Roger Water once said, “Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us understand one another better, or will they deceive us and keep us apart?” Indeed, with the advent of technology and mass production of technological devices such as mobile phones, computers and television sets, it is uncommon for such a concern to arise. Technology’s original purpose was to simplify life by making things simpler to perform and make life more convenient for us, as physical distance barriers no longer pose as a hindrance to communication, while workload is also drastically decreased, thus creating more free time and opportunities for people to interact with one another. However, has this aspect actually survived the rapid advancement of technology and the evolution of what people use it for? I think not. Instead, I feel that technology is a double-edged sword with its cons overpowering its pros and agree that it is dividing us rather than uniting us, as it has largely replaced interpersonal communication, it is an increasingly attractive tool which people use often, thus reducing time and inclination for bonding with others, and that it results in international and even intercontinental wars and conflicts, forming barriers between people and hampers their interactions and relations with one another.
Firstly, technology in the form of computers, smartphones, televisions and the internet has largely replaced interpersonal communication. For convenience’s sake, many people nowadays are more willing to make full use of the plethora of functions these technological devices contain, such as sending out emails, calling, or using Webcam to interact with other party when carrying out a meeting, discussing a project, or simply just chatting with friends. A recent survey in London showed that almost 70% of the people surveyed indicated that they preferred to call or email a colleague rather than having a face-to-face conversation with them. Also, nearly three out of four Americans send text messages on the phone and prefer doing so than meeting up with friends personally, according to a study released by the Pew Research Centre. These statistics indicate that people would favour using fast and efficient technology to communicate with others rather than going through the hassle of meeting up personally. In the olden days before technology became so advanced, people used to schedule a time to meet up with others for chit chat sessions, friends came together to share heartfelt thoughts, and colleagues gathered together to discuss an ongoing project. However in this era dominated by technology, these precious moments when we met up personally with others has now been replaced by short, brief calls and concise messages. From a study conducted by mobile phone provider O2, it found out that we only spend on average about 13 minutes making calls and 11 minutes on sending text messages on our phones every day. This sparks a huge contrast from the days when we used to gather in groups for hours simply chatting or any form of personal interactions. As such, people are unable to exchange heartfelt feelings and emotions through mere words in a text message or email, nor are they able to emotionally bond with others when speaking over a phone or communicating through a computer screen. A study has showed that over 90% of how we communicate is through non-verbal cues like gestures and facial expressions, and without proper face-to-face meet-ups and interpersonal interactions, we are likely to misinterpret text messages and emails since it is “impossible to know how your significant other is reacting to what you’re saying on an emotional level”. As Michael Halyard, a San Francisco Marriage and Family Therapist, has warned, “Often fights and arguments ensue because of misinterpretation of text messages. It’s impossible to tell the difference between emotions like anger, sadness, sarcasm, sincerity within a text message.” As such, communication via technological devices is indeed an ineffective mode of communication, as not only does it reduce proper interaction times with the other party, it greatly deviates from what communication is actually supposed to be, thus resulting in misunderstandings and a strain in relationships as people are having fewer opportunities for proper and effective interaction. Since technology enables us to reach out to others on a global scale, many people are thus more inclined to use it to replace interpersonal communication since it is much faster and more convenient. With a drastic drop in emotional linkage with the other party when interacting as well as shorter and less effective communication through technology, it has undoubtedly resulted in a rift among people as it tenses relationships between parties and they are just not as close to one another as they had used to be. This too leads to shorter conversations and less enjoyment of each other’s physical presence. Hence, mass replacement of interpersonal communication with technology has translated into a divide among people as their relationships have become strained and are drifting further and further apart as time passes by.
