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Loftis 1

Building Relationships: destroyed by the digital age?

Abigail Loftis

Instructor: Malcom Campbell

English 1104

April 6th, 2017


Loftis 2

Abigail Loftis

Instructor: Malcom Campbell

English 1104

April 6th, 2017

Building Relationships: dDestroyed by the dDigital aAge?

INTRODUCTION

Your friend is on the other side of the table. You met up with her for brunch on a warm

Saturday morning at your favorite little breakfast place. As you sit in your favorite booth she

begins to tell you about her past week or two. She's met this new guy (Eric maybe? No, it was

John) she is obsessing over; they haven't stopped talking since they exchanged numbers at the

gym a while back. Suddenly your phone vibrates, you look down to check the newly established

notification, when. yYou look back up you realize your friend has asked you a question. Having

completely missed what she said you nod shyly hoping it was the response she was looking for

or perhaps you ask her to repeat herself explaining you got distracted. Different variations of this

scenario play out every day among acquaintances, close friends, family, and even spouses. Why

has this become such a common occurrence in todays age? Psychologists point to one common

denominator that which seems to play a role in all of these scenarios alike: technology., Sspecifi-

cally iPhones and other smart phones(The iPhone Effect).


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In this paper I am investigatingThis paper investigates the effect smartphones have on

adolescents and young adults. This generation was born into an age of technology,. sSome argue

this has hindered their ability to interact with each other in a healthy manner, while others say

technology has benefitted this generation as well as generations to come. This debate is not a

new one; many young adults will tell you there was at least one instance where someone in an

older generation told them cell phones were having a negative impact on their lives be it that

their thumbs would fall off or that they were addicted to their phone, etc., etc. To investigate

the effects phones have on young adults, I am going to look specifically at how phones effect

ones ability to be alone, how phones affecteffect relationships with those in their immediate cir-

cle (family, best friends, significant others), and how phones affecteffect relationships with those

whom you aren't as close to (acquaintances, co-workers, lesser friends).

BACKGROUNDRise of the Digital Age

The reason our generation is so in tune with technology could be because of how it has

advanced during our lives and the years leading up to this period. While other generations did

grow up with some technology our generation is the first to be fully immersed in technology.

The effects of this are starting to be seen as a generation wide phenomena. Telecommunication

first started in 1876 when Alexander Graham Bells phone made the first successful phone call in

the United States of America. At this time phones would still be reserved for the highest of offi-

cials and those who could afford to purchase such an expensive commodity. By 1900 the tech-

nology within phones became more refined allowing them to be used in most major cities and
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just fifteen years later a call was able to be made across the continent. By 1956 people were able

to make long distance calls without the assistance of an operator to aid the transition. Just seven-

teen years later in 1973, a phone call was able to be made from a portable phone (Telephone

Timeline). Telephones were quickly developing and changing to become more accessible to the

general public as well as to be more user friendly. Meanwhile, much of Generation X was reach-

ing their teenage years; they were the first generation to experience an abundance of technology

in their childhood. Phones and technology continued become more advanced at an exponential

rate. By 1982 commercial cellular service was approved by the FCC and only 18 years later

there were 100 million people subscribed and using cell phones (Telephone Timeline). By this

time the last of the 90s kids were just being born and the oldest were a few years shy of be-

coming teenagers. The Millennial generation expanded their understanding and use of this tech-

nology at a rate matching that of the expansion itself because they were growing up in a time

where telephones and cellular phones were just beginning to hit their peak in technological ex-

pansion. As they continued to grow the Millennial generation kept technology with in reach. It

became an extension of who they are and how they function.


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RESEARCH FOCUSIphones and How They Effect Relationships

How phones have affecteffected someones ability to be alone

Walking around, anywhere, you might notice small children with their parents. If you are

sitting at a restaurant near someone will small children you will often notice at some point that

the child will want to play on their parents phone. This often signifies the behavior that is re-

peated at home. Many children are no longer learning to occupy their own time and be able to

play by themselves but rather they are learning thathow they are able to play while still being in

constant contact of their family. Psychologist Sherry Turkle attributes this phenomena ofto re-

ceiving iPhones and other digital devices at a young age. This causes the child to never actually

be fully alone but rather to be in contact with someone at all times. This changes a fundamental

stage is n growing where children typically are to learnlearning how to do things apart from their

parents. This has led to a generation of young adults who do not know how to be alone(Turkle).

