Overdependence on Technology as The Result of Fear of Being Alone

Nomophobia is the irrational fear of being without one’s phone or not being able to use it for one reason or another. As society develops, the more dependent it becomes on technology, thus creating such phobia. The United Nations University describes technology dependence as the “opposite of self-reliance”. This means that anything one can’t do for themselves, they rely or something else to do it for them. The main problem caused by technology dependency or addiction is the psychological effects on people. This can include narcissism, anxiety, small attention span, and other nomophobic factors. The author of Emerging Trends in Psychology: Tech Dependency talks about how technology is used in spaces where people know it is prohibited or that would put others in danger since they always want to be connected to the rest of the world. Knowing this information about overdependence on technology essay, we will discuss the impact of excessive reliance on technological devices and its potential consequences on individuals and society.

Society's Addiction to Information and Constant Connectivity

There are plenty of negative cognitive effects that come with being too dependent on technologies such as phones and laptops as a society. There are different types of crunches that come with having the Internet at one’s disposal at any given minute for information or to get in touch with anyone around the world. In We Need to Reduce Our Dependence on Technology If We Want to Keep Innovating, Anna Johansson gives insight on what type of complications come with being completely dependent on technology which includes anxiety, negative effects on memory, developing an addiction and the reduction of skill learning. Consider how anxious someone can get when they cannot find their phone instantly or how the next person is constantly checking their notifications to see if someone reached out to them. That is an abnormal state of mind to be in which distracts people from real-time interactions and tasks that are in front of them in that very moment. Because technology is a huge distraction, the negative effects on society’s memory is evident as well. When one knows that they have a device that will store and recall information at the click of a button, less effort is put into trying to remember important facts. The fact that anything any person would like to know is one search browser away from being confirmed gives people the luxury of not having to use much mental power at memorizing much of anything. Because of this, society becomes addicted to having access to as much information as possible about anything their heart desires, also putting a strain on their ability to obtain actual skills. It is important to understand the fact that as a society, everyone is more dependent on their technology than they would like to admit, creating another problem within itself. All generations are dependent on technology one way or another even though some disagree.

Without being completely dependent on technology, many everyday scenarios would be impossible or very inconvenient to do. In Technology Reliant Society, Has It Gone Too Far, Rebecca Stahl discusses possible scenarios where one would be completely stuck if they did not have the everyday technology that society is accustomed to today (Stahl). She uses many examples, but what stands out the most is how no one remembers phone numbers anymore. Since everyone is on speed dial, it is too easy to not remember someone’s number. In any situation where one may forget or lose their phone, they would not be able to reach out to anyone they need to until it is recovered. She claims she would like a technology-free world but realizes this is not doable with how dependent everyone is on technology for every tasks. Though everyone does not agree a technology-free world sounds like a great idea, having back-up solutions to possible technical issues is something that is not taught as a society. In the same scenario of one losing their phone, if they are part of the younger generation, they are likely to not know how to use a payphone or look up contact information in a phone book, which is probably outdated since it is not being used. Because the older practices of looking up information have not been passed down from one generation to the next, it is difficult for younger people to refer back to an alternative choice if their initial plan did not work well. Stahl complains how most people abuse the convenience of technology to the point of total dependence. Though technology was created to make certain situations easier, the dependence it has created is hard for people to see as abnormal.

Social Media and Anxiety: How Technology Shapes Social Interactions

Some would disagree that society has a dependency crisis with technology. Psychologist Christopher J. Ferguson explains in his Debunking the 6 Biggest Myths About Technology Addiction article that technology usage and dependency does not have as many psychological effects that some claim it has. Technology addiction has been described by others as having the same effects on the brain as different drug addictions in which Ferguson debunks. Ferguson argues the pleasure sensors of the brain receives all stimulation the same way but the amount of pleasure is entirely different between the use of technology versus drugs. While technology usage causes 50-100 percent above normal dopamine release range, drugs such as cocaine or methamphetamine range from three to six times that number. He even argues that any type of technology addiction, which is like any other non-threatening addiction, stems from mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression, and not the other way around. To sum his ideas up, technology dependency or addiction is not as big of an issue in the eyes of this psychologists.

Though technology dependency may not have the same psychological effects as drug addictions, that does not completely eliminate the idea that there are no psychological effects at all. In Psychology Today’s How Technology Makes Us Anxious, they elaborate on how approximately one million teenagers who have more on-screen usage than they have off-screen usage, such as playing sports or other extra curricular activities, are more likely to have some form of anxiety or a “decline in happiness”. Excess on-screen activity is a mechanism used to avoid awkward and uncomfortable real-time social interactions. Consider someone who is in a room full of people they do not know. One of their initial reactions to not having interaction with someone is to grab their phone and scroll to see what is happening on their social media platforms. This is a form of anxiety and fear of judgment from others. Social media is used to create the image of one’s self that they would like the world to see them as. When this virtual world is at one’s disposal at any given second, they are able to minimize real social interactions and create a type of anxiety or self-esteem issue that revolve around how they think their online persona and real life personality should align. When this alignment does not happen, social anxiety and other mental issues arise in the person’s day to day social interactions.

