Question

How has the use of technology affected people’s ability to communicate face to face? Do you think that the mere presence of technology, such as in the form of smart phones, affects people’s ability to communicate with individuals in a public place? Has the increase of technology decreased both the quantity and quality of face-to-face interactions? In what ways have you experienced these changes? Do you see a change (increase or decrease) in this human-technology dependency in the future? What kind of change do you favor?

Answer 1

• Technology has become an integral part of the way that people communicate with one another and has increasingly taken the place of face-to-face communication. Due to the rapid expansion
  of technology, many individuals fear that people may be too immersed in this digital world and not present enough in the real world.
• The availability of instant communication seems to distract us from the communication opportunities in front of us. It not only seems to lessen face-to-face communication but multiple studies have shown that internet usage can cause feelings of loneliness and busyness. Studies have also exposed the negative effects they have on body-to-body sociability, psychological well-being, and intimacy.
• One study examined the relationship between the presence of mobile devices and the quality of real life,in-person social interactions. In a naturalistic field experiment, researchers found that conversations in the absence of mobile communication technologies were rated as significantly superior compared with those in the presence of a mobile device.People who had conversations in the absence of mobile devices reported higher levels of empathetic concern, while those conversing in the presence of a mobile device reported lower levels of empathy.
• In two separate experiments, the authors found evidence that these devices have negative effects on closeness, connection, and conversation quality, especially notable when individuals are engaging in personally meaningful topics.
• There’s something intangibly real and valuable about talking with someone face to face. This is significant for friends, partners, potential employers, and other recurring people that make up your everyday world. That person becomes an important existing human connection, not just someone whose disembodied text voice pops up on your cell phone, iPad or computer screen.
• While technology has allowed us some means of social connection that would have never been possible before, and has allowed us to maintain long-distance friendships that would have otherwise probably fallen by the wayside, the fact remains that it is causing ourselves to spread ourselves too thin, as well as slowly ruining the quality of social interaction that we all need as human beings.
• Due to time limit,only some questions could be answered,the remaining can be asked as another question,they will be answered,thankyou for your cooperation