Even when children grow to the age where they move out their parents are only one text or

phone call away. If something goes wrong (from a stain on their clothes to not knowing how to

file taxes) they can just call home to their parents can fix it rather than working through it their-

selves.
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How phones affecteffect relationships with those whom you aren't as close to (acquain-

tances, co-workers, lesser friends)

Using a cell phone in public is a major irritation for other people. Sixty-two percent of

participants agreed or strongly agreed with this phrase during a statistical survey conducted in

2005 by the University of Michigan. Of people in the age range of 18-27 thirty-two percent

agreed while seventy-four percent of people 60-68 agree (Ling 93). Cellphones are with us

every second of the day. This leads to many consequences, one of which is known as poly-con-

sciousness. In this context poly-consciousness means that our attention is divided, part our atten-

tion of it is on the people we are with and the other part is on our phones(The iPhone Effect).

This hinders people from being fully alert to their current situations. This is harmful towards

relationships with others in the sense that you are never fully focused on them which often make

conversation more shallow and lessens personal connections. Not only can using your phone

make conversation more shallow it can hinder it completely. Along with this it can cause the

person you are supposed to be communicating with to feel ignored which can cause tension in

the relationship. These things often occur between friends (or other relationships) where the

people involved are not as close. The parties involved ignore the person in front of them in or-

der to talk to people they see theirselves closer to through their smartphones.
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How phones affecteffect relationships with those in their immediate circle (family, best

friends, significant others

Relationships with all people you are connected to can suffer on a face-to-face level be-

cause of this inability to give undivided attention. However, cell phones do provide an opportu-

nity to communicate to those whose you wish to speak to. This was their original intent, to

communicate to those you are close to (emotionally) though you may not be close to them (phys-

ically). This allows you to make plans, flirt, gossip, etc even when the one you are talking to is

not having a face-to-face conversation with you. In a field study done in Oslo High school, the

teenagers in the room, while listening to a presentation on this exact topic, were able to commu-

nicate to their friends about many things including coordinating times and preferences to see a

movie with their friends(Ling 160). This level of ease to which people can reach others allows

people to connect on deeper levels as they are able to talk almost constantly. This also provides a

platform for communicating about sensitive topics that might otherwise be difficult as people are

often more relaxed when communicating over the phone as opposed to in person. This ease of

communication can prove to be useful in many cases.


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CONCLUSION

In conclusion cCell phones, especially smartphones are powerful tools. They put the

world at our fingertips; allowing us to access knowledge, videos, music, and most importantly

people with just a few taps on the screen. This power, like most, can be a blessing and a burden

on many levels. The key is learning to control itthis unlimited access and use it to benefit your

life rather than hinder it. Cell phones can allow us to communicate with our closest friends and

our loved ones 24/7 though they can also hold us back from paying attention to our lives right in

front of us and consequently people who we may not be as close to. Cell phones can cause

young children to grow dependent, and hinder them from flourishing on their own though they

allow children to contact family when they are needed. As a generation and a society that is

growing up in the digital age, it is important to know when technology is helping us and when

we need to unplug.
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WORKS CITED

American Psycological Association. N.p.,n.d.Web. 10 Mar. 2017. <http://www.apa.org/>.

Ling, Richard Seyler. New Tech, New Ties: How Mobile Communication Is Reshaping

Social Cohesion. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2010. Print.

Misra, Shalini; Cheng, Lulu; Genevie, Jamie; Yuan, Miao. The iPhone Effect: The

Quality of In-Person Social Interactions in the Presence of Mobile Devices. Envi-

ronment and Behavior, July 2014. doi: 10.1177/0013916514539755.

"Telephone Timeline - Greatest Engineering Achievements of the Twentieth

Century."Telephone Timeline - Greatest Engineering Achievements of the

Twentieth Century. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

Turkle, Sherry . "In Constant Digital Contact, We Feel 'Alone Together'" Interview.

NPR. Fresh Air, 17 Oct. 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2017.

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