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Alejandra Valle
Emily Havey
English 114B
28 April 2014
I Fear the Day That Technology Will Surpass Our Human Interaction
Technology over time has changed tremendously and society is changing along. Twenty
years ago, cell phones were just a way for people to communicate with a small group of people.
Now, phones are a piece of technology that everyone seems to need in order to get through their
day. If a phone is not in their hand or near them, a person will suddenly become antisocial.
Phones are driving people apart; they are becoming a dangerous distraction and are bringing in
conflicts with all relationships. Friendships are lacking communications and society in general is
lacking empathy due to the lack of face to face encounters with one another.
Within society the biggest distraction that occurs while conducting an automobile is using
a phone to make calls or read/send a text. Every driver could be a murder, because at any given
second an accident can happen and someone can get injured or die, weather it is the driver
themselves or another person. Car collisions have a domino effect, even if no one gets hurt
physically, someone is hurt emotionally or mentally with the images of a car accident stuck in
their head. Many relationships are affected because of the trauma that can come afterwards.
When a death occurs, the blame game starts and it is a never ending story of how one person
could have prevented the death and how people are not responsible. Using a phone while driving
is something that has and will continue to be a problem as long as technology keeps evolving
because of the distractions that come along with the phone like applications and texting. People
often complain about other drivers and they mostly focus on teenagers texting and driving all
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the time but really, adults do it too, and they are the ones that need to be setting the example.
(Texting) Many auto collisions occur every year and in 2011 alone there were 1.3 million
crashes due phone use while conducting an automobile. (texting and driving) According to Pew
research, 63% of all teens exchange text every day and every year the number of texts a day
increases(Pew Research). The risk that drivers not only put themselves in but others is too high
and quite frankly, scary. Pew research says that 44% of people have been passengers of a driver
who has been seen using their phones while conducting a vehicle. Texting and driving is a huge
distraction sending or reading a text takes a driver's eyes off the road for an average of 4.6
seconds. At 55 mph, that is like driving the length of a football field blindfolded. (Bratsis) The
distance of a football field is only going 55mph while on the freeway the speed limit is 65 mph
but everyone knows that the majority of drivers go more than 70 mph. Even a hit of 30mph has a
big impact on a person, an impact of 70pmh or more is twice as much so it has a bigger impact
on the people involved. People who often use their phone while driving are not going be able to
keep their eyes on the road with the new upgrades that will arise in the future.
Relationships between couples are affected due to smartphones because of the privacy
that can be put on a phone and the way that instead of talking to each other, they are just on their
phones. Relationships now days consist of couples sitting around on their phones. Before it was
about chivalry; a man would open a car door, knock on the door to pick up a date and do small
romantic gestures like giving flowers, writing love letters, throwing rocks at windows and
getting one another small gifts. Now instead of all that, a person just receives a text that reads
Im here and the person gets in the car. There is no more thought put into relationships and
when it comes to actually talking, couples are just on their phones looking through their social
media applications or using their cameras to takes Selfies.
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Phones are now bringing out insecurities in relationships that were never present 10 years
ago because now couple involves everyone surrounding them. It is so easy to talk to others at the
same time, but it starts to bring out the jealousy in some people and that is when insecurities start
to erupt. Privacy becomes a big issue because most things can be done on a phone, checking
Facebook, Instagram, Text Messages, even Photos. People need to know what their significant
other is doing, giving them space and trusting them is not an option anymore because people are
constantly on their phone. If a couple is having a problem in their relationship they immediately
go to Facebook to post something and then suddenly the whole world knows what is going on.
For the side people just waiting to break up the relationship, any bad news seen gives them
opportunity to actually get themselves involved and make things worse. Relationships are not
even worked out anymore or ended like they once were. Instead of working things out, couples
dont give themselves a chance to fix what they think is wrong with their relationship. When
ending a relationship, it is not done face to face, it is done through a text message or a post on
Facebook to let everyone else know that is friends with them on Facebook. This is not just in
monogamous relationships but friendships are tested as well.