Secondly, technology has become widely improving in terms of its aesthetic appeal as well as its myriad of functions and attractiveness. For example, Apple has released its latest product, the Iphone 5, which has become lightweight and easier to carry out, and has too widely increased its functions which range from playing games to watching videos online. In a study conducted by the Joan Ganz Cooney Centre in 2010, it found out that 2/3 of children aged 4 to 7 had already used an iPhone. In another study conducted by the 2010 Kaiser Foundation Study, it found that US youths spend more than 7.5 hours a day using a smartphone, computer, television or other technological devices. This is sufficient to show that people nowadays are spending more time on technology and have even begun using technology from a ripe young age. With increasing attractiveness of technology and a profusion of functions, people will simply log even more hours of technological usage a day. When more time is spent on using technology, not only does it greatly reduce the amount of time they spend with others, it also results in them being more likely to continue staying in their virtual world as a getaway from their stressful lives. As Krystle Song, a student from the University of California said on her website “Attack of the iZombies”, “For some people, the main appeal of the iPod is that it preoccupies you so that you do not have to deal with the uncontrollable factors of everyday lives”. Hence, this shows that people are generally more inclined to stick to using technological devices to spend their time rather than meeting up with others and interacting with them on an interpersonal level. They favour the virtual world of technology, over the real world where they have to go outside and interact with others from all walks of lives. According to Norman H. Nie and D. Sunshine Hillygus in their paper “The Impact of Internet Use on Sociability”, it shows that those who use technological devices frequently spend over 100 minutes less time every week with friends and family than non-users”. This shows that we are far too preoccupied with these technological gadgets and have hence brought about fewer opportunities and lower inclination for us to interact with others. With these technological devices often at close proximity to us, we are more motivated to use them frequently and enjoy the vast range of functions they provide, and thus limit the amount of time we actually relate and interact with others. Also, these technological devices too bring about huge distractions to us. When with others, it is not uncommon to notice people still occasionally whipping out their phones to check for incoming calls or messages, or simply to browse the web, instead of using good use of this precious time for interaction. We will also continuously have the image of the game we had just played on our laptops, or the tune of the music we just listened to on our iPods ringing about in our ears, thus resulting in us not being able to concentrate when communicating with others. As Anthony Wagner, one of the Stanford study’s co-author speculates, “our dopamine reward circuits probably get activated, since the desire for social connection is so wired in us”, thus resulting in technology being more of a distraction when interacting with others. In addition, with fewer communication opportunities due to the advancement of technology bring about even less inclination for us to interact with others as our communication skills deteriorate, hence this merely repeats itself in a vicious cycle as people coop up at home using technology rather than going out into the outside world and interacting with others. Thus, this creates a communication barrier among people as both communication inclination and interaction opportunities are suppressed, people are taking personal communications less seriously as they are too preoccupied with technology, and have hence resulted in technology dividing people as relationships strain.
Lastly, some critics may argue that technology can unite people, as seen by the Occupy Wall Street Movement in Zuccotti Street in New York, where people with a common goal to fight for their rights against social and economic inequality, greed and corruption, were gathered together through the Internet after they knew each other based on their common goals. Since the advent of technology has made it possible for people to reach out to others easily and efficiently, people are able to identity and form a group with others who have the same beliefs and set of values in them. However, I do not agree with this opinion, as although it has enabled people to “unite” by forming groups with a salient identity, it has however encouraged them to team up against other groups with a different set of beliefs and values, thus resulting in an outbreak of fights and conflicts, hence threatening the country’s and the people’s safety and relations with one another. For example, a simple derogatory remark on Facebook or any social networking platform can spark off conflicts as people from different groups emerge and start arguing and fighting for what they think is correct. The Racial Riot in Singapore was resulted when people grouped up together through social platforms after they knew each other, and wars and fights soon broke out as different racial groups fought with one another. Technology in other forms can also spark off wars. For example, The United States has recently started developing satellite technology, as they discovered the possibility of using satellites to launch weapons to attack other countries. This was known as the Star Wars programme, and initial experiments have shown that it is indeed possible to make use of satellites or war and destruction purposes. With this advent of technology, it may then result in an entire new era of fighting and war, and may in turn lead to greater destruction than never before, causing widespread social and political unrest. People will then lose trust with one another with the outbreak of wars, hence leading to a strain in relations among them and thus dividing them if this form of technology continues to develop.
In a nutshell, I agree that technology is dividing us, rather than uniting us, as it has brought about a strain in our relationships with others, since it has largely replaced interpersonal communication, drastically improved both in its aesthetic appeal as well as its functions, and its propensity to spark off wars between nations, either through the propagation of derogatory remarks, grouping of people with different values or the rapid advancement of an entire new form of technology. All these will severely strain and hamper interactions and relationships among technology-users, and thus divides them in the long run.