Technology has become a major part of our world and the effects it has on our social skills are growing. Some people, such as a girl named Rachel from New Jersey, are so consumed in the fad of texting that they can send up to 36,000 texts in one month! A statement as such concerns some and makes people question what could eventually become of our world if habits of relation continue. People argue that technology has brought us together with our community and increased our interaction with people. Yes, technology has brought us many advances, but in my opinion, we’ve become socially deprived because of it.

Whenever you plug in your headphones, turn up your music, you become wrapped up in a technologic world that disconnects you from your natural surroundings. IPods have been one of the most advanced pieces of technology since 2001, but they do “make it incredibly easy for people to bring their personal spheres into the public space. Interaction between individuals is slowly diminishing as people turn to their technological devices instead of attempting to make a new acquaintance or simply experience the natural sights and sounds around them” (Song 1). As the interpersonal connection between people and their iPods grow the faster our relationship with people decreases.

The students of our world have realized how simple and less time consuming online classes can be in schools, but have they thought about the affects this can have on them? Online classes are less distracting and more one-on-one, but they disconnect you socially from the world around you. You don’t have that higher interaction with people as much as you would in the actual classroom setting. Today in education “technologies may be the solution to the learning of ‘subjects’, but they work against the learning of what are called social values” (Postman 1). These “social values” can have no further development if you’re locked away in your room all day on the computer. To expand socially you have to place yourself in a social environment and grow in your relations with people.

When your on the computer, or on the phone, for numerous intervals at a time, do you start to notice that time flies by faster than it seems? It’s a shame how much of our time is spent daily on the Internet or our cellular devices. This pushes people to loose contact with the world around them, but what’s most depressing is the connection that’s slowly lost with your own family. A study shows that out of 169 internet users in Pittsburg, the more they used the internet, “the more they reported keeping up with fewer friends and… spending less time talking with their families” (Affonso 1). Before cell phones and computers were invented “family meal time” was more common and of a more importance. But today, its fairly rare you can find a family that sets down the technology for an hour and a half and actually has a meaningful “family sit down”. As the relationships with our families and friends decrease we grow to be people of an isolated nation and are consumed in independence.

Some people argue that iPods bring the people of our world together rather than separate us. In London, a common event has been published which is identified as a Playlist “social gathering”. These events are packed with “a community of the sorts for devotees of the iPod”(Harris 1). A diversity of people come together with their iPods and socially share and listen to each others music. As though this may seem as a very open and easy way to socialize some may take it as inappropriate or not very proper. The fact that “anyone and everyone shows up” can create quite the crowd that some might feel uncomfortable in (Harris 1). Jen Harris states that the people who attend these events can be anywhere from “cross-dressing Goths to the occasional pregnant lesbian”. For some people this might not be the particular crowd you would like to surround yourself in, therefore those who think most are benefiting from these events might actually be excluding some from attending. So in attempt to bring people together with Playlist events you may be pushing some away resulting in an isolated society or “click”.

“Technology fighters” protest that the Internet is a great way to expand your “social circles” and form deep online relationships. Yutaka and Coget state that there is “virtually an unlimited number of people through chat rooms, bulletin boards, and other services” which would supposedly make it easier to form relations with people. But people have to consider that these relationships are just virtual and conducted through a “cyber space” world. In these relationships there is no one-on-one interaction with another person face-to-face; your social development can only expand so far until the limits are reached of just being able to conduct emotions through words. The Internet can only bring you so far when making new friends or establishing relationships. For these to expand your “social bubble” must develop and increase outside technologic devices.

Though technology may seem like an easy alternative to communicate and connect with others were becoming “technologic zombies” in exchange. Our once close society is slowly braking into pieces that so many are oblivious of. If we’re already so detached from our surroundings and close family because of technology then what will become of us in then near future? How much further can this issue increase before more people realize the affects it has on our world? To escalate in isolation may be the only push our country needs towards breaking point. For the sake of our nation a well-established solution needs to be reached before it’s too late.