The world is engrossed in technology, losing the ability to connect emotionally. This is because of the inability to recognize emotion. It is harder to recognize the hurt in a text message, than it is to see it in the face of the person. The more communication that happens through electronic means, the more distant from real emotion. This has an enormous effect in real life situations because it affects emotional intelligence. If impaired in your ability to recognize the emotions of others, you will not notice the cues in a conversation and only hear the words.
Face to face, conversations will be as emotionless as a text message or an email. Emotional intelligence is immensely important in creating the empathic state in listening, and the ability to connect with the speaker and his or her message. However, as the actual contact with other people decreases, the capacity for empathy also decreases. Ten years ago, the thought of ending a relationship without meeting the other person face to face was unheard of. However in today's society, there are relationships that are ending via text message and Facebook instant messages.
Human beings were born with the natural hard-wired instincts towards empathy. I am sure you have seen the baby cry when mommy cries. You have noticed the baby laughing purely because his dad was laughing. Babies have the unique ability to empathize with others. God created mankind to connect with others, to mourn with people who mourn, and to laugh with those who are laughing.
The technology of today is being used to teach children. This causes an improper development of empathy and sympathy. Parenting expert and pediatric nurse Denise Daniels says, "Technology can be a big hindrance on interpersonal relationships, for all its benefits, technology can completely rewrite a child's brain pathways in a very different way than how they would normally develop." Daniels continues on her point by saying, ""Their neural pathways change and different ones are created. It affects concentration, self-esteem, in many cases they don't have as deeply personal relationships, they lose empathy. We've seen kids like this that don't develop those sympathetic and empathetic skills they need." (Johnson, 2014)
The neuro-transmitters in the brain are altered by substituting interpersonal relationship for digital communication. Exchanges amongst others become inconveniences because it requires attention. Before this huge amount of technology, the brain developed interpersonal skills by the voices of family and the interaction with them. Nowadays everything is on a computer screen and computers do not have emotions. Children grow up and have an impaired version of emotional intelligence and they are not prepared to be a contributor in any relationship, because they are "I" focused.
This technology driven "I" focused mentality affects the ability to concentrate for extended periods. Children are losing the ability to wait for information and are accustomed to instant gratification. Everything is at their fingertips, so patience is foreign concept. For this reason, we have a higher rate of children diagnosed with "ADD" and "ADHD". Research has shown these diagnoses have increased 66% over the last ten years. Within this timeframe, we have had the biggest increases in technology.
Psychotherapist Sherrie Campbell explains that social media can give a sense of belonging and connecting that is not based upon real-life encounters, and connections. This is a false sense of belonging that makes it easy to get lost in cyberspace and give those connections more importance than they actually deserve (Johnson, 2014).
Impaired emotional intelligence and lack of empathy causes a person to punish themselves because of social failures, causing them to retreat to technology. This causes them to look inward and focus on "I", which causes a drop in self-esteem. Studies have shown this to be true, confirming that obsessing over social media causes shallow relationships and emotionally detached communication. The Facebook generation can make "friends" instantly, making it difficult to go through the long process of building interpersonal relationships. Campbell continues by saying, "Social media is a very lazy way to be in a relationship with somebody" (Johnson, 2014). So because of this convenience, most people begin to trade their real friends, for Facebook friends.
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