Friendships are changing; communication is not there anymore, empathy is forgotten.
Phones are taking it all away; the face to face interaction people once had is slowly starting to
disappear. What was once called hanging out is now just a group of people on their phones,
talking is hardly done and it is as if the other people are not even there. People do not meet as
much: teens who meet with friends face to face on a daily basis has declined slightly to 25%
from 33% in 2009. (communication) A phone is a temptation that is also a constant reminder
that people need to be connected. According to Shaw, connectivity is important to consumers
which is why phones are such a big dilemma. Everyone has to be connected and that is why
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relationships within groups start to break due to the lack of attention one gives to a certain
person.
For those who do not like spending their whole day on their phone and want to interact
with people, are finding new ways to get others to get off their phones. According to Asian News
a new phone stacking game has been developed that aims at bringing an end to the antisocial
practice of sitting on the phone while out to dinner. I think whoever developed the game should
get an award for coming up with such a creative way for people to finally give their eyes a break.
Friends should be out making memories, having fun and doing silly things. Instead they sit
around and stare at their phones while life is passing them by. I have gone through the phase of
paying more attention to my phone and no one else but I am over it because nothing good comes
from having my nose stuck to a phone all day. Everyone is affected, whether they admit it or try
their hardest to deny it.
Even families are affected by phones and the distractions that come along with one. The
constant checking for a new message or update is not only for teens but adults as well. There is
even a phone game that is played with friends but also with families. The game goes a bit
different with families, with families phones are put into a bowl as soon as they walk into the
house. No cell phones are allowed to be used; they are to be turned off and left alone. The point
of this is for families to be able to start bonding again because ever since phones became a huge
dilemma, families hardly talk among themselves. Face to face interaction is not only an action
that is necessary but it is also a skill that every person should achieve in order to verbally
communicate with others. Lack of communications skills from face to face conversations
prevents a person from fully understanding what another person is trying to explain/say, and also
disrupts the process of empathy. How are families supposed to have family dinners when the
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people at the dinner table are busy playing on their phones? Phones are distancing humans from
each other and they are losing their ability to learn about one another, learn facts and events
about their lives. The fact that even phones are creating problems within families is scary.
I personally have gone through problems due to phones; I lost connection with family
members and have had to deal with the annoying habit of divers using their phones. Society is
coming to a point where nothing else matters but their phones; people pay more attention to their
phones than their surroundings. So many car collisions are due to phones, so many relationships
are broken due to phones, and that is just the beginning of what is to come due to technology.
Who knows what other dilemmas phones will start creating for the benefit of companies trying to
make money.
According to Pew Research mobile phones automatically trigger thoughts about wider
social networks, reducing the level of empathy and understanding in face-to-face conversations.
How is one supposed to fully comprehend another person if there is a lack of empathy? When
communicating through a phone, one cannot see the reaction of the other person; their facial
expression that shows what their feeling is not seen. The lack of communication due to phones is
starting to take a major toll on relationships. Through a text message or a phone call, a person
only hears or reads what the other person has to say but does not get the full effect of the
concept. Connections within people are growing by the second but true relationships within
important people are slowly falling apart and are not paid enough attention. There is still a bit of
manners left in a small amount of people but with phones getting more and more advances, face
to face communication will lessen more and more because people cannot be without a phone or
electronic present.

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Works Cited
Bratsis, Micheal E. Curbing Texting While Driving. The Science Teacher. 2013. Web.
"Communication Choices." Pew Research Centers Internet American Life Project RSS. N.p., n.d.
Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
New Game Punishes Anti-Social People On Phone During Dinner. Asian News International.
2012. Web.
Shaw, Gillian. Smartphones Driving Us To Distraction. Times-Colonist. 2011. Web.
"Teens, Smartphones & Texting." Pew Research Centers Internet American Life Project RSS.
N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.
Texting. ProQuest. 12 April, 2013. Web. 23, April, 2014
"Texting and Driving Statistics." Texting and Driving Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.