Preview

The Positive and Negative Impacts of Technology on Family Life

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1285 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Positive and Negative Impacts of Technology on Family Life
The Positive and Negative Impacts of Technology on Family Life
“Is technology tearing apart family life? Text messaging, social networking, and online video are changing the way parents and children see the world—and each other.” There are many technologies in today’s world that are widely used not just as a want, but as a necessity of life. This term paper will focus on relationship between family life and computer technologies, which have become the most widely used technology in the world due to its variety of functions including SNS, mailing, online face-to-face video chatting, and assignment completing tools. Computer technologies have both positive and negative effects on family life. As more and more families are beginning to own their own computers (computer internet users in North America reached to about “78.3 %”) , the effects of technologies on family life is becoming more easily identifiable. This term paper will come across both the benefit and negative effects of using technologies on family life. There are the negative effects which include the isolation of family members, and parents bringing their work home. On the other hand, linking relatives together is one positive effect that technologies have on family life, and being instantly updated on other family members’ status is also a huge benefit. Overall, the benefits of using technologies outweigh the negative effects. One negative effect of computers on family life is less face-to-face contact between family members. In most families, each family member has their own computers or smart phones that are kept in their own rooms. Nowadays, the functions of computers and smart phones are not just limited to internet surfing, and assignment tools. They are also widely used for social networking services (SNS), such as; Facebook, Skype, and Twitter just to name a few. As a result of the increasing time consumption of using the functions on computers, family members are now

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The constant need to be using a source of technology weakens family bonds. Rather than communicating in person, we choose to text or call. As a matter of fact, most adolescents prefer browsing through their endless social media accounts on smartphones, rather than sitting down to have a conversation with their parents. In another one of Ray Bradbury’s short stories, “The Veldt”, he portrays how an attraction for technology is greater than human attraction. In “The Veldt” the mother says, “...I feel like I don’t belong. The house is wife and mother now, and nursemaid. The home is a fine representation of the advancement of technology in which it performs the task that mother might do. Furthermore, the children in the short story grow more fond of the technology in the “nursery” than of their own parents. The story explains that the parents, “..let this room and this house replace you and your wife in your children’s affections”, continuing, “This room is their mother and father, far more important in their lives than their real parents.” Advance technology takes over the family base of love and comfort. “The Veldt” warns the readers of what is to come if technology is more comforting than others…

    • 988 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Due to this, the family social institution then develops new functions and activities made possible by the capabilities of the technology. Children are now able to do more things on their own, since their parents can contact them more easily. Consequently, this means children have more freedom and parents are less involved.…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Big Disconnect Summary

    • 1272 Words
    • 6 Pages

    This book The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age written by Steiner-Adair brings the attention of families who are turned to the screen, children continually texting their friends, parents working online around the clock, everyday life is suffering a massive transformation. Easy availability to the Internet and social media has erased the limitations that protect children from the unpleasant aspects of adult life. Parents often feel they are losing a significant connection with their children. Children are feeling lonely and alienated.…

    • 1272 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Technology has changed over the years, drastically, but it also has put a tremendous impact on humans. It is rare to see people with no type of device with them when going to places, such as malls or even sport games. The amount of devices and electronics that are on them have made it difficult for people to even interact with each other. One of the major changes that still no one observes, is the way people are parenting their children now a days. With so much technology, not much is needed from a parent, because most of it can simply be located in an app or on google.…

    • 1267 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gambino builds a hypothesis about the adverse impacts of technologies by showing Robert Putnam’s concern in his book and the study from University of Arizona and Duke University. Those researches show that American people’s communication with others declines about 30 to 50 percentage. However, Gambino uses Keith Hampton’s average technology using frequency research and his internet communication research in public places show that the development of technology not only didn’t reduce people’s relationship but also increase people’s frequency of interaction with others. He also shows the report of Wilson’s family daily life reflects that technologies don’t drop family’s communication, which against the research from University of Arizona and Duke University.…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pros And Cons Of Texting

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The advancement of technology has revolutionized the way humans exist. From the innovation of medical technology to the further development of phones and computers, it has proven to be life altering in many aspects. While it is true that the advantages of modern-day technology cannot, nor should be dismissed, some of the disadvantages must as equally importantly be acknowledged. Although many argue the contrary, there are many reasons to believe that phones, and texting in particular, can and have resulted in a disconnect within families, friendships, and an overall disconnect with the world.…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    If a family member is far away, the distance seems to vanish due to technology. With websites such as Skype and facetime, it is possible to see and have a conversation with each other as if they were in the same room. However, technology can also have the opposite affect on a family. While a family may all be together, they may all be so engrossed in their devices that they all end up ignoring each other. Richtel stated that “Mr. Nass at Stanford thinks the ultimate risk of heavy technology use is that it diminishes empathy by limiting how much people engage with one another, even in the same room” (20). This can be seen by the fact that some family members may actually isolate themselves away from the rest of their family to be on their device. Richtel gives the example of Kord Campbell who has “lingered in the bathroom playing video games on an iPhone” rather than spend time with his family (17). So, while technology may be able to bring long distance family members together, it can also make a family ignore and stay away from each…

