Has Modern Media Drawn Us Closer, or Has it Alienated Us From One Another? Word Count: 1259 by Jayag, Patricia M. A Written Report in Requirement for the Fulfillment of Module 1 Media and Society (MEDIA102) Mapúa University May 2023 The response to this query is straightforward and apparent. The ability to instantly connect with people we have not spoken to in a while, thanks to technology, does help you become closer to your family, friends, and acquaintances. Technology has made it easy for individuals to interact easily, even if they are hundreds of miles distant. The list is endless. Nevertheless, there is a terrible thing for every good thing. There is a yin for every yang. Some claim that social media negatively affects individuals because it prevents some people, notably Millennials and Centennials, from having face-to-face conversations. When you walk outside, you are likely to see a group of people near each other but not at all near each other. How do we interpret this? These buddy groups are all gathered in one place, yet they need more social skills since they are preoccupied with what Liza Soberano or Kathryn Bernardo are tweeting. The worst is how many individuals cannot resist checking their phones throughout the day. We are no different here at Glint. It might even become more worrying when you are at home keeping tabs on distant family members but neglecting the individuals you share a house with. Whether technology widens the divide between individuals or bridges is a question that is not easily answered. The genuine response depends on one thing: you. The impact of technology on you and the people in your life will depend on how you utilize it. It will bring you and others closer than you could have ever dreamed of when utilized properly. If you delve too far into the rabbit hole, though, you might not be able to escape. (Glint Adv., 2017). Many of us approach this obligation all-or-nothing, completely rejecting the technology or unthinkingly engrossing ourselves in our gadgets until our weekly screen time warning snaps us back to reality. Ultimately, thanks to our gadgets, we can connect or disengage whenever we choose. It is up to us to choose how we use technology in our daily lives and whether we want it to improve or degrade the caliber of our social connections. The secret is to utilize technology thoughtfully and watch how it affects our capacity to interact with people. Even if we like it or not, our modern devices are here to stay and will likely continue to play a bigger role as new technological developments emerge. By developing responsible habits, we can make the most of emerging technologies and maintain our in-person connections with close friends, family, and coworkers while enabling a state of connectedness with geographically distant people (Julie, M., 2020). The role of modern media in people's daily lives has increased as information technology has progressed. The modern media has a hugely positive influence in many areas. For instance, telecommuting over the internet is becoming a practical and widespread employment. It has also been discovered that the effects of contemporary media on their audience are varied and diverse. For instance, everyday Internet usage among females was not linked to greater levels of depression symptoms (Twenge J.M. et al., 2018). A favorable correlation between the two parameters did exist for boys (Kreski N. et al., 2021). People's lives, jobs, and professions depend heavily on interpersonal contact, which is now possible through both face-to-face encounters and contemporary media. It has advantages and disadvantages in several areas at the same time. So how do contemporary media affect verbal and nonverbal communication? Based on recent studies, it is thought that frequent Internet use deters users from their offline activities (Raisamo R. et al., 2022). For instance, using mobile internet on smartphones prevents parents from spending time with their kids and impedes parent-child contact. Another study demonstrates that children's usage of contemporary media is similarly connected to a decline in their involvement in family activities. Online interactions can take the role of offline social interactions with family and friends when individuals are unduly reliant on the Internet (Kushlev K. et al., 2017). However, other studies point to the possible positive effects of Internet usage on interpersonal communication. Thanks to the development of Internet technology, today, text messages and voice calls are no longer the main methods for people of all ages (Thulin E., 2018). Group chats and social media have both grown to be well-liked communication tools. Numerous studies have discovered that using the internet successfully makes interpersonal relationships for both young and elderly cohorts much more convenient, which in turn can improve the well-being of individuals (Roberts J.A., 2020). In fact, modern media today offers creative means of communication, like video meetings, in a more convenient and cost-effective manner than old communication techniques, including letters, telegraphs, and phone calls. Therefore, the instrumental variable method has demonstrated that there is a causal link rather than just a correlation between the use of modern media and interpersonal communication. The use of modern media helps people engage with their family members more effectively, which reduces their feelings of loneliness. However, interactions with friends hardly ever serve as a strong buffer against such effects. This suggests that it lessens the sense of loneliness by fostering communication among family members, who are valued greatly in Asian culture and whose interactions have a greater influence on the individual's moods. People who engage in online socializing and self-presentation more frequently, have stronger online abilities, are younger, have higher educational levels, and live in cities are more likely to benefit from contemporary media use's favorable effects on communication. Additionally, for migrants, the advantages of using the internet for family connections are greater. The explanation might be that while friends can be found anywhere, family blood ties remain constant when people migrate. Reference Glint Advantage. (2017, February 13). Technology: Does It Bring Us Closer? https://glintadv.com/2017/02/13/technology-does-it-bring-us-closer/ Twenge J.M., Joiner T.E., Rogers M.L., Martin G.N. (2018). Increases in depressive symptoms, suicide-related outcomes, and suicide rates among US adolescents after 2010 and links to increased new media screen time. Clin. Psychol. Sci. 6:3–17. doi:10.1177/2167702617723376. Gong W.J., Wong B.Y.M., Ho S.Y., Lai A.Y.K., Zhao S.Z., Wang M.P., Lam T.H. (2021). Family e-chat group use was associated with family wellbeing and personal happiness in Hong Kong adults amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 18:9139. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18179139 Mesce M., Cerniglia L., (2022). Cimino S. Body Image Concerns: The Impact of Digital Technologies and Psychopathological Risks in a Normative Sample of Adolescents. Behav. Sci. 12:255. doi: 10.3390/bs12080255. Kreski N., Platt J., Rutherford C., Olfson M., Odgers C., Schulenberg J., Keyes K.M. (2018). Social media use and depressive symptoms among United States adolescents. J. Adolesc. Health. 68:572–579. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.07.006. Julie, M. (2020). Does technology bring us closer together or further apart? https://www.forbes.com/sites/hillennevins/2021/10/14/the-third-space/?sh=60f5bc58686a Kushlev K., Proulx J.D., Dunn E.W. (2017). Digitally connected, socially disconnected: The effects of relying on technology rather than other people. Comput. Hum. Behav. 76:68– 74. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2017.07.001. Raisamo R., Salminen K., Rantala J., Farooq A., Ziat M. (2022). Interpersonal Haptic Communication: Review and Directions for the Future. Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud. 166:102881. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2022.102881. Thulin E. (2018). Always on my mind: How smartphones are transforming social contact among young Swedes. Young. 26:465–483. doi: 10.1177/1103308817734512 Roberts J.A., David M.E. (2020). The social media party: Fear of missing out (FoMO), social media intensity, connection, and well-being. Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact. 36:386–392. doi: 10.1080/10447318.2019.1646517.
