The Effect Of Technology On Social Interaction

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Effect of Technology on household social interaction

The paper explores the relationship between the new technologies and the social

interaction within a household. It examines the relationship between individuals within a

household in the presence of new media technologies. Some of the technologies that the paper

will examine about social interaction include computer games, video games, the internet, mobile

phones, mp3 players, and televisions. The paper will explain how these technologies have

affected the significant interaction of family members in the modern society. The paper will

further detail if the technologies have increased the gap between members and privatization or it

has led to bringing different generations closer. The paper will finally give insight on how the

issue should be handled and how households can overcome the problem of technology affecting

social interaction in the household.

Introduction

The dynamism of technology in the world has brought with it a significant impact on how

people interact with the community. The integration of new technology in a social setting such as

a household has caused communication among individuals to differ substantially compared to

some years back (Sundar 237). From literature, it can be seen that technology has come with a

significant impact on the social interaction among family members (Jenks 2). The technologies

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can assist to build relationship among people living in the same household as well as destroying

that social interaction. Technology is evolving at a fast rate compared to other fields

(Warschauer 60). Due to these reasons, the paper will detail how technology has changed the

household social interaction platform and hot is has affected the relations between people in the

same household.

Family setting

According to the Irish constitution, a family is defined as “the natural primary and

fundamental unit group of society” (Sundar 176). According to their laws, a family is a group of

individual who live together under the same roof or house. A family is essential to a young

person. Household is the place where an individual will develop his or her communication skills,

courage, confidence and how to express oneself. Traditionally, a family will sit together, eat

together, or watch the televisions as a family as they await to sleep (Lin and David 86). The

interaction in households happened a while ago not less than a decade.

Modern society has however brought a lot of complexities to the family setting. The

diversity of personal relationship has made individuals emphasize the relationship between them

and their friends over their families. One of the main argument as to why this is happening is the

technology that one generation shares (Lanoue 96). A generation that makes use of a certain

technology will be close to each other. Family members, on the other hand, are widely spread

through the ages. As such, they cannot utilize the same technology which creates a barrier

between a father and a son, a daughter, and a mother, or little sibling to an older sibling. This has

created an increased questioning of how the future family structures will be. The idea behind this

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argument is that families are spending their time less and less away from each other but closer to

their electronic gadgets.

In a familial relationship, there has also been a drastic change where a social shift has

occurred. Traditionally, the relationship was given through family ties and kin (Jenks 56).

Currently, the connection in a household is chosen through non-kin or kin relationships. This

alteration in a familial relationship has seen the increase in the purchase of electronic gadgets.

Individualism has been on the rise where family members spend less time with each other. This

loosening up of family ties has given room for technology material to dominate the house.

Technology in household

In a family, there has been a process known as domestication. Domestication is the

process where domestic technologies help in running a families’ activities from day to day

(Mesquita 56). The local technologies alter the pattern and culture of the family’s interaction.

The new trend can, however, be attached to the introduction of new technology to the household.

The family that has access to information and communication technology is different from that

which does not have such amenities. The difference can be witnessed in the family dynamics.

The technologies that a family finds domestic has become an intrinsic part of the household’s

life. In the modern families, the immersion of household members in technology related things is

at its highest level. This is the first generation of children to live in an ICT rich environment. The

technology has however gone to impact social interaction within a family negatively more than

positively.

A household is one of the most important site for a child to observe, learn, and participate

in authentic activities which develops his or her sense of cultural value. A household need to

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engage in a particular manner in such a way that the child can pick the essential elements of

communication. Technology also plays an important role for a child in a household. With new

technologies being created each day, a child ought to learn how to use them in an acceptable

manner. This includes how much time that individual should be on such technology or how

dedicated that child should be to the technology. For this reason, children should be taught how

to use technology for self-expression, entertainment, communication, and other work related

tasks. In preparing a child to use the technology this way, the child will be disciplined. In

addition, s/he will be ready for a life that technology will not alter his or her social interaction

with other individuals. As such, parents should ensure they use technology correctly in front of

their children to detest tem from having bad habits with technology.

Technology impeding social interaction in a Household

Research has shown that technology has resulted in “technologization of childhood” (Lin

and David 132). Technologization of childhood is a term that is used to describe or view

childhood as being different when compared to the past society. In the modern society, especially

in the household, everything is “technology driven” to a point that it has become toxic for a

child. A study carried out in the United States gives four media that has made technology toxic to

childhood (Jenks 97). The four technologies are; video console, television, computers, and

smartphones (Shklovski, Sara and Robert 251). These are the three technologies that children are

more likely to be exposed. The children use these technologies on a daily basis whether it

belongs to them or a family member. There are some negative impacts that the four technology

presents to the child and the household social interaction.

