The Dangers of Technology Dependency to The Society

Media has a power over the public that many overlook. It has altered the way people think, interpret situations, act, and live. While providing knowledge and answers to the fingertips of many, having social media rewires the minds of those who use it. Allowing long-distance communication has opened a new world for the emerging generation, changing the insight they receive and giving broader pools of experience for individuals to pull from. Constant online presence can affect the natural release and balance of hormones and neurotransmitters face-to-face socialization induces, causing mood disorders like depression and anxiety. Along those lines, the standard of beauty and attractiveness has raised; ads, television, and media perpetuate specific body types and model-like appearance, causing hesitation of confidence and raising unrealistic bars for consumers and viewers. So, one has to question how this affects morals and if the media is more beneficial than malevolent. Media and technology can affect and influence how society views and interprets interaction with others, how it affects mental health and the standards of physical appearance, and the morals of the world.

Technology and the media have evolved rapidly over the course of history. Today, the modern age is ruled by smartphones, connected devices, and computers. In order to get information, there is instant access from news outlets, social media, and the infinite library of the internet. Convenient as it is, there are effects from technology evolving as humanity evolves alongside it. This easier and effortless life people believe it brings may come at a cost. Evidence from a wide variety of studies show that factors like social interaction, general well-being, physical appearance, and morality have slowly changed as a result. From subtle to very noticeable, these concerning effects have an impact on people’s physical and mental states, as well as society as a whole.

Social Interaction

Over the course of human history, nothing has directly influenced the spread of population and development as much as social interaction. Social interaction is one of the most important and diverse aspect of human lives (Grohol, 2009.) It defines everything about human culture, especially what people aim to accomplish and how they are going to accomplish it. Unfortunately, social interaction is not a very big staple in modern times. “social networking undoubtedly plays a vital role in broadening social connections and learning technical skills, its risks cannot be overlooked.” (Ramasubbu, 2015) With the invention of technology, such as the cell phone, people were finally able to communicate long distances, which logically should mean more social interaction. That is not the case, as cell phones and telecommunications mean that people no longer have to leave their houses to communicate with the outside world. Maura Keller says this in her article on social interaction, “Glance around a restaurant and you’ll be hard-pressed to find people who don’t have their heads down using their cell phones to text, Tweet, or update their Facebook statuses—all while sharing a meal with others at their table.” (Keller, 2013) This would lead to isolationism, which was the slow start of the death of social interaction. It was not the cell phones that ultimately drove society off the deep end, it was the invention of a device so strong and powerful it can permanently affect brain chemicals: social media.

In theory, social media seems like the perfect invention for such a large society, as anyone can log on to their account and share their ideas or feelings with the world. However, that is not what happened at all. What people are seeing is a complete societal meltdown at the hands of social media outlets. Social media, as others are finding out, is revealing to be something akin to an illegal street drug, in the sense that it is addicting to the brain. Suren Ramasubbu even said “Internet addiction and sleep deprivation are issues that continue to be under intense scrutiny for the contradictory results that have been obtained in various studies.” (Ramasubbu, 2015) Praise from peers triggers the brain to release dopamine, a key chemical used in the bodies risk reward-system (APA, 2013.) Normally, this would not be an issue, but with social media, every notification, like, retweet, or comment is another dopamine release in the brain. This means that brains are getting overloaded with large amounts of dopamine, causing people to want to use social media more and more. Instead of spending time with each other or interacting, they are growing distant and are choosing to stay inside on their phones. This is dangerous, because the further away from society humans get, the more the relationships between people break down (Grohol, 2009.) People are snapping away from reality, unfortunately, because there is a lot more to society than the newest updates to someone's timeline on social media.

Not only is social media changing the way people interact with each other, it is also negatively affecting the viewpoints of the people using it. It gives the ability to broadcast anything they want to a much larger audience. That spells absolute disaster, especially for a generation of very gullible and impressionable teens. Lies and rumors be shared at a frightening rate, which is toxic in a society that hangs on a very fragile balance. Suren talked about this by saying “the permanence and pervasiveness of the internet makes it a fertile ground for spreading such information to the extent of getting viral” (Ramasubbu, 2015.) Social media also allows hate and other groups with bad intentions to organize together, spreading their ideas like a plague. As Keller said, “we tend to follow and interact with people who agree with our points of view, so we aren’t getting the same diversity of viewpoints as we’ve gotten in the past.” (Keller, 2013) Easily impressionable young people can see information that completely changes their opinion on a topic, even if what they saw was not truthful. That alone makes technology and social media an extremely dangerous threat to the furthering of a free nation. People are not thinking for themselves as much anymore, and are choosing to listen to whatever they find. Leslie Kennedy even said “It's the opposite of the Internet making us smarter. It's making us complacent, gullible and ill-informed.” (Kennedy, 2013) Social media is a very unique and versatile tool that humans have created. It is helpful in some aspects, and does have valid reasons for existing and influencing humans as much as it does. That does not, however, mean that it is a safe option for finding new information because it has the capability to damage someone's views, including views about the world around them.

