Is Technology Dehumanizing Society 6b57

Introduction Is Technology dehumanizing society? Are we as individuals being perceived differently due to improving smarter technologies? In this fast paced informational age, data has value. The more information that can be processed, the more money companies make. Information is power. The more you acquire, the greater potential for success that is obtained. This is the belief: data equals money. A lot of companies see it this way and not to mention the informational technology industry is booming. It is the future. There is only one issue. These types of technologies are dehumanizing the individual and causing society to become more and more inhumane. In this paper I will discuss the different types of technology that are dehumanizing society. As well as the different ways our perspectives are changed due to these technologies and how these altered perceptions lead to dehumanization. The Internet The invention of the Internet seemed to be a step forward in the right direction. A bridge that closes the divide that stood between communities that had never before interacted with one another at such a “personal level” or at all at that matter. This medium of communication allows us to engage in dialogue with individuals of various ethnicities and different backgrounds that were unfamiliar to us before. Now of course, we may have heard of them before or read about their culture and their history in our social studies classes but we never had been able to get a first-hand opinion like this on their culture. One would think that this ability to “commune” with others would lead to a diverse unifying community of sorts but unfortunately that was and is not the case. Even though this form of technology has enabled us to interact with one another more feasibly, its creation has led to an altered perception for and of individuals. Instead of treating someone as a living

breathing person, we have begun to perceive them simply as a two dimensional being on a computer screen that dehumanizes the individual. This type of dehumanization has led to an epidemic known as “cyberbullying.” This is in large part due to the lack of physical presence and privacy that the internet produces. There is something special about embracing someone and/or interacting with them “live” and face-to-face with their consent that supersedes online interaction. Since the creation of the internet it appears that this form of interaction, physical presence, is diminishing and becoming a sort of anomaly in the world. Since the internet is available to the majority of the public, a lot of information that is stored on “the cloud” is more easily accessible to any individual than ever before. This has led to a decreasing amount of privacy. This lack of privacy has also propagated unwanted interactions in-between individuals. So how can the invention of the internet lead to these problems? If we are placed behind a screen and keyboard, we no longer have to fear immediate repercussion for our behaviors when we aggravate individuals. This “shield” that we possess as online s creates a sense of safety for expressing opinions freely without harm. Even though this can be a good thing, some s have used this sense of protection and have begun to harm others by means of emotional and psychological harassment. There have been countless cases of individuals harassing other s online because of their gender, sexual orientation, race, religious beliefs and/or preferences that there’s even a term for such individuals, “internet trolls.” In Internet slang, a troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion, often for their own amusement. There have been multiple recorded cases where such “trolling” has led

to suicides of these persecuted individuals. These increases of “bullying” has become a wider epidemic since the creation of the internet and some attribute it to the use of Social Media. Social Media. The use of Social Media has dehumanizing effects on society because Social Media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have created ‘hyper-realities’ where individuals express the fascinating and exciting details of their lives. This fascination with having the “the perfect life” being displayed all over the internet leads to an increasing amount of displeased individuals all over the world. Social Media tends to be a place of comparison. Where almost everyone only posts positive aspects of their daily lives and in doing so, other people who wish to have lives like those that they see on their “feeds” but cannot presently achieve it are faced with a lack of satisfaction in their own personal lives. This issue however has always been present even before the internet but the internet has definitely exasperated it and this problem is only one facet of social media that has had a negative effect on society. As I mentioned before, the posting of personal information online leads to it becoming readily available for all to see. Even though an individual can control who can view their profiles, their information is already available for others who have the means to access it. But this increasing lack of privacy also extends to a vast amount of other websites and to the internet in general as well. Because there is little to no privacy once you create a social media profile the chances of you being harassed increases. This can lead to potential stalkers becoming more aware of your daily life and potentially your location depending on what you post. Not only that but it also allows for any other individuals to message you, you or post something about you without your explicit consent. For instance, there was a young man who was teased for being a “My Little Pony” fan. He brought a backpack to school with a “My Little Pony” design and ever since that day