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The first negative impact on a child is social development (Mesquita 56). This not only

affects a small child but also teens. However, the basis of a good or bad social skills for a child

starts at a younger age. When a child is exposed to a game console, that child will be spending

his/her time on that machine daily. As a result, going outdoors to socialize with the rest of the

children will prove to be a burden. The child will be used to his/her company thereby killing any

hope of socialization in the future (Turkle 78). Computer for teens and smartphones are the other

technologies that make teens sit indoors or be on their own without having a partner to socialize.

As much as these impacts the social skills of a child, it also creates a distance between the family

members. The reason is attributed to lack of bonding by the household members or individuals in

the same family. The linguistic intellectual of the growing child is likely to be at risk. As such,

the technology has presented a challenge where the social interaction of a child has been

negatively impacted from a very young age.

The second negative impact that technology has negatively affected households is the

culture of buying a young person console game and installing it in his/her bedroom. This

bedroom culture is widespread in the United States. If that person does not have a game console,

he or she owns a smartphone. This is a character that is seen even in individuals at the age of 26

years and still living at home (Sundar 57). The study shows that technology-rich bedroom opens

room to peer activity. Members of a family will be coming with their peers and head directly to

the bedroom without any time for the household members to interact. Technology-rich bedrooms

encourage social contacts outside the family instead of promoting closeness among the

household members.

The Internet has also facilitated the erosion of family ties. The Internet is responsible for

the individualized environment. One of the most common is the facilitation of social media

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(Turkle 78). Social media has caused people to be friends with anonymous people, sharing

secrets, and even telling each other jokes. However, when it comes to the family this is not

always the case. Most of the time, the family members keep to themselves each one selecting his

or her best social media platform. The time that family members could be socializing and sharing

are used to surf the internet.

Jokes that would have been shared by the household is shared online. As such, the

household has become individualized impacting social interaction within the family negatively

(Jenks 165). The time that these individuals would be spending with each other is substituted

with the weak ties on the internet. The Internet at home is, therefore, a negative technology, and

it erodes family ties. The main problem with the internet is that its alienates the family members

and consumes the much needed time for the kin in a household to interact. The social interaction

within a household gets compromised, and the family falls apart.

Electronic media has been termed as being “the death of childhood” (Kraut 78).

Technology can take advantage of a child’s vulnerability, destroy their innocence and undermine

their individuality. A child who always has different technologies on his or her side is destined to

be socially disabled. The only thing in his life that he has been surrounded with are the

technologies. One example is letting a small kid have a phone of his/her own. This should never

be the situation which a child should be born into. Social interaction is built from a young age

and, if the child is brought up properly, the family will be well knit compared to that family that

the children have been surrounded by various technology.

As much as technology impedes social interaction in a household, it also facilitates to

some extent. Some new technologies have helped to boost the social interaction of a family. One

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of the ways that it has improved family interactions is by making work easier and reducing the

time that one should have done that work (Mesquita 56). The time that is saved is used by the

family members to engage in other non-task activities. The leisure time is increased allowing

family members to have time for themselves to bond. Leisure can be carried out by taking a trip

outside the town or visiting a particular orphanage. The extra time is also used by a parent to

observe the children, play with them and find a way in which they can socially interact and bond

as a family.

Conversely, other technologies are a powerful form of media literacy for children and a

tool which will go a long way in giving the child the essential communication skills. Social

interaction among individuals in a household arises from various aspects of a relationship among

the family members. A child that is lively, outgoing or creative tends to bring the family

members close. The family is more likely to share than a family that has a child who is

antisocial. Some technologies encourage a child to be creative, or rather, gives them the

opportunity to showcase their creativity. As such, the family members meet and do something

together in light of the creation of the child. In such a case, it can be noted that the child brought

the family to interact socially. Technology, in this instance, can be identified as having the power

to make a family socially close, and it increases the frequency of their interaction.

Types of Technologies that facilitate and impede social interaction in households.

Some technologies have a greater impact on social interaction within a household than

others. Television is an example of technology that has played a great role in the family social

interaction. The viewing of television by family members is a good example of social activity.

Family members gather around and watch one of their best television show. Some households

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have inculcated a tradition such as a family night where they sit around and choose what to

watch. Netflix has facilitated this culture by having a variety of channels and movies to watch

from. The television show that the family members are watching can as well become a topic of

conversation for the household. This boosts social interaction within the home.

