Social media and many technological advancements have irrevocably changed the way people socialize in the developed world. Indeed, people and humanity at large is perhaps more interconnected than at any other time in the history of the world. People across the world can communicate in mere seconds. Social media, the smartphone, and the internet were invented with the intention of providing widespread communicatory benefits to the masses. While people have certainly reaped great benefits from these technological developments, there have also been significant drawbacks. As the world has become smaller and more “interconnected”, entire communities across America and the world have completely devolved into a declining state of social cohesion. Peoples behavioral and communicative tendencies have been altered in such a serious state that many have been deprived of the most basic social requirements. People are increasingly isolated, and many young people born during a time in which technology was prevalent at very young ages simply cannot socialize. In the field of education, social-emotional learning has become of greater importance as increasing numbers of kids struggle behaviorally.
People are also becoming quite lonely. Despite being able to communicate with so many people instantaneously, so many people are reporting socially isolated. A recent report has alleged that nearly one out of every four people deemed adults feel lonely across the world. The statistics were provided by a Meta-Gallup survey. This number was highest in young adults aged 19 to 27. Both women and men have been affected by this reality.
It is not just loneliness, social isolation, and communication skills that are suffering due to technology. Peoples personal information is at increased risk, and privacy violations are common. On the social media platform TikTok, privacy concerns have become a legitimate problem. Hackers have utilized the platform to target “high-profile” people, using peoples direct messaging platforms to install malware on people’s devices and commit hacking. This problem is unfortunately likely to persist.
