In the 21st century, the use of technology is inevitable in our lives. From our mobile phones to smart watches, we carry machines with us everywhere we go, which what we call “The invention of our decade”. Technology also has a great effect on our social life. Question is, is technology really what we think it is? Does it enhance our ability to connect with others or does it gradually isolate us from the real world?
Technology indeed makes our life easier. Back in the day, people needed to write letters to each other to be able to communicate, while the reply arrived months after. In this day and age; hearing from your friend who lives at the ends of the world comes down on a call. People find socializing easy with technology, yet they believe that the friends they gain from social media are nothing but “moving pixels behind a screen”, not real friends.
I believe that spending too much time hiding behind a screen makes people timid over time. People start to lack the courage to confront people face to face, unlike to what they slowly get used to, texting with each other without the need to maintain eye contact, showing that you invest in the conversation and further capabilities you need to be able to do.
Over time, your social interactions start to depend on your follower count, how charming your profile picture looks, which mutuals you have on social media and how you text with people. When it’s time to meet in person, people tend to give up, developing nothing but a digital friendship that only lasts until your screen time ends.
In conclusion, the real answer to our question is that technology slowly took a hold on our social lives, making us more and more dependent to stay “online” to be able to have a social network. Yet, it’s still the person’s own choice to set the phone aside and look out for real people outside their comfort zone. Technology influences our lives only till the extend we let it to.