COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

PUSHING US TOWARDS SOCIAL ISOLATION AND NEUROSIS

Robert Biffis

Introduction• Definitions

• History

•Today’s Communication Technology

• The Great Debate

• Today’s Concerns

•Neurosis

• Conclusion

DefinitionsLoneliness: Emotional state felt by people who are dissatisfied with their social connection.

Neurosis: A relatively mild mental illness that is not caused by organic disease, involving symptoms of stress but not a radical loss of touch with reality.

Slacktivism: Actions performed via the Internet in support of a political or social cause but regarded as requiring

little time or involvement.

Social Isolation: Is an objective condition in which people have little interaction with others.

History Of Communication

TechnologyStretching back to the printing press, society has shown concern about the negative impacts of new communication technology.

Printing PressThe printing press was the origin of mass communication and the first method of disseminating ideas and information to a far-ranging audience.

It created a shift from Oral Culture where information was passed from one generation to the next through interpersonal interaction (Storytelling).

The Social ConcernPrint encouraged the pursuit of personal privacy and silent reading.

In the 18th century, French statesman Malesherbes warned the public about getting news from the printed page arguing “it socially isolated readers and detracted from the spiritually uplifting group practice of getting news from the pulpit” (Bell, 2010).

TelephoneThe telephone allowed people to communicate across vast distances and as a result connect them with more people.

The Social ConcernHowever society was concerned that it lacked face-to-face interaction which allows the interpretation of body language.

TelevisionTelevision signals can reach remote corners of the country.

It promised shared national experience through news and sports programs. It brought events like political elections, war, and the first walk on the moon into people’s living rooms.

The Social ConcernIn 1963 television was considered mainstream in homes across America. Poet T.S. Eliot warned: “Television permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the same time, and yet remain lonesome.” (Richardson, n.d.)

Television promoted isolation because of the time dedicated to watching it was taking away from other social activities.

History shows that the concept

of “connected but alone” isn’t new,

just the technology is.

Today’s Communication

Technology

Today’s communication technology has greatly expanded our capacity to connect with others. However, like the technology before it, great debates revolve around the social impact of these new technologies.

Specifically: Social Isolation and Neurosis

THE GREAT DEBATEBenefits

Communication technology today basks in its ability to connect people on a global scale. It can provide:

Greater Connectivity• Ultimate network to reach and be reached• Widens social circles

More Support• Strengthens and maintains relationships by allowing people to be more persistent and pervasive

Stronger Real Life Relationships• Supplements (not replaces) and enriches face-to-face interactions• Appearance and location no longer matters - Just shared interests and values

A Feeling of Belonging•Satisfies ones need to be part of a group•Strengthens political engagement

Today’s ConcernsConnectivity

Sherry Turkle, author of “Alone Together” believes that expanded connectivity comes at the price of depth. “We are only getting ‘sips’ of connection not real communication” (Turkle, 2011).

Connections made on social networks “provide the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship, without the demands of intimacy” (Turkle, 2011).

“Online, we easily find ‘company’ but are exhausted by the pressure of performance. We enjoy continual connection but rarely have each other’s full attention. We can have instant audiences but flatten out what we say to each other in new reductive genres of abbreviation” (Turkle, 2011).

Feelings Of SupportAccording to a study by scientists at Duke University 25% of Americans have no meaningful social support and no close confidants or friends outside their immediate family. (Ilardi, 2009)

Friendships originating online are less supportive because they involve fewer joint activities and fewer topics of discussion.

Deep friendships have been replaced by screens and gadgets. People spend so much time maintaining superficial connections online and not dedicating enough time to cultivating deeper real-life relationships.

Real World RelationshipsCommunication technology tempts many to “give precedence to people they are not with over the people they are with” (Price, 2011).

We text during dinner with our families or when we are out with friends. Little eye contact is made and face-to-face communication has decreased.

People connect more with people in virtual world but communicate less with those in the real world.

False Sense of Belonging/ActionHumans by nature are social creatures and

a rich community life benefits society as a whole .

Social media makes it easy to form groups and people get a false sense of involvement or enacting social change. One can easily “like”, “share”, or “tweet” to support a social cause. This “feel-good” measure is called slacktivism due to the little physical or practical effort required.

Slacktivism allows people to feel satisfied that they belong or have contributed to a group.

Unfortunately slacktivism rarely results in the real life action needed to support a political or social cause.

“It is unfortunate that joining Facebook groups make people as happy as writing letters to their elected representatives without triggering any of the effects that might benefit society at large” (Morozov, 2011).

NeurosisToday’s communication technology demands constant performance to maintain multiple profiles on multiple platforms only to maintain a shallow connections with hundreds of friends. It is no surprise that many people develop the following Neurosis:

Anxiety• Having to perform a character on social media• Having the need to check your devices constantly

Depression• Reading about others seemingly perfect lives• Feelings of envy

Loneliness

• Distancing from real life friendships• Lack of meaningful bonds • Decrease in confidants

ConclusionHistory shows us that with each new technology humans seem to be pushed a little closer to social isolation.

Forming connections online can satisfying a person’s need to share and communicate with friends but only temporarily. It can never make up completely for real life or face-to-face interactions.

Self presentation on a continuous basis can be exhausting and many times results in some form of Neurosis.

We have to make decisions on how we use new technology not the other way around. The depth of ones social connections in the real world should remain a priority. New technology should supplement our relationships not replace them.

ReferencesBell, Vaughan. (2010). Don’t Touch That Dial! Slate. Retrieved from

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2010/02/dont_touch_that_dial.html

Ilardi, Stephen. (2009). Social Isolation: A Modern Plague. Psychology Today. Retrieved fromhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-depression-cure/200907/social-isolation-modern-plague

Morozov, Evgeny. (2011). The Net Delusion. New York, NY: Public Affairs

Price, Michael. (2011). Alone In The Crowd. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/06/social-networking.aspx

Richardson, Anthony. (n.d.) How Technology Has Created the Illusion of Socialization. HighExistence. Retrieved from http://highexistence.com/how-technology-has-created-the-illusion-of-socialization/

Turkle, Sherry. (2011). Alone Together. New York, NY: Basic Books