“Don’t text my heart,” these word of wisdom were spoken to me by the Christian writer Chad Estham, but what do these words mean? The youth today are becoming more and more attached to their technology. Relationships are being built online or through phones. Keyboards and keypads are becoming the keys to our heart. Technology provides a way of communication but is becoming the only way to communicate with today’s youth because it has made one on one interaction less frequent and has made a negative effect on the social abilities of the youth.
Technology is a great way to stay entertained but it is disconnecting people. Today’s Internet users have many ways to be occupied online. These days we have the ability to communicate on websites like facebook, ways to watch TV shows and clips mostly on YouTube, and play entertaining games like on addictinggames, all while on the computer. And we wonder why we have no in person friendships and dysfunctional families. Non-internet users spend 12.6 more minutes on average doing social activities, such as parties, sporting events, and person-to-person conversations (Nie and Hillygus). Internet users spend 34.3 minutes less than non-internet users with family and friends (Nie and Hilygus). Those who don’t switch off the computer, switches off all personal relationships with family and friends.
Technology like iPods and cell phones make a personal bubble and make it portable. Cell phones create a distraction from real life experiences and because of their ability to be taken anywhere, I see teens texting anywhere they can. Teens text while talking to someone else, at the dinner table, in the car if driving or not,at he movies, and worst of all in church. This tiny piece of plastic is distracting teens from the most important message of all. The message of God. iPods also create the distraction but it also sends a signal “visible from a good distance away, white earphones signal one thing to most people: don’t bother trying to talk to me” (Song). This action irritates people. I have a friend and whenever we get in the car she sticks her headphones in and I endure the rest of the car ride in silence. I find it rude. These bubbles are growing around so many people and someone just needs to pop them.
As you can tell, I am very much against technology but there are ways that is helps. It helps many people stay in touch with friends that might have moved away, “the internet can make it easier to keep in touch with old friends” (Coget and Ytaka). In my life, I will move on from all my friends and I will still want to stay in touch with them all, but it can be just as easy to look them up and ask if they would like to do something in person. Staying in touch can be done in person as much as over technology.
Some people have trouble making new friends and the internet provides ways to meet new people through chat rooms. I believe relationships built online can be a little eccentric but, “one study suggests that online relationships simply take longer to develop than those face-to-face and eventually can become as rich” (Coget and Yutaka). Online relationships can be dangerous because you never know who’s on the other side of the chat.
You can become more open over the internet if you don’t have a chance to meet others in real life. Meeting people online can give you confidence in who you are, but I believe it also tears you down. Knowing that you din’t have real frinds and resorting to making them online can make you feel worthless. Online relationships will either build you up or break you down.
“Data showed that as people in this sample used the internet more, theyreported keeping up with fewer friends,” so keep your friends (Affonso). Don’t be sucked into the internet and leave others behind. Most importantly, don’t let keypads and keyboards be the key to your heart.