The continuously improving technologies have a significant effect on people’s relationships. Some say that due to these technologies we are closer than ever. However, others claim that they have put some distance between us that wasn’t there before. In this essay, I would like to discuss both sides and show why I believe that modern technology is beneficial for human connections.
Recent technological innovations strengthened the strings between people. First of all, family members who live in different countries, maybe even on different continents, can keep in touch with each other in an easy and affordable way. For instance, my cousins were born and raised in Munich, Germany and still live there. Without the existence of internet and smart phones, their grandmother wouldn’t have been able to see them more than once or twice a year. As a result of these technologies, she was able to see them grow up and my cousins could talk to her whenever they wanted to.
Additionally, we can meet people who we wouldn’t be able to if it was not for social media. As I was getting ready to move to Norway for my Erasmus semester, I was able to connect with other Hungarian people from Oslo through Facebook, which led to one of the greatest friendships I have till today.
On the other hand, we can clearly see a negative impact of tech innovations on people’s relationships. In the last few years, people spend more time on their social media than with each other in person. For example, before smart phones and other smart gadgets made an appearance, people spent their free time with each other in different social settings. Nowadays, when someone has a few minutes of spare time finally, their first thing to do is check their social media accounts. Owing to the less socially spent time, increased number of people suffer from depression, social anxiety and loneliness.
In conclusion, in my point of view, recent techological innovations have mostly positive effect on our connections as they help us to overcome the physical distances. Having said that, they can also decrease the real life relationships we have, which can result in mental health issues.