The Social Effects Of Technology (Rhetoric) Essay

Technology is good. Great, actually. Like when I broke up with Ryan last year. I didn’t even have to drive to his house, albeit its only like a mile away, I just texted him: “sorry, not working, we’re done, ttyn.” It was quite convenient actually. Until I saw him the next day at school. Awkward, to say the least. I mean what did he expect?! He was poking some other girl on facebook… Don’t get me wrong, I love technology. I don’t have to rummage through encyclopedias, dictionaries or books of faces. I don’t really have to do much. It’s all at the tip of my fingers. It saves me soo much time. But all this convenience, at what cost? We spend less time conversing and more and more time texting and tweeting. Our reliance on technology and “social” media has thrown our social skills out the window and society is suffering because of it.
    One study at UCLA indicated that up to 93 percent of communication effectiveness is determined by non-verbal cues. Cues and gestures unseen through a cell phone screen. That human ability to absorb the moods of others through that kind of subconscious understanding is crucial. Kids born without it are considered mentally handicapped. People who have lots of it, are called "charismatic" and become movie stars and politicians. It's not what they say; it's this energy they give off that makes us feel good about ourselves…a feeling that can only truly be achieved in person; face-to-face. According to Dr. Michael D. Yapko, today’s average 21 year-old has already sent and received more than a quarter million e-mails & text messages. Now that’s not to say we haven’t carried a quarter million conversations by the time we are 21, but the odds are stacked pretty high against us. We are collectively spending much more time alone with our gadgets, in front of screens doing things that typically indirectly involve other people. But now many of us are working longer hours and therefore the time available to be with other people is less. In...