Technology Discourages Social Interaction

Abstract
Over the past 15 years technology has expanded worldwide. Unfortunately, because of this growth, social interaction amongst humans has changed in the world we live in today. This paper will point out some positives and negatives about technology towards our social interaction.

Technology Changes Social Interaction
Here in the United States, technology is being adapted to our everyday use. We use it in our work fields, in our medical fields, and even in our schooling. Everyone believes in technology more and more each day. We use it as a substitution for our jobs, for our books, and sometimes for our language. We rely on technology so much but this can only go so far. Researchers Diego Comin and Bart Hoijn found that newer technologies are being adapted and used at an increased rate over older technologies. Their study found that the amount of time that technology has increased is roughly forty-five years (Comin and Hobijn).
Technology has increased more in the work field than in any other place. We have machines that put car parts together, or make certain foods and we no longer need humans in order to make what we need to live. Marlene E. Burkhardt did a research on how much of your time in work is spent on technology. In her study, employees were asked to respond to an average work week of how much of their time was used working on a computer. They were also asked about their attitudes towards computers. Did they have positive or negative feelings toward these computers? Did they like these computers or easily get frustrated by them? Employees reported that they had 40 hours per week of computer use during their shifts. 40 hours is the limit for reportable federal employment work hours. Also, all the surveys and questionnaires showed that those who were similar in age tended to have similar beliefs about their self-efficacy regarding computers. Those who were younger in the workplace found it easier and more efficient to use computers instead of talking directly to a person. Individuals that did talk directly to one another did not appreciate the use of computers and were frustrated by them whenever they did have to use them.
At the end of this research, researchers found that those employees who were a bit older and did not use computers throughout their shift changed their work processes and became dependent on others around them to inform them about their work place. It also showed that individuals with similar attitudes began to interact with one another. So those who were not dependent on others and did their own job on the computers formed a type of clique and interacted just a bit when getting off of work. Those who did not use the computers stayed close and depended on each other for help. Those who understood how to use computers became the informal leaders of those who did not understand the new technology (Burkhardt). Thus, people will change the way they communicate because of the fear of someone being superior to them.
Not only does technology affect your work place but it affects your language as well. Even if you yourself do not notice it. Susan E. Cook spent a lot of her time looking for an answer to whether communication technologies change the way people speak or write. After much research and observation that she had to do, she came to a conclusion that communication technologies, such as any social media, changes the way some people speak and write. For example, people online act to be someone they are not. They create a whole new self and pretend to be that person online. The example she gives is a high class Caucasian. She said that there is a website for “gangsters” who speak their mind but use slang through their communication. This boy has grown up to use proper English but through the internet he wants to be someone else so he uses slang online. But now he is incorporating that slang into his everyday