Drafting Process

            

        Whether we choose to believe it or not, technology has become in a sense a form of addiction.  Social networking has become very popular over this past decade, more so in the last five years.  A lot of people, today’s generation especially, seem to fill a void when going online and texting.  The social world is not safe in today’s world.  It has become very dangerous and caused a lot of pain in people’s lives.  People have gotten so caught up with what is going on in the social world rather than face reality and experience the real world.  I look around and see everyone hooked on their phone rather than carry on face-to-face conversations with the company they are with.  I’ve caught myself even out to dinner with family and friends and not being able to put my phone down for that short amount of time out of the day that should be spent with one another.  People, teens especially are having trouble carrying conversations because they don’t have the time to come up with something witty to whereas during text or online, they would.  During face-to-face conversations, it is completely different though.  Once you say something, you no longer have the ability to erase what you said and start over.  Society isn’t what it used to be anymore.  We have allowed technology to corrupt us and take over who we are- who we once were.   After reading my paper, you will have learned about the extreme rise in technology, the overuse of it, the pros and cons, and lastly the dangers that follow with the excessive amount of time spent on our phones.

            For starters, social media now has its own meaning.  It was once something fun and now has become an addiction.  The excessive use of technology has created many issues in today’s society.  You can’t seem to go out to dinner without seeing people glued to their phones.  That’s not all either.  People are always on their phone.  Whether it is at the movies, in class, at the store, you are always seeing at least a handful of people on their phone.  I never really realized until recently that being glued to your phone even with company, is a rude habit to have.  Unfortunately enough for me, I had to learn the hard way (a couple times at that).  Shawn Ghuman’s “Is Technology Destroying Social Bonds?” in America Now: Short Readings from Recent Periodicals, provided me with a lot of “back up” with how I feel towards technology and social networking.  Ghuman gave a great example and referred to cell phones as our security blanket.  In Shawn Ghuman’s reading, he said “Digital communication has taken away from what makes humans thrive- the ability to express thoughts through in-person discussion.”  When reading Ghuman’s piece, I found myself agreeing with everything he said and wanting to spit it all out on my paper.  We as humans, have now started to become socially awkward with one another.  It has become harder for us to make eye contact with those we talk to and have trouble keeping a nice flow during the conversation.  Technology as we know it, is taking over.  Larry Rosen’s iDisorder: Understanding Our Obsession With Technology And Overcoming Its Hold On Us, gives an expert testimony in the field of Psychology of Technology.  He goes onto say how technology is too much for the human mind to handle.  While reading this book, I found something that caught my interest.  It is predicted by experts, that in the year 2015, 80% of the world’s population will have a smartphone, tablet, or laptop.  How crazy is that?  Rosen stated that social addicts experience withdrawal from being away from technology.  They have an itch for more and experience anger, depression and/or anxiety.  Larry Rosen says studies show, “Kids with text-message dependency will experience nervousness when they do not have their cell phones with them.”  Is that how we react without our phones now?  Society as we know it is spiraling down into one big mess.

            Secondly, technology has become overused more as time goes on.  For starters, Ashton Kutcher’s “Has Texting Killed Romance?” in America Now: Short Readings from Recent Periodicals, lists the overuse and a from then to now on how the social world has become today.  Actor and producer, Kutcher, shares his thoughts on how cell phones and texting have become at an all-time high.  He goes onto say, “With all this texting, e-mailing, and social networking, I started wondering, are we all becoming so in touch with one another that we are in danger of losing touch?”  In Ashton Kutcher’s reading, he goes on about how it once use to be a boy and girl met, exchanged numbers, anticipation built, call was made, then went from there.  Now instead of calling, we text because silence over the phone is eliminated.  Instead of going over and comforting the person you care for, you send a sweet touching text or write on their Facebook wall, etc.  Society has become so caught up in technology and the overuse of cell phones has become outrageous.  We have begun to let it reel us in and now are facing problems because of it.  Relationships with those we care about are being destroyed because of us pushing those away.  We are shutting people out as if it is nothing.  As if our phones have more of an importance than our loved ones.   The social media world is slowly growing upon us more and more every day.  Cristian Lupsa’s “A Campus Fad Becomes A Fact…” goes onto give reasons as to why Facebook is no longer growing.  The famous social networking site doesn’t seem to be having a rapid growth like how it once was because everyone seems to already be on it.  It blows my mind at times to see how quickly the site has begun to grow.  I came across an article on the Seattle Refined that caught my eye and pulled me into reading more.  Tonya Mosley’s post “4 Signs You’re Addicted to Your Cell Phone” gives a great description on what the overuse has now led up to.  The sad part is, I played a guilty part in this matter.  Each one of those signs seemed to have some relationship with me.  Not only did Mosley list the signs of your addiction, but she provided was to seek help with your addiction towards your fun.  Seems silly to have an addiction with your phone, right?  In reality though, it isn’t healthy at all to become so wrapped up in something so meaningless. 