The internet to some point has fostered family social interaction. Family members that

are far from each other can catch up and share some stuff together. According to research, the

internet plays a vital role in family interaction is that it provides the young individuals with a

connection to re-establish and intensify familial relationship. Internet supports variety of

application and sites that can be used for communication. The Internet allows individuals to

extend their relationship with an extended relative beyond their nuclear family. Most of relatives

beyond nuclear families are hard to foster a relationship. The internet has however helped to

forge a greater understanding among the extended family members. The internet is, therefore, a

form of an online relationship that helps enhance the offline relationship and social interaction

among family members (Atwood and Conchetta 80). Without the internet, these kinds of

relationship would be hard to maintain especially when different members of a household live far

from each other.

Types of social interaction

The effect of technology on social interaction can be divided into two section. The first is

internal and the second one is external. Internal social interaction is the interaction among family

members. Some technologies impede internal social interaction while other facilitate this type of

interaction in the community. For example, Games that need family members to play with each

other can be termed to encourage internal social interaction. This may be computer games but

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not those that can be played online. Playing with family members increases the bond among the

individuals in a household. This is common among brothers who share the same toys or games.

They will always play with each other facilitating their relationship and build their bonds

stronger.

Internal social interaction is essential for a household. All the work that need to be done

in a household depends on what kind of communication the members have. A poor social

interaction among the family members will result in a poor communication. Internal social

interaction is the foundation of a social life for some individuals. Families who have a poor

internal social interaction replicate these aspects of relationship in the outer world. They tend to

be introverts. It is therefore important for one to first cultivate internal social interaction to

become better in communication. This kind of interaction is what holds families together and is

the kind of interaction that memories are created from.

External social interaction is the social interaction of relatives. This includes aunts,

cousins, nephews, uncles, another close kin. Unlike in the household scenario, technology has

facilitated this kind of interaction. The introduction of mobile phones, video calls, and other

social platforms has managed to bring relatives in faraway places closer. Currently, a person only

needs to dial or tap a particular gadget or technology to talk with a person that is far away.

Families that live in different places, for example, a mother is in Texas and the father is New

York, the family could talk each day through video chats or on a social platform such s creating a

group in WhatsApp. As such, technology has brought with it advantages and disadvantages when

the matter of social interaction comes into question. While some folks will find themselves far

from each other, others will be closer and can build stronger family bonds.

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External social interaction helps different individuals be better communicators in the

society. Families who have a deep understanding of each other are usually happy. Technology

has facilitated external social interaction which in turn has boosted the connection between

family ties. There was a point where kin could see each other only during holidays. The use of

mail took days and as such, communicating or rather forming a close knit relationship was hard.

Through the new technologies these external interaction has been boosted and family members

can contact each as frequently

Conclusion

The technology revolution has occurred rapidly, and it has impacted households in a

variety of way. The way that new technology has embedded itself in the life of family members

is worrying. Families are having less conversation each day. Traditionally, there would be a

family gathering and stories would be shared over a meal or over watching television shows. The

bonding between a father and his child is eroding at an alarming rate. Conversely, the bond

between spouses is deteriorating, and this is demonstrated by the high levels of divorce cases.

Siblings are creating a bridge between themselves with each immersing him/herself in their stuff.

Technology such as a smartphone is one of the biggest culprits to the erosion of family values

and closeness. Laptop and video games come in second place, and it has affected many

households. Despite the negativity that is associated with technology in conjunction with social

interaction among family members, there are also technologies that help bring households

together. Steps need to be taken to prevent further erosion of social interaction within a

household. These steps should ensure that technologies that bring the family close together are

encouraged while the rest are discouraged or rather, households should be given lectures on how

they can handle such a problem.

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Works cited

Jenks, Chris. Social Interaction in Second Language Chat Roome. Edinburgh: Edinburgh

University Press, 2014. Print.

Lanoue, Kyle D. A Study of the Effects Technology Has on Social Capital. , 2008. Print

Lin, Carolyn A, and David J. Atkin. Communication Technology and Social Change: Theory and

Implications. Mahwah, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007. Print.

Mesquita, Anabela. Human Behavior. IGI Global, 2015. Print.

Shklovski, Irina, Sara Kiesler, and Robert Kraut. "The Internet and social

interaction." Computers, phones, and the Internet (2006): 251-264.

Sundar, S S. The Handbook of the Psychology of Communication Technology. , 2015. Print.

Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each

Other. S.I.: ReadHowYouWant, 2011. Print.

Warschauer, Mark. Technology and social inclusion: Rethinking the digital divide. MIT press,

2004.

Atwood, Joan D, and Conchetta Gallo. The Effects of the Internet on Social Relationships:

Therapeutic Considerations. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse Inc, 2011. Print.

Kraut, Robert E. Computers, Phones, and the Internet: Domesticating Information Technology.

New York [u.a.: Oxford Univ. Press, 2006. Print.

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