Mental Illness

Today, the number of smartphones, daily messages, likes are in the billions, and this will continue to grow. People now cherish their technology, smartphones, and social media so deeply that, for many, it becomes an obsession. However, these obsessions can develop into a more serious: a mental illness. There are numerous circumstances that could lead to developing a mental illness. Numerous studies were conducted on phone use regarding time spent on and off a phone. A study, conducted by found that “87% of young adults—or those between the ages of 18 and 34—who own smartphones report never separating from their mobile devices” and also that “78% [of young adults] spend more than two hours per day using their smartphones” (Hackett, 2015). In a world where the phone is everyone’s best friend, it constantly screams for attention. Too many, missing that message, notification, or call is a frightening thought. Out of fear of getting that information later instead of right then, they keep their phones on them at all times, ready to unlock at a moment’s notice. Certain negative feelings can be provoked, like sadness, shown in another study that was done on teenagers in Australia. It recorded that “60% [of teens] get stressed out about how they look when they post photos on social media . . . 60% worry about people posting ugly photos of them . . . and 55% feel bad about themselves when nobody comments on or likes their photos” (“FOMO: the fear of missing out”, 2016, p.22). The majority of the teens in the study value their presence in social media, which would result in a feeling of sadness if there is a negative perception of them. Constant negative emotions about appearance and others’ opinions often, such as two hours and more, is the basis for a mental illness like depression.

Signs of a mental illness could be seen through the statistics regarding phone use and social media show. With statistics showing that young adults never leaving their phone and being on it for extended periods of time, it is possible that something similar to an addiction can develop. After all, “The smartphone, more than any other gadget, steals from us the opportunity to maintain our attention, to engage in contemplation and reflection, or even to be alone with our thoughts” (Davis). While technology based addictions do exist, like gaming addiction, phone addiction also exists due to the constant entertainment and satisfaction it provides. With every like, share, or retweet, a feeling of happiness or joy follows, although small. Every addiction forms from the need to have that same feeling again, which is why it is considered a mental illness. The addiction could also lead to another illness, depression. A study done on teens in Scotland concluded that:

This suggests that adolescents who are more emotionally invested in social media sites are at increased risk of anxiety and depression due to the feelings of distress and isolation they experience when they are not connected to social media. This is in line with the previous qualitative ?ndings that social pressure to be constantly available led young adults to experience feelings of stress, guilt and isolation when they did not respond to messages immediately. (Woods and Scott, 2016, p.47)

This addiction could also be called “fear of missing out.” Depression is also a possible risk of excessive use of social media. Studies suggest that people that compare social status among others in social media, like Instagram, is more likely to develop signs of depression. A study among teens and their Instagram use and general wellbeing concluded that “Instagram use was marginally positively associated with depressive symptoms, and positive social comparison was significantly negatively associated with depressive symptoms” (Lup, 2015, p.247) A combination of depression and addiction to the cause is a dangerous one that could lead to more depression.

Physical Appearance

Technology and media as a whole is a new age cause of mental illness, and can directly affect how our youngest generations feel about their physical appearance. They both tend to project images of the human body that are all too impossible to obtain. Most of the time “severe body image disturbances among individuals are likely to be under-recognized and under-treated, and may be related to other forms of psychological distress (including depression and suicidality)” (Lifespan, 2006). Both males and females can experience those mental and possibly even physical effects of this. Media projects“the contemporary ideal standard of female beauty in the Western world is based on thinness, attractiveness, and fitness. Women are enculturated to monitor these personal characteristics, and to construct their appearances to meet these normative expectations” (Lifespan, 2006). For women, media also portrays a “perfect body” as having a small frame and/or a large bust and posterior. For men, it is a tall muscular build accompanied by bold facial features and hairstyle. The frequent exposure to such stereotypes is cause for why people have the desire to alter their appearance. Though it is more common for women, men can just as easily yearn to achieve a “perfect body image”. “Many adults presenting in psychiatric settings often report that preoccupation with their appearance first began in adolescence”(Lifespan, 2006). Without technology and social media in general, people and younger generations, would not be as heavily affected by this issue.

