Ortiz 1

Roberto G. Ortiz

Trishia Briones

English 1302-160

3 November 2022

Correlation between Technology and Loneliness among Users

One can argue that modern technology is a development that makes life interesting for

many. Technology advancements impact many areas of life, from work to home environments.

People connect through technology regardless of the differing geographical areas making the

world a smaller place for all people as they can communicate from the comfort of their homes,

workplaces, social joints, or any human convenience. Nonetheless, it is important to take into

consideration the dangers of technology regarding change, the shaping of human thinking, and

lifestyle. Technology addiction attributed to internet availability is a severe health disorder that

demands attention before it takes over the current and incoming generations. In an educative

book, The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains, Nicholas Carr aims to enlighten

the world on media addiction and its impact on human thinking, which proves a problem to most

youths/adolescents. Borrowing from Carr's arguments among other reputable scholars, this essay

aims at demonstrating that loneliness is among the primary stress disorders in youths/students

attributed to technology addictions. Loneliness makes students wish to look for alternatives in

life, with uncontrolled media use becoming a potential reliever leading to negative effects in the

long run.

In their article, "The relationship between social media addiction and depression: a

quantitative study among university students in Khost, Afghanistan," Haand and Shuwang argue
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that there is a noted problematic use of social networking sites among students/youths that

demands attention (780-786). The author states that such inappropriate use of social media sites

is a significant public health concern as adolescents express stress upon over-reliance on the

internet leading to a miserable life in adulthood. However, asking what translates into such

addictions among students is crucial. Based on Haand and Shuwang, the freedom that most

youths acquire upon joining colleges and universities plays a significant role in shaping their

social being (782). This implies most people are under the strict watch of their parents and

guardians until they hit the age of joining colleges/universities, which in most cases is 18-plus

years. During this period, many youths feel entitled to all life privileges, especially on matters

related to social networking. Unfortunately, due to their inability to control their media use, most

students become media addicts, which translates to long-term stress. Loneliness remains well-

defined in a stressful state. Media addiction becomes part of users' loneliness as victims try to

fight the opposing forces within them, distancing them from the realities of life.

On the other hand, Carr relates such student freedom to poor character development as

such youths try to prove their might in the technology world (10). The freedom to use technology

as a student in research, among other education-related errands, exposes many students to the

availability of internet access leading many to experience problematic and uncontrolled internet

use. However, the nature of the content that users expose themselves to defines the outcome of

their experiences. When lonely, a student may use social media to source interesting things or

connect with other users and chat to kill such loneliness. However, uncontrolled media use and

exposure to varying contents can translate to stress among such users after becoming over-reliant

on social media as a remedy for their dull moments. On the other hand, freedom can expose

students to dirty content like pornographic or violent content, which in the long run makes the
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students lonelier than before, attributed to their poor performances in other areas that demand

their attention, like academics leading to a stressful life in the long run. Arguing social media

addiction from another perception, one can confirm that family-related stress can cause

loneliness among family members leading them to use social media as an option for their noted

problems.

Kaibiao Xiang et al. argues that family stress, whether behavioral anxiety or emotional

stress, is pivotal in enhancing the victims' loneliness (2-4). One can define loneliness as a

negative feeling people experience when their need for rewarding social relationships and

contacts remains ignored. Unfortunately, some family environments unconsciously expose

family members to stress-related experiences like loneliness without noticing the stressors. What

do people do when experiencing such negative feelings? They source for the most viable options

that can address their needs as a whole. To this effect, family-related stress exposes the victim to

getting engaged with the internet as a potential consoler. Unfortunately, Kaibiao Xiang et al.

confirms that behavioral and emotional stress serves as potential triggers to internet addictions as

the victims try to find exciting episodes in life (4). The urge to forget the disturbing stress

triggers exposes such family members, old or young, to becoming internet addicts, which

translates to another form of stress disorder if not addressed accordingly. Nomophobia is another

potential area that emerges while investigating the connection between loneliness and

Smartphone addictions.

Many students, if not all, feel privileged to have a Smartphone that can take them through

the social world without much pressure. Unfortunately, the fear of losing or separation from such

phones and their services becomes a public health concern, proving a threat to the well-being of

such users and a massive blow to students whose urge to use smartphones remains well-defined.
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Arguing from MacDonald and Julie's points of view, it becomes clear that loneliness enhances

positive associations with long screen time and social media app use (4). It is also clear that the

frequency of picking up one's phone and using communication apps remains negatively

associated with loneliness, while a higher need for social recognition and a lower need for

affiliation remains as personality factors are predictive of loneliness (MacDonald & Julie 3).

Arguing from such perspectives, one can confirm that loneliness is a subjective experience of

social isolation, which makes the victim enslaved to a Smartphone, thus experiencing

nomophobia upon any sense of withdrawals from such addictions. Loneliness involves

evaluating satisfaction regarding social and emotional support in the entire social life. It is upon

signs of dissatisfaction that the user, especially the youth adults, experience nomophobia limiting

them to either improving or changing their situation, leading to a stressful life in the long run.

Adding up on the connection between nomophobia, loneliness, and media addictions,

Daei et al. cites that the more a person engages in social interactions, the more the likelihood of

less social support translates to greater loneliness (203). According to Daei et al., nomophobia

remains a socio-psychological disorder that negatively affects Smartphone users (202). The fear

of not having access to such devices leaves the user vulnerable to adverse effects that threaten

their health. After a close analysis of the clustery sampled population of 320 students, these

authors noted a close correlation between nomophobia and smartphone use among students. The

fear of losing interest in the internet revives loneliness among students, leading to very stressful

moments during their academic life, negatively affecting their academic performances.