    • 1211 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ap English Example Paper

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages

    One of the many evident changes in today's society is the lack of communication between others. With easy access to the internet, we have become too caught up into the trending social media websites, such as Vine, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. Instead of spending quality time with our families we swap it out for quality time online. Going to a restaurant, you can spot some couples or families looking down at their phones instead of looking up and engaging in meaningful, well-spent conversation. Some individuals have a difficult time putting their phones down for less than twenty minutes, or even less. It is sad to see something so precious as face to face conversation being thrown away because of technology.…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this manner, Robin Mejia, author of “How Texting Changes the Way Kids Communicate” explains how the pros out outweigh the cons in the way kids communicate using technology. Mejia goes on to explain that it is safer in today’s society because kids spend most of their time online talking to their friends in real life opposed to a potential predator. She also writes about how the technology today lets the parents themselves communicate easier with their kids while they carry their busy work schedule. Lastly, she believes that the kids are able to sustain friendships better and that a lot of the communicating is positive between the kids and their peers. Technology is positive for the younger generation, because it helps stay in touch with friends,…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The new generation of kids are being affected by technology enormously throughout the growth of technology. Ruth states in her article that a study done by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that children from the age of eight to eighteen are spending more than seven and a half hours a day on technology (Ruth 1). Which affects the children because it cause them to do less physical activity. She also states “The danger with our technology-obsessed kids, Greenfield warns, is that they are no longer accustomed to the full range of mess and meaningful human interaction” (Ruth 2). Kids no longer know how to interact with one another, because they are stuck on technology. Ruth mention in her article how social technology is molding children's brain…

    • 148 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    It would appear that for most of us technology is no longer just a tool. It is a family photo album, it’s our workspace, it’s dinner with friends at six. Teenagers change their profile page to reflect their ever-changing adolescent identities. Mothers…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It acts as a barrier between family members. This is also demonstrated in modern times due to electronic devices. People waste their time in front of the screens, most of the time. Looking at African veldt and scenery, David McClean explains, “You’ve let this room and this house replace you and your wife in your children’s affections” (Bradbury 111). I even catch myself turning to technology rather than engaging with my family, because it requires less effort. However, this is so harmful to my family and me, as well as the rest of society, because it will eliminate face-to-face communication and reduce it to online conversations. Although this means of communication appears to be more efficient, it weakens the bond that bind people together by crippling their social skills. The truth is that technology debilitates the transfer of real emotions and expressions that can only be achieved through physical interaction, resulting in the decline of human capabilities.…

    • 947 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In other words, a close, well-knit family was valued. With the expansion of scientific knowledge, comes less family time. The average parent spends three and a half minutes a week having meaningful conversations with their children, according to a survey reported by the A.C. Nielson Company. These statistics are not just simple numbers; they are a reflection of where our technological society is heading. Parents seem to encourage their children to use the technology around them because it keeps the kids entertained. However, they don’t realize how much they are negatively affecting their child’s intellect and health. Even parents that don’t applaud the use of technology have a difficult time relating their children. Kids have a superior understanding of what’s happening in the world when it comes to technology, but adults are slowly gaining an understanding of things such as texting and Facebook. On average, a six year old child is better at games like “Angry Birds” in comparison tot their grandparents. The difference is what is considered “ordinary” in the time a person is raised. This generation difference creates a gap between children and their parents and results in a weak family relationship, which is related to our technological…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With the creation of the Internet, there is a lack of connection between parent and child. We have been absorbed into technology and ignored the things that appear to us locally. Relevance of what should be known has changed as people begin care less about things that may affect themselves and focus more on others and their problems. This can make the conversations between parent and child become scarce. Even without the difficulty of language in the way like with the mothers and the daughters of “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan; we still have difficulty communicating with our parents. My mother and I do not speak all the time, yet in our tame relationship we still know of each other's unconditional love. Even though, we could be called distant,…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Clark, L. S. (2013). The Parent App: Understanding Families in the Digital Age. New York:…

    • 4149 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Best Essays