How has the Internet Changed our Lives?

How has the internet changed human relationships? Technology has improved in recent years which made apps bigger like Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. People use it to convey and communicate their deepest thoughts and feelings about themselves and the world, but it also changes the way people interact and communicate with each other. Modern technology is convenient which is hard to stay offline, but a couple of people have controlled their use of technology and never forgot the essentials of personal interaction. Technology has negatively affected human relationships in the following ways people spend too much time online, overdependence on technology, communication issues, less time together, health problems, distraction, depression and intimacy issues.

The first reason that the internet changes human relationships is depending too much on the internet which means people are depending on technology to do everything for them. There is no denying internet and technology is a great thing, it brought us great electricity, cars, and computers but technology has made life so convenient for people that being without technology is a very scary thought. People use their phone for everything it contains personal information like credit card, birthdays, phone numbers or important events. People like to add numbers and use a calculator for simple math instead of using their mind or people like to drive everywhere even for a short distance instead of taking a walk or ride a bike. People can’t read a map anymore because they use GPS all the time. Without technology and phones people feel naked. Internet and technology are so involved in peoples’ lives and people no longer depend on themselves. Technology has changed the way we live and the how the whole world communicates.

Communication is how we interact with each other, but the internet, technology and text messaging apps have changed the way we communicate, and it has a negative effect on peoples’ relationships. People text everyday through messaging. Author Pimenov Maxim reports, “There are over 600 million websites and over 500 million tweets sent on a daily basis to over 2.4 billion people in the twenty-first century” (“Public Access…”). With the rise of the internet and social media, we no longer need offices, bars, homes or cafes to keep in touch with other people. Online texting could lead to a lot of problems and the time of lag between commenting and receiving a response that could be eternity.

Many people wake up and the first thing they do in the morning is reach for their phone to check their emails and respond back to texts. They spend their day constantly using their phone, laptop, they are messaging, tweeting and sharing pictures. It is a great thing that we have the internet and the technology to connect with people but also there is a sense a disconnection. People don’t spend time together anymore when you text someone you can’t really know if they are being funny or serious or joking and many times, we wonder what they mean by their words whether over email or in a text. People need to see the person’s face and hear their voice and understand the environment. Sometimes they need a hug instead of stickers or an emojis because these cute smiley faces don’t make a personal connection. People need to spend more time with friends and family. People need a personal touch not an emojis saying “I love you” or “I miss you”. Technology has given us a way of saying things that we may not have had the courage to say in person. This can lead to strained feelings when couples interact with each other, they are delivered without a tone of voice or any expression. Also, technology could lead to a lot of problems like trust, because it is hard to know who is behind sending these messages without any evidence that prove who is the one communicating with.

Internet has become an addiction for some people and that causes health problems like depression, anxiety, eye strain or neck pain. People spend at least nine hours a day on social media and most people cannot go more than two hours without checking their Facebook, Snapchat and IMessage’s. Spending too much time on internet has been proven to cause an eye strain and neck pain. People who see their friend or any stranger on social media has a great job or just got married or have a beautiful house and they are happy then they get jealous and depressed or they might even think about suicide because their life is not “perfect” as those who they see on social media. Some people feel insecure and inadequate. However, a lot of people start from social media to depression because it caused bullying and being harassed online it can lead them to suicidal, cyber bullying affects people physically and mentally.

In conclusion, technology has changed the human relationships in a negative way. People simply don’t talk and communicate anymore. They settle to text, to email, they post on social media. Kids don’t play outside with their friends but instead they spend their day playing video games. People are getting cyberbullied and that leads them to depression and suicide. People lost their way because they are too focused on technology that they don’t see talking and communicating is how we share their deepest thoughts, needs, and their desires one with another.

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