Therefore, one can conclude that though the internet makes students' life interesting and exciting

through connections and knowledge exposure, it enhances unnecessary pressures attributed to

fears of losing the internet, making many students live a lonely life since they have limited
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abilities to fight such pressures. The key to finding a lasting remedy to this health-related

concern is the need to seek proper interventions to address such nomophobia and Smartphone

addiction among students and general users of such devices. Other than nomophobia, in what

other way does mobile addiction translate to loneliness among users?

Mobile addiction implies that the user has no control over their media use which, in its

simplest form, translates to adverse effects on the user. Though authors like Patulny believe that

the way a person uses the internet defines the outcomes for a user, thus refuting technologies'

potential to make a user lonelier, it is imperative to note that with addictions, the user has limited

controls over how to use technology and what to use it for during their engagements (3). In such

situations, one can state that over-reliance on technology, especially in social interaction sites,

can have either positive or negative effects on the user, with loneliness being among the most

viable negative outcomes the user can experience. In an effort to provide a contrary opinion to

Patulnys assumptions, Tarver confirms that many internet addicts experience loneliness due to

their unconscious connectivity without possible connections (1-3). What does such an argument

imply?

Most social media users can use social media to connect with other people. When such

users find no one to interact with during media use it will translate to extended hours on social

media platforms in search of satisfaction attributed to loneliness. When one becomes lonely and

is closely attached to social media platforms, it alleviates the sense of denial as such users fail to

experience social support, which in one way or the other has positive effects on loneliness

(Tarver 5). Unlike other scholars who believe that other forces like family differences enable

stress leading the victim to become lonely and, as a way to fight such feelings, become a media

addict, Tarver believes in vice-versa. Tarver believes it all starts with the user's urge to remain
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socially active and valued, thus becoming a social media addict. Unfortunately, due to such

addictions, any signs of limited social support demoralize the user, making them feel lonely

during their media engagements. At the end of the period in which the user connects with

someone else, the user experiences stress disorder which impairs their ability to maintain a life

balance proving a threat to their health.

Jafari et al. (1-5); and Lu et al. (1-6) also adds on media addiction and loneliness, stating

that loneliness enables the urge to spend most of the time on the internet in search of answers to

many life sorrows. People love engaging with the internet for educational purposes and

maintaining and improving social ties. When people feel lonely or have idle time, they engage

with the internet to get something to occupy their idle minds. Unfortunately, with limited

controls on such demanding social sites, the users become enslaved and find it a challenge to

withdraw from such addictions leading to stressful lives in the long run.

Loneliness has negative effects on human well-being. Understanding and avoiding

loneliness triggers is the key to attaining a better and healthy life. Unfortunately, people have

become enslaved to technology leading them to experience loneliness and stress for most of their

lives. Technology addictions come as a result of limited abilities to control internet use.

Youths/adolescents are the most affected by media addictions due to their inability to control

media use. Freedom, family stress, and nomophobia are significant contributors to internet

addictions, making users vulnerable to loneliness, among other stress disorders like depression

and anxiety. The need to seek potential remedies, like enforcing programs that enlighten users on

the dangers of technology over-reliance, is the key to lowering the rate of internet addicts that are

experiencing this globally.

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Works Cited

Carr, N. (2020). “The shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains.” WW Norton &

Company.

Daei, Azra, et al. "Nomophobia and Health Hazards: Smartphone Use and Addiction among

University Students." International Journal of Preventive Medicine, vol. 10, no. 1, 2019,

pp. 202–202. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijpvm.IJPVM_184_19.  

Haand, R., & Shuwang, Z. (2020). The relationship between social media addiction and

depression: a quantitative study among university students in Khost,

Afghanistan. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), 780-786.

Jafari, Hale, et al. "The Relationship between Addiction to Mobile Phone and Sense of

Loneliness among Students of Medical Sciences in Kermanshah, Iran." Bmc Research

Notes, vol. 12, no. 1, 2019, pp. 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-019-4728-8.

Accessed 6 Oct. 2022. 

Kaibiao Xiang, et al. “The Relationship between Family Stress and Internet Dependence:

The Mediating Role of Loneliness—Empirical Analysis Based on Cgss2017.” Discrete

Dynamics in Nature and Society, vol. 2022, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/4878267. 

Lu, Guang-Li, et al. “The Correlation between Mobile Phone Addiction and Coping Style

among Chinese Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis.” Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and

Mental Health, vol. 15, no. 1, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-021-00413-2.

Accessed 6 Oct. 2022. 

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MacDonald, Kristi Baerg, and Julie Aitken Schermer. "Loneliness unlocked: Associations with

smartphone use and personality." Acta Psychologica 221 (2021): 103454.

Patulny, Roger. “Does Social Media Make Us More or Less Lonely? Depends on How You

Use It.” The Conversation, 22 Jan. 2020, theconversation.com/does-social-media-make-

us-more-or-less-lonely-depends-on-how-you-use-it-128468. 

Tarver, Helen. “Connected without Connection: Technology Makes Us More Alone.” The

Roots of Loneliness Project, 3 Mar. 2020, www.rootsofloneliness.com/does-technology-

make-us-more-alone.