The Empty Space, in the World of Everything

The world of technology is almost like a paradise — a world of everything. In which it seems that there were no impossible things that we cannot do. A part of society’s progress and humanity’s expansion. But in everything, there is always an empty space that we need to fill. Where there are questions that we need to answer by our own experiences. That space which it tackles connectedness and isolation with every individual and to the real world. Indeed, understanding the relationship between people and technology is very important to answer crucial things related to the space that we want to unveil. Therefore, unraveling how people shape technology and how technology shapes people's interactions with each other and the natural world is one of the things we need to explore. To begin in describing the subject involved in the controversy is a cliché way of unwrapping a certain issue. But in this topic, we must first define what technology is; by elucidating it together with some background of its history and roles in the civilization in a broader sense. Technology was discovered and termed by Homer and Hesiod as the word of manual craft or cunning skill (Luna, 1994). So when did technology start? In the eighteenth century, the primary epoch of technology and invention has begun, various things started to be developed in a gradual process. And it is when the industrial revolution started. Presently, when we hear of the word technology, what comes to our mind are things related to gadgets such as mobile phones, laptops, computers, desktops, etc. But technology is not necessarily in things associated with tools and computer systems. In my research, technology is something complex to describe; like how we describe human beings. We can say that technology is more of an idea and a concept rather than merely describing it as an object. According to Lindberg (2017), technology is a system of practical knowledge and problem solving to create tools. He also mentioned that technology includes things like human language and efficiency which both don’t have associated hardware or tools. Thus, technology is abstract ideas behind the tools we often associate with it. In Waseda University’s portable document format, it presented technology in five definitions: technology as an object, technology as a process, technology as volition, and technology as applied science. What are those according to their research? Technology as an object simply denotes us that technology is identified as the total of certain types of human-made objects. Technology as a process focuses on the processes by which these things are made and used. Technology as knowledge, in simple terms, a collection of ways of knowing through intervening and controlling. In this view, technology sets off as an essential constituent of human nature. Technology as volition is one of the interesting parts of defining this concept, as this view of technology has something to do with the extension of human will. Lastly, technology as an applied science where it is the application of scientific knowledge. The emergence of this entity is very significant to opening an opportunity for civilization. Thus, a way to establish humanity’s expansion, especially in the aspect of communication which is very important in the existence of mankind. Let’s now discuss technology’s role in terms of human connections. Going to the facet of communication — human connections, also termed as a relationship — we cannot deny the huge impact of technology. Aside from the mentioned uses of technology as regards in the different definitions, it also shapes people’s interaction with each other and the natural world. Specifically, the Internet and mobile devices (i. e. smartphones, tablet computers, mobile gaming systems, etc. ) have changed the way people interact with each other since one of the major impacts of technology is the optimization of communication systemsin the form of telecommunications and networking. If we were going to gobeyond, the invention of social media is the advancement of technology in the facet of communication. Wherein it either creates nor destroys social interaction with people and to the real world. Researchers from a variety of disciplines now studyboth social media usage and their effects on relationships with consistentresults. Boase (2008) found out that this research is trying to prove thatindividuals create personal networks and use media in various ways to enhancesocial needs and lifestyles. In addition to observing this alteration in anindividual’s personal life, we can also recognize it in other viewpoints ofsociety, like in the business and social world. Based on my thorough investigation, I have found out that there were opposing views regarding technology’s effect on human connectedness and isolation— through technology people feel more connected nor isolated— and it’s very controversial. Technology has aided mankind to link a global gap during the age of globalization, including both computational and non-computational systems. This bridge has allowed a large number of people to learn about the world, and affix with others, in ways that were once a dream. Traveling across the world by just booking tickets and a hotel using only your gadget. It also allowed accelerated, convenient, and systematic completion of the desired task; traveling for example. Which, compared to before, does not require a travel agent, thus making the task more streamlined. Online and mobile banking have also largely substituted the requirement to interact with a bank teller for monetary transactions, this will enter the use of ATMs, which save time, resources, and overhead while increasing task efficiency and efficacy. The Internet has also bestowed us a vast source of resources, educational materials, and learning systems for people to learn or work from their own home, without interacting with anyone. Additionally, for social interactions, people often meet friends or dates using apps, unlike before that you need to travel, to feel their presence. This introduced us to the convenience and comfort of social interaction. Communication, transportation, and interactions with others are faster than ever before, with the advent of airplanes, trains, buses, cars, and computer/mobile messaging and social media apps. Not only are such complex tasks faster, but they are also often more efficient. With our technology, we have a wider opportunity to reach our loved ones who are far away from us. Compared to the ancient times that we should travel miles away to meet our people from another end of the globe which could take us months and even years just to feel their existence. It also gave us the opportunity to meet new people from all over the world. Moreover, the creation of social media has something to do with these advantages of technology in terms of social interaction. It was mentioned that there were opposing views regarding technology’s contribution to this aspect. In line with this, let me just present some studies that tackle technology’s role in human connectedness. Most people think that technology has been changing the way affinity works, but in a source, Campbell and Russo (2003) and Miyata and Kobayashi (2008) state that texting and other means of briefly connecting may appear to constitute superficial relationships, but in fact, act as a means to continue existing friendships. Also, people see technology, specifically social media, that neglects the existing friendship that was made and too focused on creating a realm inside the internet, but studies of Szekely and Nagy (2011) suggest that social media are generally not used to establish new friendships or romantic associations, but to connect with friends and family members. Nor do they replace closer contact. Furthermore, Chen (2011) and Gross (2004), states that social networking and media-based connections tend to parallel and augment real-life interactions rather than replace them. There were also found some studies that supported the claims that technology just enhances the status of connecting people. According to Boase(2008), Szekely and Nagy (2011), today’s youth appear to develop complex and multi-faceted systems of associations based on a mixture of various types of contact. Obst and Starfurik(2010), Chen (2011) and Walsh et al. (2010) also found out its effect on the youngster’s, where engaging in such combinations of online and offline relationships reported an increased sense of wellbeing and enhanced self-esteem. Subrahmanyan et al. (2004) studies of youth’s communications through texting and chat rooms, or informal online discussion groups, put forward similar findings. Chat rooms allow for anonymity when conversing about various issues, which has both benefits and drawbacks. On the one hand, anonymity gives teens the space and opportunity to discuss embarrassing topics, at times sexual in nature, and to execute different types of relationships. The good side of technology in terms of human connectedness to people and its domain advocates that it doesn’t seem to radically alter or simplify close social bonds or behaviors, although they allow new and different opportunities for their expression. Thus, according to Hartman (2011) relationships facilitated by technology appear to provide the same sense of wellbeing as is associated with other types of close associations. The Internet may elicit some changes in how people communicate, but not why they do so. In conclusion to this part, although digital communication does favor brief, periodic contacts, it does not destroy the value put on social associations or discourage people’s willingness to communicate deeply inperson. In fact, the evidence suggests that it more likely facilitates both, at least amongst that portion of the population that functions typically. But since internet is an open platform, opposing views are inevitable. Regardless of the existing studies that tackles connectedness, experts open the book of technology’s influence on human isolation. According to them, technology plays a role on making people feel more isolate. Let’s discuss this other side of the road on the next passage. Technology has both abolished a gap and generated a one. There is this thing called “virtual distance”, a phenomenon where people are physically together but detached from each other due to being completely preoccupied with their technological device, such as a laptop or smartphone/tablet. This construes to couples, parents and children, and all types of other human interactions being consigned to the background while people are busy connecting with others in digital space via their technological device. According to Lawson (2017), it has often been suggested that technology, whatever its benefits, comes at the expense of more isolated and deprived human lives. Influenced by Heidegger, where modernity reduces everything — including us — to resources ready for improvement and control. But this concept will also be familiar to readers of dystopian science fiction, in which technologically sophisticated societies rarely contain any recognizable or meaningful form of human community. The abundance of technology seems to contribute to more isolation, be it the isolation of humans from the natural world or each other. Also from the research of Lawson (2017), such ideas had become less prominent. One of the significant reason for this is that some of the most dominant technologies of our time, such as the internet, promotes the connectivity between people. However, research suggests that there are some good reasons why theme of isolation recurs throughout discussions of technology. Lawson (2017) also noted that even though in need of fundamental modification, there is much in these older debates about isolation and separation that are still significant to current (increasingly technology-reliant) societies, despite the fact of we can so easily connect to our family with the use of different social media platform. Let’s take a look at this for example, the end of intimacy. It is already common nowadays to prefer texting instead of actually meeting, or at the very least, calling and thus hearing another human voice. It is also not uncommon for people to stroll around, or even sit with others, head bowed to their digital device without saying a word or even noticing anything about anyone else. This is what the isolation means in the world we denote as everything. Human interactions and relationships have thus largely decreased, while intimacy and human-to-human interactions have been replaced with what we called human-to-machine interactions, the termed I got from an article. Where is states that technology has helped to modify human behavior by creating a gap between people and reducing intimacy. In an age where robots and AI are slowly replacing humans within the workplace, this interaction between humans and machines is only set to increase. As we explore the definition of human interaction, as any action which involves two people, in relation to society and cultures. And with this according to the opposition, it eradicates the essence of real human interaction. As a globalized world increases the entwining of societies and cultures —often via technology such as social media and the Internet —many cultures are absorbed by an ever-increasing culture that is heavily reliant upon technology. The people who favors the view on technology more isolates us, they give emphasis that gadgets and internet platforms, even though gives us the convenience that we need in everyday living, it just makes us to be more dependent on the power of it. They say that we also decrease our communication with our real world. Technology now serves as a medium for human interactions, which only increases human-to-machine interactions. Thus, according to different resources, virtual distance has created a gap between a myriad of types of human relationships, which includes everyone in the social world. By these, researchers from isolation viewpoint suggest summarized that though technology has helped to bridge global gaps, devices and social media/messaging apps, for instance, have largely helped to create a larger disconnect between people. Increased isolation, reduced social interaction and social skills, and increased human-to-machine interactions are all a result of an overuse of technology, which has created a wall between many people globally. Perhaps the most wonderful creation of the human mind is technology. It allows us to live in a world where life is at ease and convenience is perceivable. Going to the aspect of communication and people’s relationship, we cannot deny the big impact of technology. Going back to our goal, unraveling how people shape technology and how technology shapes people's interactions with each other and the natural world is one of the things we need to explore. As we go beyond the answers to the question, we recognized that technology shapes the way societies and people behave, grow, evolve, and develop, both within their own lives and in their relationships with others. So, does technology play a role in making people feel more isolated? With all the exploration that we did, it’s impossible to give a concrete answer. But, in the empty space that saw in the world of technology, as we speak as the world of everything. We are the ones responsible to fill the gaps. In the end, technology is a non-living entity and human beings are the one who breathes life to it. It depends to us whether the technology would create better connectivity in civilization or would destroy the essence of the relationship that would result in human isolation.