his classmates harassed him online making fun of him for wearing the “girlish” “childish” backpack. The young man was so traumatized by the online posts that he stopped going to school and his parents even considered home schooling him or changing schools. If he didn’t have any form of social media or internet s he could have avoided a majority of the teasing since most of it was only online because schools have surveillance that is provided by teachers and/or s that could limit and/or prevent the harassment entirely and possibly even stop it. In the other hand, because of his social media s, there was limited control over what people could say to him because there wasn’t any surveillance available over what was being done. Even though this kind of harassment can also occur in person, it is thought that because of social media, the grounds on which these things can occur has exponentially increased. Besides social media, other places in the internet like social dating sites have also devalued the individual and have led to an increasing dehumanization of people. Online Dating Dating apps like Tinder and HotorNot have created this overtly sexual dating world that previously had not existed. Instead of getting to know an individual, people have started to choose their partners based on a couple of pictures and a brief biography. If an individual finds the person attractive they can swipe left to let the other know of said interest and if the other person reciprocates, they can start talking to one another. Even though some individuals use these applications to get to know each other. The majority of individuals are using it to hook up and have sexual escapades. If it wasn’t for these Apps and the ease of “meeting” more individuals, people wouldn’t discriminate as easily because there is a sense of mystery people possess when they don’t have a profile to immediately look at. What I mean by this is that, there isn’t a biography that describes the individual. This mystery leads to a desire to get to know the individual but because of these apps “this mystery” is nonexistent because people

discriminate based on their profiles, even if it’s not a proper representation of the individual as a whole. That’s not even mentioning how cell phone usage has affected society now a days. Cell Phones Since the creation of the smartphone it seems as if these devices have separated people more than it has connected them. If you were to walk into any college campus today, it would be surprising to see that every student is not on their phone. Someone being constantly on their phone is such a common occurrence that there are even rules against it in order to control and diminish behavior. From experience, I have witness on multiple occasions while eating out at a restaurant; families being together but separate at the same time. Both the kids and the parents on their phones doing who knows what. They were being alone together. This term is one that has been coined by Sherry Turkle. She mentioned in a TED talk about a situation where her daughters would text one another even if they were in the same room. Even though they could’ve easily expressed themselves to each other but they rather chose to do it over the phone. This ease of communicating through a cell phone has desensitized us to the individual and has led to people avoiding confrontation with individuals. This desensitization can be tied back to the bullying ordeal. It all stems from a disconnection to society that technology seems to create. As well as creating a shelter of safety from physically interacting with others. However, this is not the only form in which technology has desensitized humanity from the individual. Management Systems The use of technology in the workplace has also led to this degradation of human value. Ever since information and data began to have value for companies, workers have

faced burdens that were previously not experienced by factory workers in specific. In some companies people have been displaced by automated machines and in others, they have been mistreated and by being treated like machines. Since data is easier to track and produce, companies have started using them to analyze the manufacturing process and increase their production output. Like all other companies, businesses want to improve and sur their competitors. In order to reach this goal they must improve in the best way possible. Sometimes this leads to over-working factory workers and instead of realizing that they can only do so much. As an effect, companies believe that by hiring more people they can compensate for what their current workers lack. This then leads to a decrease in wages and possibly a spike in prices which is something that neither party wants. Stereotypes All of these technologies have culminated into one thing, dehumanization. The internet and social media have done the opposite of what the internet tried to accomplish from its creation. It has created a divide between people instead of bringing them closer together. It has become a habit for people to classify mass groups of individuals into harmful stereotypes. Majority of these stereotypes were created by mass media and because of this increased communication it spread like a virus online. This viral epidemic of information online has led to a distorted perception of individuals. An easy example to reference today are of American perception of Muslims. Many Americans have a negative perception of Muslims ever since 9/11. While it is easy to recognize why this is the case. The internet has not helped the issue but instead has caused it. The hate being thrown towards the different Islamic terrorist groups, later on became a degradation of the Muslim. Even though a majority of Muslims do not any of the actions these terrorist groups have taken. Many Americans have this deep hatred towards

Muslims because of the actions of Al-Queda and ISIS. This issue however stems from a huge gap of misinformation. Even though information is valued in this day and age, because the internet has made it possible to access more of it. It has also increased the potential for false information to get out to the public and for someone who is unaware of the situation it is easier for them to fall victim to some of these lies. This deceit is primarily caused by the increasing value of gaining information. It leads to a thought that the more you know, the more informed you are about your decisions. Technology since its creation and evolution has advanced our societies greatly by providing an easier means of communication but it also has separated us from each other by creating a wall of hostility. This means of communication desensitizes us to the fact that we are dealing with an individual. Instead we feeling as though we are dealing with someone like ourselves with feelings and emotions, it creates this maniacal idea that whomever we are conversing through this technology has lesser value, thus leading us to act in a way that harms the other intentionally or unintentionally. The internet provides a walls of safety and also a means of attack. Social Media makes us susceptible to more cyber-attacks and decreases our privacy. Cell phone usage has led people to be more separate than connected. Business have started to use machinery to increase business which has led to a displacement of human workers. Racial stereotypes have become more socially acceptable means of identifying individuals and have categorized people into places where they don’t belong. All of these issues have a origin and that is the creation of the internet. This technology has unfortunately facilitated these issues by enabling us to communicate with one another. Technology has changed the way we perceive one another and interact with each other.

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