Another argument against the problem of technology dependency is that everyone should learn will power and how to control their daily usage of it. Because everyone has the same 24-hours in a day, some believe that people should learn how to be able to make wise choices on how to use that time and know when to minimize the usage of leisure technology. In Julian Vigo’s How Technology Is Changing How We Do Leisure, he says, “... part of me worries that we are injecting natural spaces of silence and nothingness with tasks to accomplish and information to learn”. When one is filling in spaces of non-technology driven tasks with technology, it is easy to say that this person is choosing to indulge in the convenience and leisure that comes with the territory. Some believe that it is entirely optional to utilize technology in excess, even in leisure.

That sounds realistic in theory if technology was not embedded in nearly every aspect of daily activities. Being that technology itself is a great luxury to society, the whole concept of daily technology usage for any part of one’s day is considered to be done in leisure. To say that because one person is scrolling thoughtlessly through their Instagram application is more of a luxury than one using their laptop to complete an assignment is creating an imaginary idea that they are somehow different from one another. Consider tasks such as paying bills, doing homework assignments, applying for schools, checking-in for flights and things alike. Because of technology advancements, it is made as inconvenient as possible for one to do those things without the help of technology or it is seen as absurd if someone would rather do it the old-fashioned way. Technology advancement has always been about how to make all tasks as simple as possible. The Growing Issue of Smartphone Dependency discusses leisurely smartphone usage in the workplace and how it leads to distracted employees. Employees will do things such as scroll through social media, online shopping, pay bills and make personal calls while on company’s time. Be that as it may, it is impossible to think that people would not take advantage of what they would consider a free moment of their time to complete a task that can be done quickly at their fingertips. The problem with the argument of will power and disciple is that the world is in a state of efficiency, and trying to use their 24-hours a day the best way they can with the resources they have to do so.

Conclusion

In a world of efficiency where technology cannot be eliminated, it is not a far-fetched idea for society to be caught up in all of it. Being able to accomplish most tasks, whether mandatory or done in leisure, is just too easy for us to do as a society. Getting things done at your fingertips and without the requirement of being physically present give efficiency a different meaning than it has in the past. Until society as a whole decides to re-evaluate how everyone goes to school, work, communicate, and shop, it is easy to label everyone as an addict or dependent of technology.

Though there are disagreeing opinions on what makes one person dependent on technology compared to another, it can be agreed that society is structured around it entirely, causing the debate to begin with. Once everyone can agree on how to combat mindless usage of technology but still reap the necessary benefits from it, it will be easier to define what is considered addictive and what is not. For now, the negative cognitive effects and lack of back up planning in case of technology failure should be the focus of discussion until society is ready to have a discussion about the bigger issues at hand.

Works Cited

• Elmore, Tim. “Nomophobia: A Rising Trend in Students.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/artificial-maturity/201409/nomophobia-rising-trend-in-students.
• Ferguson, Christopher J. “Debunking the 6 Biggest Myths about 'Technology Addiction'.” The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2019, http://theconversation.com/debunking-the-6-biggest-myths-about-technology-addiction-95850.
• Global Banking & Finance Review. “The Growing Issue of Smartphone Dependency .” Global Banking & Finance Review, Global Banking & Finance Review, 8 July 2019, https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/the-growing-issue-of-smartphone-dependency/.
• “How Technology Makes Us Anxious.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-be-yourself/201803/how-technology-makes-us-anxious.
• Hussung, Tricia. “Emerging Trends in Psychology: Technology Dependency: CSP Online.” Concordia University, St. Paul Online, 14 Nov. 2018, https://online.csp.edu/blog/psychology/technology-dependency.
• Johansson, Anna. “We Need to Reduce Our Dependence on Technology If We Want to Keep Innovating.” The Next Web, 25 July 2018, https://thenextweb.com/contributors/2018/07/25/we-need-to-reduce-our-dependence-on-technology-if-we-want-to-keep-innovating/.
• Technological Dependence: Nature and Consequences, http://archive.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu04te/uu04te0o.htm.
• “Technology Reliant Society, Has It Gone Too Far?” The Snapper, 19 Apr. 2017, http://thesnapper.millersville.edu/index.php/2017/04/19/technology-reliant-society-opinion/.
• Vigo, Julian. “How Technology Is Changing How We Do Leisure .” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 30 May 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/julianvigo/2019/05/30/how-technology-is-changing-how-we-do-leisure/#3a9800ce6a67.