A young woman misses the last bus because her nose is buried in a Nook. A teenage boy dumps his girlfriend of two years for a stranger he just met on Facebook. A group of kids get in a fatal car accident because the driver was texting. All of these people are real life examples of the negative impacts of digital technology on society. Technology has been evolving for hundreds of years. As it has become more advanced, the more it has taken a hold of the community. Digital technology is universal and there is no way to avoid it, but people need to start using it more responsibly. Everything gets taken for granted now that there are so many technological sources. Although there are a moderate amount of positive effects, the negative aspects
Social relationships are particularly affected in that people no longer know how to connect with others in a face to face environment. If digital media keeps distorting social relations then divorce rates will increase, more children will become socially inept, and interpersonal relationships will become obsolete. With technology causing perpetual distraction, strong marriages will eventually wither away due to lack of communication. Young children with divorced parents tend to be quieter and less likely to interact with others in school and in the outside world. If technology continues to advance, people will no longer have the need to interact in person. Continual contact through media will create an unbalanced and socially incompetent society. Clearly, negative aspects of digital technology outweigh those on the positive spectrum. However, some still argue that technology can actually bring people closer together. Such as being able to talk to a loved one at any time, and from any place, through a cell phone, or meeting a whole world of new friends on the internet. This argument has some validity in that people are able to stay connected longer, but it also leads to a disconnected “in- person” relationship. People become more comfortable conversing with others through technology that they act like a completely different person when the screens are no longer available to hide behind.