The mental thoughts can lead to physical response. Distorted body images initiates dangerous thoughts and practices in an attempt to meet society’s standards. Some may even starve themselves or work out for absurd amounts of time. New products such as waist trainers have also contributed to those damaging efforts. If an individual becomes a victim to this epidemic and are unable to receive aid, they are at risk of developing a number of mental disorders. The most common eating disorder is anorexia. Anorexia is “an emotional disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat” (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2016). In some instances another disorder may follow, such as bulimia. When someone develops bulimia they have “an emotional disorder involving distortion of body image and an obsessive desire to lose weight, in which bouts of extreme overeating are followed by depression and self-induced vomiting, purging, or fasting” (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2016). At its worst, these conditions can result in hospitalization or even death. The way media can arise negative self image in individuals constantly affects a large portion of our population.

The issues regarding physical appearance usually begin with dissatisfaction and depression. “Adolescents with negative body image concerns are more likely to be depressed, anxious, and suicidal than those without intense dissatisfaction over their appearance, even when compared to adolescents with other psychiatric illnesses”, according to a new study by researchers at Bradley Hospital, Butler Hospital and Brown Medical School. These types of concerns are ones that have become the most severe over the recent decade. Another possibility is that some adolescent could end up with “classic body dysmorphic disorder, a preoccupation with an imagined physical defect in appearance or a vastly exaggerated concern about a minimal defect, like a crooked nose or imperfect complexion” (Lifespan, 2006). Influence from photoshopped or retouched images of average people and even celebrities is a cause for this. “Weight-related BDD, however, is classified as distressing and impairing preoccupations with one's weight and shape”(Lifespan, 2006). The constant promotion of all the self hate comes from the media, but how much does technology enable the industry? Unrealistic body images are seen not just in technology but in magazines, billboards, and other various material outlets. Thus, there will always be people that experience self hatred due to their appearance but technology is certainly the number one accredit to how people perceive their own appearance.

Morality

Over the years, various theories have sought to explain short- and long-term effects of exposure on viewers’ attitudes and behaviors. Although most were developed within the context of media violence research, they also help explain effects of other types of content and predict other outcomes besides physical violence. Media is powerful, and it has been directing users’ morals since its beginning. Controversial topics, like the desensitization towards violence, perpetuation of stereotypes, and the growth of materialism are all hotly discussed and dissected. Taking a closer look reveals just how complex these issues might be.

In the short term, exposure to violent, hostile content (whether in TV programing, films, music, or video games) increases the probability that aggressive thoughts and feelings are activated and tends to increase arousal, or the state of being “amped up”. These thoughts and feelings, combined with arousal, “increase the probability that young viewers will behave aggressively” (Mares and Kretz 2015). In the long run, repeated exposure to violence alters viewers’ beliefs and attitudes about aggression. This leads to a decrease in their tendency to notice and respond to real-world pain and suffering and increasing their tendency to interpret social situations in hostile ways. These, in turn, appeared to “increase the probability that heavy consumers of media violence would act in hostile or aggressive ways” (Mares and Kretz 2015). A multitude of other relative studies have drawn the same conclusions. A major study, conducted by Huesmann et al., concluded that adult aggression was stronger for those who, as children, had perceived TV violence to be realistic and who had identified with same-sex TV heroes and heroines (Mares and Kretz 2015). Social media affects more than just violence, however. It has immense power over the perpetuation and perception of stereotypes, especially in the juvenile generation.

There is an underrepresentation of minorities, emitting a powerful effect on impressionable youth. Everywhere on the media, big brands use anglo models and characters in their ads and products. Non-white groups will internalize this unproportionate representation and be affected negatively. African American children who watched television throughout second and fourth grade were studied one year after initial conferencing, and the researchers found an association between the consumption of television and lower self-esteem. The white subjects, on the contrary, were found with higher self-esteem, even with age, gender, socioeconomic status, and the initial self-esteem all recorded for both groups (Mares and Kretz 2015). Media not only affects race but also other minority groups and women. Is the increased probability of mental disturbances correlated to social media usage worth risking? That environment has a powerful effect on adolescents, sculpting the mind to think a certain way. For instance, certain body types are desired, and those ideologies can be psychologically damaging (Lifespan 2006). Social media tells people to act, look, and think a specific way, which, again, is incredibly harmful for the (young) mind.

In our current world, society nears complete dependency on technology. More importantly, people are relying more and more on the information and ideas that social media and the internet provide us with. All over the nation, people are constantly on their mobile devices. Humans have been improving technologies for hundreds and even thousands of years, but society has not seen that in a negative light until now. Now it affects social interaction by allowing us to avoid communicating and confrontation in person. It harbors more mental destruction than one has ever seen before. In turn, individuals have also altered their physical appearance based on the poor body images that electronic forms of media produce. Most of all, technology affects the way people think. It promotes the stereotyping of minority groups and serves as a major cause of aggressive behaviors. With all of technologies rapidly occurring advances, there is really no stopping its advancing effects on people's personal lives. Due to the vast amount of advantages technology serves humanity, one can only debate if technology is worth its downfalls.