This was a piece of writing I did about 2 months ago when I was preparing for my GRE exams. It was a timed essay on a random topic that they give you, and the result of this particular essay was one I was rather pleased with, so I thought I'd post it for your reading enjoyment. The topic was whether or not technology created lonliness...
"Both the development of technological tools and the uses to which humanity has put them have created modern civilizations in which loneliness is ever increasing."
“Both the development of technological tools and the uses to which humanity has put them have created modern civilizations in which loneliness is ever increasing.” The true veracity of this statement is difficult to judge, because it is difficult to judge the value of personal interactions. What is the panacea for loneliness? Many different people experience loneliness in many different ways, and so their “cure” for loneliness will be different from the next person. So how has technology affected these interactions?
The advent of the internet has spawned countless new methods of interaction; cell phones, wireless internet, internet chat rooms, instant messaging, text messaging. The list goes on. What is the value of all these interactions? Teenagers with 200 people listed on their instant messenger window would hardly be considered the constituents of a healthy, deep, and meaningful relationships. Yet the potential for interaction itself is virtually limitless. Perhaps the act of interaction itself is more valuable than the depth of interaction.
While it can be argued that many of these devices have engendered a state of perpetual “superficial” interaction, some of these devices may be more engaging than meets the eye. For example, MMOs (massively multiplayer online games) allow thousands of users to interact via an “avatar” which they control. These avatars have many of the same aspects of human nature. They are able to maintain personal space, they are able to speak and interact with other avatars, they are able to ignore, as well as to turn around and walk away. These particular programs are, in every aspect, a true “virtual reality”. These games allow users to interact on a level which is as close to reality as one can get without actually being there. Web logs, more commonly known as “blogs”, allow users to post diaries for other to read and comment on. These sites allow users to interact with other users on a very personal level. So despite the lack of “face-to-face” interaction which is an impossibility for these programs, the personality and ownership which these interactions take on mimics reality very closely.
But internet technologies are not the only advancements which have led to these lack of “personal” interactions. Automated bank tellers, automatic operators for large companies, and self service quick-pay gas stations have all reduced the need for human to human interaction, replacing it with human to machine interaction. Much technology has obviated the need for a human operator, cutting costs, and maximizing efficiency, both for the company and for the user. Yet one must truly ask oneself if these sorts of interactions were fulfilling in any way. Would more interactions between humans and humans across the countertop to purchase snack items, as opposed to human and machine interaction, be more personally rewarding than flashing a quick-pay card across a reader? Surely the panacea for loneliness does not reside within these ultimately superficial interactions.
The human race is experiencing a technological renaissance; one that has truly changed the face of the world. And as evidenced from the past, the human race will adapt, just as it always has. Telephones, internet, instant messaging, web logs, and video conferencing (just to name a few) have not changed the game, they have only changed the rules. While technology has certainly obviated the need for many face-to-face interactions, either superficial or meaningful, it has not placed barriers on them. Quite the opposite. Technology has made the extraordinary into the prosaic; what was once impossible, such as conferencing with a relative overseas, has now become commonplace and affordable. Anonymity has allowed those diffident people to become gallant heroes and conquerors; it has provided them with power and influence which they would never have in the “real” world. Has technology created civilizations where loneliness is endemic? No. While many former person to person interactions have been made obsolete, technology has not barred these doors completely. Technology has only stacked them in boxes and placed them in storage; always available, but no longer necessary. The rules of the game have indeed changed, but the game itself remains the same.
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