            When social networking first came about, it was supposed to be something you checked every now and then like your Facebook for example.  Social networking sites were there to allow you to connect with friends and family and still keep in touch with one another.  Speaking to this issue, several sources develop the pros and cons of technology and how different today’s world is because of it.  Christine Rosen’s “Electronic Intimacy” in America Now: Short Readings from Recent Periodicals, shares her feelings on the pros and cons of social networking and what an addiction it has become.  Roses begins to wonder, “Might texting, emailing, and tweeting eventually have the same delirious effect on, for instance, our ability to experience longing?”  As said before, people seem to fill a void when communicating online or through text with someone.  They feel accepted rather than rejected because they don’t have to be themselves.  People can pretend to be someone completely different from who they actually are, and that is scary when thinking about it.  What have we let society become?  Robert Piper’s article “Your Cell Phone Is Not A Part Of Your Body-You Can Let It Go” for example, relates and links to more of the con side of cell phones and how obsessed we have become with social networking.  We are all starting to realize the obsession we have, but have yet to do anything about it and are struggling to step back a little.  A lot of today’s society, myself included have become glued to their cell phones.  I am constantly checking my phone and it has become the biggest distraction.  An article from Huffpost, brought up an issue I wasn’t aware of.  Emma Stein’s “Is Social Media Dependence A Mental Issue?” brought to my attention, the killing of a 19 year old boy in the UK.  He had become so obsessed with taking “selfies” that he decided to commit suicide.  He had an addiction and felt he had to get the perfect picture.  The 19 year old would change the way he looked from the color of his hair to his weight.  We as a society have helped contribute to this.  Emma began to give her reasons as to why she feels technology and the social world were once a good thing, but now turning out to be bad.  The social media world is not all what it is cracked up to be anymore.

            My next category includes the dangers that follow with the excessive amount of time spent on cell phones.  We have begun to hear it all.  Texting while driving, cyber bullying, unsafe sites, and more have all become dangerous to us.  As you know, there have been many accidents caused due to texting while driving.  Nowadays, texting while driving is the new “drunk driving.”  It has become just as bad, if not worse.  Stephanie Hanes and Ashley Halsey both wrote articles on texting while driving and the affects of it today.  In Hanes’ article “Texting Caused Total ‘Distracted Driving’ Deaths To Rise, Study Finds,” goes onto give the dangers of texting while driving and how it has now become the most cause for accidents here in the U.S.  In Halsey’s article “U.S. Teens Frightening Levels of Texting While Driving,” goes onto provide more of a survey type aspect.  “A quarter of teens say they text while driving and about half ages 12-17, say they have been in cars with someone texting behind the wheel.”  Think about what a kid in elementary or middle school begins to think when they see that being done.  They are going to think it is alright and okay to do.  The world is becoming a dangerous place, to include the social world.  More and more dangerous sites are starting to come about and some teens are finding themselves in trouble because of it.  Whether it be done unintentional or not, there are a lot of people out there who fake their identity.  People’s emotions are not something that should be messed with. 

            Going out should have its own meaning now.  The reason I bring this up, is for many reasons.  My ten year old brother has had an iPad for a couple years now.  Although yes there are some beneficial things to having an iPad, there is a fine line between when enough is enough.  Or so it should be.  Every time we go out to dinner, he is glued to his iPad.  It is like he is in his own little world and doesn’t want to be messed with.  My parents will tell him to put it away, but all he does and goes on and pitches a fit.  Then I began to think to myself.  The first thing my dad and I do after looking through the menu is pull out our phones.  What are we teaching my brother by pulling out our phones rather than talking with one another?  Kids are becoming sucked into a world where they feel it is okay to not carry face-to-face conversations with others around them.  We can’t really blame them though, because that is what a lot of them are becoming use to being around.  I have really started to struggle with how our world has become.  It has made me come to realize just how disrespectful it is to pull out your phone while spending time with someone.  The excessive texting, tweeting, and updating your status on Facebook isn’t worth as much time that is put into it.  There can be many other useful things you can do.  I understand we all need our down time to ourselves and that is fine.  But being on our phones and on technology 24/7 isn’t necessary. 

            In conclusion, I hope once you are done reading this, you understand my reasoning for why I chose this topic in the first place.  A lot of people complain about what technology has begun to do to society, but in reality it is the people that have led society to become this way.  We have all somehow contributed to how the world is today.  There are many problems that have arouse because how people, myself included have let technology take over.  I don’t feel we should cut technology completely out, that isn’t my intention and what I hope for.  It just shouldn’t take up as much of our time and be our main priority.  My paper helps show the rapid growth of technology and the takeover that has begun.