narrates his personal experience of using technology in communication and other daily activities, and he also discusses his experience of not using technology; he admits that both lifestyles do have advantages and disadvantages According to Simon, technology will keep advancing to the point whereby it will take over any other form of communication. Simon states that the internet has its advantages as for one it gives people access to a lot of information but he also thinks that the internet is taking over people’s ability to connect with each other making meaningful relationships.
According to Simon, the problem is that people are not willing to take that extra step to communicate physically; people prefer to use texts, Facebook, and other social media sites as they are more convenient than making physical contacts. The author of this article admits that technology has numerous advantages, but he also points out the disadvantages of technology to interpersonal relationships. Simon concludes by stating that the present society is a byproduct of the internet and mass communication. Simon states that overdependence on the internet and other forms of technology slowly results in the loss of humanity; people are no longer interested in outdoor activities. In as much as technology has improved the lifestyle of many people, it should also have its limits. Simon also discusses how people are losing the ability to think and innovate to overreliance on the internet.
Stanford University. The Effect of Technology on Interpersonal Skills. Stanford University. http://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs181/projects/effect-on-interpersonal-skills/frame.html
Accessed 16 April 2018
Stanford University has a website that has dedicated its research to understand how technology has affected interpersonal relations in the form of influencing different forms of communication. The homepage of the website has an image of a broken heart which symbolizes how technology has negatively impacted on personal relationships. The subtopics that are discussed on the University’s site include; demographics, work, love, sex, intimate relationships, and recreation. The authors do admit that although the internet fosters communication by connecting people all over the globe, it also has a negative impact on interpersonal relationships.
The relationship section of the website outlines the adverse effects of technology on interpersonal relationships. The first adverse effect is that when people become overly reliant on the internet for initiating communication and relationships; it leads to less development of face-to-face communication initiation skills. People will not work on overcoming matters such as shyness if they can use an online system to communicate. The other issue is that online representation of people in the form of images and videos cannot be trusted as people tend to alter their pictures on online sites; therefore the lack of face-to-face communication makes it much more difficult to develop trust.
The debate that has dominated research on interpersonal relationships is whether relationships that are developed on the Internet are shallow and impersonal compacted to relationships developed through physical contacts. Many authors have hypothesized whether online connections are capable of eliminating barriers such as confinement to a physical locality which impact on interpersonal relations. All these theories arise from the debate about how technology affects interpersonal relationships. The website also has a reference page which lists all the sources that were used in the discussion; the research also includes direct quotes from the sources listed to back up the claim that technology affects interpersonal relationships. The website gives a great piece of research as all the listed subtopics discuss in detail the various ways through which technology influences interpersonal relationships.
