Are you ever home alone and do not know what to do? You can listen to music, play games, or talk to your friends all with the technology that’s available. This is what makes technology so great. There have been disputes on whether or not technology hurts people’s social skills. Technology has many advantages that aid social skills, but it creates problems if people use it too much.

Technology is good for social interaction because it aids communication. The Internet allows many people to meet each other online (Cognet and Yutaka 1).“Untangling the Social Impact of the Internet: A Large-Scale Survey” says Internet can make it easier to stay in touch with friends because they can communicate any time of day and very quickly (1). I think it is an improvement to social interaction because it does not matter how far a person’s friends move they can always stay in touch. Before, people had to send letters, which took a long time. Cell phones allow people to be reached more directly and easily. Internet and phone communication make it easier to be less self-conscious (1). “Untangling the Social Impact of the Internet: A Large-Scale Survey” says electronic communication, “ hides or camouflages physical appearance” (1). Even if a person is having a bad hair day or is worried about the way they look, they can interact with friends without feeling self-conscious.

Technology is good for social interaction because it helps one meet new people (Harris 1). “Does the iPod signal the Downfall of our Civilization?” says that the iPod parties in London bar help different kinds of people have fun together, by sharing their music by making “ 15-minute set lists on their iPods” to share with others (1). People at this event make friends and learn about new music and sharing their ideas. Technology makes it possible to meet more people than ever possible before. “Untangling the Social Impact of the Internet: A Large-Scale Survey” says that, “ the Internet is a common place to encounter new friends” (Cognet and Yutaka 1). Since the Internet is available all over the world, people can interact, no matter where they are from. This makes a larger social circle available.

However, some people think that technology is having a bad affect on social interaction. “ Negative Effects on Society” says that the iPod can make people less people friendly, saying that the white earphones of an iPod mean, “one thing to most people: don’t bother trying to talk to me” (Song 1). However this is an example of the “Bandwagon” fallacy. The fact that many see the iPod as headphones as a reason not to talk to someone does not mean that this correct thing to do. The person may actually want to be spoken to, and talking about what music he or she is listening to might be a good way to make friends. “Is the Affecting the Social Skills of Our Children?” says that the Internet makes people feel, “ more lonely and depressed” as well as spending less time with friends (Affonso 1). However, this would be an example of “False Cause” fallacy. The study says that the Internet causes people to become more depressed as they use it more, but it actually might be that people that are depressed tend to use the Internet more because they like to stay inside, or they worry about social interaction. “The Impact use on Sociability: Time-Diary Findings” gives some statistic that show that people who use the Internet go to fewer parties, attend fewer religious services and sporting events, and have fewer conversations with people (Nie and Hillygus). However, this is an example “ Hasty of Generalization” fallacy because they only took 757 Internet Users, but they took surveys from 5388 Non-Internet Users. They did not make enough information on Internet Users to make a conclusion.

Although technology can cause Problems if it is abused, it has a positive effect on social interaction. This issue is important because more and more people use technology every year. People use technology for school, business, social interaction, and other purposes, so knowing the effects of technology is important when using.