Modern Technology and Social Change Essay

In the recent decade, the transformation in the field of information, communication, and technology have significantly changed the nature of human interactions. The increased accessibility of internet-enabled devices such as smartphones and personal computers coupled with the development of new applications as well as computer programs has aided people in accessing more information from various sources. Furthermore, the exchange of knowledge and information has been dramatically enhanced since scholars in different regions can freely interact on various internet-based platforms without necessarily having to meet face to face as was the case before. From a social perspective, modern technology has variably affected the nature of social relations that people establish, quality of face to face communication, behavior development as well as expression and intercultural competencies. Technology has also impacted the way people read, write and speak. Modern technology has affected virtually every aspect of human life, but the nature and extent of this effect vary from person to person.

Technology has significantly affected how people read and write. First, it has exposed people to various online databases with a lot of information on virtually every aspect of academia. Google books and Google scholar are among the sources of reading materials that one access by just a click of a search button. This means that just keying in a well-selected keyword on a search engine such as Google, anyone can access different reading materials written by a variety of writers from various parts of the world. In essence, the internet has eased information access. However, this ease of accessing information has significantly changed the way people read. Today, people tend to only skim over information without spending much time to interrogate it, critically think of its relevance and develop a new set of knowledge from it. Even though, technological progress has proceeded simultaneously with new inventions and innovations, the average users of such developments often develop a culture of using them as a short cut to avoid the burden of engaging their mind in generating new knowledge. Whenever one encounters a challenge or problem, he merely turns to the smartphone, keys in the search-words on a search engine such as Google and gets various solutions to it. Therefore, the human ability to acquire, conceptualize and retain unique information has been greatly impaired hence turning them into some form of robots. Chances of creativity are minimized with technology which seems to make everything available. Nonetheless, for some, the accessibility of a variety of information opens their minds and triggers them to develop new concepts, theories and methods from the existing ones. Secondly, technology has led to the invention of auto-correction, short messages, emoji, and abbreviations which undermine the quality of written information. For instance, one does not need to know the correct spelling of a word to communicate on most digital platforms. If one intends to write "tomorrow," he only needs to type "tomrow" and auto-spelling will suggest the correct word. Auto-spelling or auto-word check functions in devices such as smartphones or computers simply provides suggestions or corrects the mistakes by default. At the end, people have become over-reliant on such improvements to the extent that emphasis is not made on the preservation of syntax, spelling, and diction.

The impacts of technology are not only on how people read and write but also on how they speak. The progress of technology has created a vast virtual community in which one-on-one interaction is not only less regarded but also uncommon. People widely believe that digital platforms such as emails, Whatsapp groups, video-conferencing, Facebook pages, and tweeter provide efficient, less costly spheres in which they can communicate. In most cases, communication in these platforms is through chatting or texting which significantly undermine ones' ability to physically or verbally express himself. Therefore the existence of a virtual community has degraded etiquette, diction, self-esteem, and non-verbal cues which are critical aspects of verbal communication. For instance, one can use a word such as "dude" to refer to a man. Such informal language and slang are common in social media where communication is always less sensitive to word choice and use. The texting culture promoted by the developments in technology, especially social media reduces the frequency of conversations among people who are within the same space and place. People yearn to converse with those who are away since modern technology makes it very easy. People also tend to transfer the communication trends used in social media such as LOL to mean (laugh out loud), OMG (oh my goodness) and TTYL (talk to you later) into spoken communication. The effect of this is that unless everyone who listens to the speech understands such language, communication is rendered inefficient as it does not yield the intended cognition.

Technology also has a significant influence on civility. While it acts as a mechanism through which positive behavior and acculturation can be encouraged due to the widespread use of social media including Tweeter, Facebook and whatsapp, it is also exploited to entrench social vices. The protection of people from the detrimental use of technology has not met the pace of growth in information communication and technology. Therefore, cybercrime, sharing of damaging content and cyberbullying have become an imminent danger in society today. Criminals use highly coded and well-secured forms of technology to hack into bank accounts, personal details and steal from unsuspecting people. With the ubiquitous access to personal information, identity crime has been commonplace. Certain syndicates that promote pornography have managed to use anonymous technological platforms to develop content that has an adverse psychological effect on childhood development. The radicalization of the youth has been highly attributed to the availability and accessibility of technological breakthroughs that enhance the sharing of information which inculcates antisocial ideologies. Conceivably, modern technology is one milestone which has made the world a global village, but this has not been only used for positively impacting society.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the effects of modern technology on humanity can sometimes be subjective, but there is a consensus that it has affected the general nature of interactions among people. Technology has created a vast virtual community with unique ways of communication which eventually undermine the quality of physical interactions and speech. The use of abbreviations, short message services, and emoji have significantly affected how people write. Furthermore, the ease of accessing a variety of information has made a substantial proportion of the population lazy hence skim over information without investing their time in closely interrogating facts and ideas. Therefore, the propensity for critical and creative thinking is undermined. Technological progress has also been exploited by criminals to undermine the ideal values, ethics, and morals of societies.