McGinnis 1

Aly McGinnis
English 230: New Media & Writing
Dr. Sergey Rybas
16 February 2015
Argumentative Paper
The Jetsons, a Hanna-Barbara television production from the
1960s about a future family from the 21st century and their way of
life, was extremely accurate at predicting the future. With pushbutton exercises used to help strengthen the technology-obsessed
index finger and the dependence of heavily robotic teaching machines,
the creators of The Jetsons were not as farfetched in their
imagination as some thought. The show, an exaggerated depiction of
future society, has become more of a perfect, yet eerie reflection of the
21st century rather than a creative and futuristic television show.
However, although the show was accurate in depicting flat screen
televisions, video chat and technologically savvy household
appliances, what it failed to depict was the way these futuristic easyliving advances would affect the way humans interact. Technology,
specifically the creation of social media, has produced major
advancements in the way people contact and interact with each other.
Although the 21st century has developed some of the most progressive
forms of smart phones, watches and tablets, many fear that these

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technologies will come at a cost of devaluing traditional human
interaction.
In January 2009, there were more than two million new tweets a
day (Harvey). Now, almost ten years after the conception of Twitter,
there are two million new tweets every six minutes, equaling to more
than 500 million new tweets a day (Harvey). This 24,900-percent
increase does not just reflect the way Twitter has influenced our culture
in the small amount of time it has been created, but it also shows the
way our communication has been reinvented and redefined in the way
of 140-character limitations (Harvey). In her 2012 TED talk, cultural
analyst, Sherry Turkle discusses the way technology, especially social
media, has not only shaped the way we interact in our modern
relationships, but also the way these technologies have redefined the
way we communicate traditionally:
Across the generations, I see that people can't get enough
of each
a distance, in amounts

other, if and only if they can have each other at

they can control. I call it the

Goldilocks effect: not too close, not too

far, just right.

(Turkle)
One of the most eye-opening ways technology has influenced
human interaction and the way we communicate can be found in our
shrinking attention span. As described in her Goldilocks effect, social
media allows people to control the hows, whats and whens of

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communicating. Instead of having traditional conversations that
require our full attention, eye contact, and participation technology
gives us the 15-second delay once reserved only for live television
broadcasts. Now, with social media in the palms of our hands, we are
given a sense of controlled time in which our interactions are no longer
controlled by unreliable reflexes but instead, consciously dictated
responses.
When asked by Stephen Colbert, whether "all those little tweets,
[] all those little sips of online communication, add up to one big gulp
of real conversation," Turkle responded by explaining social medias
lack of intimacy and the way this emptiness is harming not just
communication, but more importantly, our expectations of
relationships as well (Turkle). This constant middleman between
human-to-human interaction in the form of a smart phone, tablet or
laptop is slowly rewiring the brain to seek comfort in the machine they
are using to communicate, rather than in the person they are
communicating with on the other side. The common opinion, I would
rather text than talk is a result of this dependency in technology.
People are becoming more and more comfortable with being shortchanged out of real conversation, [] that theyve become almost
willing to dispense with people altogether (Turkle).
Instead of seeking the approval of their peers, people are now
gaging their acceptance through technology. They measure their

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popularity by the quantity of technology, instead of the quality of the
relationships they have. For example, people are likely to show more
interest in the number of likes they receive on Twitter and Instagram,
without showing the least bit of interest in the people and relationships
represented behind those likes. Constantly evaluating people by the
data they produce on social media: their number of followers, their
number of tweets, their number of likes, etc., changes the way
people define their relationships. The results of this data causes
people to measure the worth of a person, not on the relationship
theyve formed with them outside of technology, but by the size of
their social media footprint.
Recent research indicates that Americans spend an average 23
hours a week using social media and other forms of online
communication suggesting that the expanding social media footprint
will continue to affect the way people interact (Mielach). With this in
mind, it is easy to understand why people are beginning to use
technology to define who they are and how they feel,
The best way to describe it is, I share therefore I am []
before it was:

I have a feeling, I want to make a call.

Now it's: I want to have a

a text. The problem with this new regime of "I

feeling, I need to send

share

therefore I am" is that, if we don't have connection (Turkle)

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The sense of isolation from ourselves technology and social
media is creating must first be acknowledged if there is going to be a
change in the way people interact and converse. The use of technology
can result in immeasurable bounds in areas such as medicine, business
and global influence. However, despite these great advancements,
technology is reshaping how relationships are formed and defined. As a
result, the intimacy found within traditional, impulsive conversations is
not only diminishing, but may soon be considered irrelevant, even
unnecessary. The only way to avoid these unfulfilling and hollow social
media-based conversations and relationships is to reconsider the way
people depend on technology. Although there is no need to turn away
from social media-filled devices, becoming more aware of the
relationship between human and technology will undoubtedly
reconstruct the fading intimacy found within traditional conversations
and relationships.

Works Cited
Harvey, Dell. Protecting Twitter Users (Sometimes from themselves).
Video.

Ted.com. TED, March 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.

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Mielach, David. "Americans Spend 23 Hours Per Week Online, Texting."
BusinessNewsDaily.com. Purch, 2 July 2013. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
Turkle, Sherry. Connected, but Alone? Video. Ted.com. TED, Feb.
2012. Web. 12

Feb. 2015