As technology evolves, human social interaction suffers.
The world is no longer changing, because that change has already come and presented its results to the entire world. Technology has improved our lives on so many levels that we have become a technological world for certain, but at what price? It is believed that we have become overly dependent on our recent technological advances, yet we seem to ignore the effects it has had on personal human interaction and social ethics surrounding our environment. Long ago man relied on human resources to achieve positive results in the work place and home, but now technology has become an independent source for much needed resources. In my essay I will identify the pros and cons of our technological system and the dangers it has presented on our social ethics, and in also doing so focus on possible solutions to preserve our ethically social relationships.
Once upon a time people use to have a respect for their fellow man and their fellow man’s gifts and talents, but in our present we have witnessed the demise of so many important civilian rolls in the world, that it has crippled the fabric of society’s social glue. Let’s begin with the undeniable influences of the juggernaut that is “Social Media,” and what I call the fake friend to social ethics. Before social media made it's physiological embodiment on us all people had to formally communicate and interact with one another through social gatherings and public events, which made it more than mandatory for everyone to have proper etiquette and social ethics. Social Ethics are unspoken rules and beliefs required to maintain ethical ideas and behavior, and from which we display and exhibit these expressions. We are already in many ways separated by our religions, ethnicity, classes, and personal beliefs, and over the course of history has caused many wars creating division among nations. Today organizations like the United Nations are put into place to demolish communication indifference, but now we have a barrier named “Big Brother”.
In the early 2000's before MySpace (R.I.P) and way before the great Facebook there was “The Chat Lines,” and the age of social communication was born; which started to change the way ethics were defined. The Chat Line was a phone line community where people from all over could call in and join groups and private conversations; which was basically a Party Line. These social conference calls is where people could be themselves, which is what we find to be not such a good idea all of the time! lol. The conversation would go from cool introductions to deeper talks, but depending on the individual it could have a interesting start from the beginning. Some people who felt disconnected from the rules of social ethics because of the absence of physical presence, abused their privileges and displayed unethical behaviors. There were callers cursing people out for no reason, fights, stalkers, prostitution, robberies, and even deaths behind the “Chat Lines.” Even though it may seem like that was warning enough, more homes began to have computers in them; and access to social pools changed with the growth into technology. The “Chat Lines” were now“Online,” and communication between everyone in the world became a lot more personal; which sparked even more interest for social communications.
Not only did the internet make most things completely accessible, but it gave people too much information in so many different cases. I read an article that analyzed relationships today, and the conclusion explained that men and women have lost the real meaning of “Love,” which is blamed on the stigmas of social media, internet dating, and pornography sites. The truth is clear as day, relationships don’t last as long, few people are marrying, and breaking up is easy to do when you can post your relationship status for hundreds of prospective suitors. One day a friend showed me a website where you can post your pictures, music, interest, and all your personal information for the world to see, and they called this place MySpace. Myspace only broke a mold that would be turned to gold by Facebook, and would be one of the sharpest knives to cut through social ethics. A platform that allows people to do, say, post, video, and virtually be who you want to be online; yet as we find, humans have a need to be social and the cost have been prevalent.
Social Media has brought us together, only to tear us apart. Television had already proved it could take the attention span of humans, and three point shoot it into the social garbage disposal; now you can’t be in the same room with a person who isn’t lost in there technology in one form or another. The need to stay connected has become some form of psychological drug and is more addictive than anything I have ever seen in my life. This virtual attention has instilled a false sense of self-importance in people who feel the need to be accepted by society for their looks, talents, and opinions, and some cases have benefited those who seek to entertain the masses. In the real world people being socially unaccepted can lead to depression, disorders, and suicide, for people of all ages (which can cause desperation and can take the mind into disillusion). I once read that not only is internet porn a problem socially and ethically, but it has also ruined the perspective of how we view sex and making love (see that? “Making Love” sounds like an ancient art now). Sex is way too easy to find online for everyone and some young men and women have grown up with these perspective as their “Sex Ed.” Can you imagine using the internet to learn about sex? Can you imagine if your son acted out what he learned from a pornographic website on how to care for a woman’s needs? What about the things your daughter would accept from men who behave in that sleazy manor?
On sites like YouTube and World Star Hip Hop, people create these video “Challenges” that go viral, which means heavily trending in “lamest” terms. These “Challenges” consist of such dares as the Ice Bucket Challenge, where people all over the world poured buckets of ice water on there heads then named those who they dared to challenge and so on; like a college haze gone pyramid scam. Some of these “Challenges” are supposed to be representation of charities, but no money is ever made just easily forgotten awareness. In many of the viral challenges people are expected to do something in the name of social awareness, but like all good things someone found a way to taint the waters. A prime example of tainting the waters was the “Knock Out Challenge,” and this challenge became one of the most controversial of them all. The challenge rules were to find a random person in the street and sucker punch on video, and no man, woman, or elderly person was exempt. This was an ethical nightmare!
Speaking of picking on innocent people, the internet also created the “Cyber Bully” a.k.a the “Troll.” What is this monstrosity I speak of you say? It is the new age bully, and it has no remorse or compassion for respect or ethics. Trolls spend a great amount of time finding unsuspected individuals to make victims of their verbal and psychological abuse, this also can be the kind of ethical issue that can cause vulnerability that forces those with mental issues to cause harm to themselves. The Troll knows that you can’t get to them in a physical form, so they will say anything they can to hate on your internet presence, such as making lewd remarks about your looks, weight, race, religion, and anything they believe will get under your skin. They will take your photos and Photoshop them and never for a good reason, such as sexual positions and other unethical positions.
Parenting of all things is one of the most important responsibilities known to man, but these days it so easy and very upsetting to see what parenting looks like today online. Where are all the parents? Why is it so easy for children to find stranger-danger on social sites? We all know why, because Big Brother is the new parent to the world. With parents working, school, and life matters having children who spend most their free time on social media is showing its effects. Parents have even gone to the limits of punishing their children (for unethical acts on social media) on social media in front of the world for approval. Mothers have performed unethical sexual acts with their daughters for views on YouTube, people have recorded kid birthday parties where the children dance in adult manors, and parents doing drugs with their kids friends says so much about where we are and where we are going as a society.
You all may or may not agree with this one, but the fact that human jobs are becoming done by machines more and more annually has the most ethical impact on society. Where we once depended on man, we now hold the machine in high regards, which has shifted the respect human beings have for one another in respects to everyone's importance in society. Auto dealerships have replaced man power with robots that manually assemble cars, self check out lanes are replacing cashiers, and Amazon Drones are next to replace delivery drivers all over the world. I predict a career change for all United States Postal workers within the next 5 to 10 years.
So where do we go from here? There is only one place to go from here and that’s back towards human interaction with a focus on technology as a the core. It all has to go back to the roots when people spent much more time interacting with each other face-to-face on personal levels to build real relationships, which will bring back the magic of social ethics. Person-to-person first impressions are probably one of those things that we will have to re-access among us, and learning who each other are personally, instead of studying one another on our social media pages. Having friendships that last decades, instead of having microwaved relationships with strangers...literally!
Taking the power out of social media isn’t going to ever happen at this point, but giving social media and the virtual world all the glory is blasphemous to what ever god you pray to. The “Social Media” part of your life should never overtake the “Social Ethics” in your “Real” life, because once that dark shadow has overcast your world you’ll loose the sun. The people who truly find us beautiful approaches us and introduce themselves in creative ways that make our lives more exciting, and the people who find our conversations truly interesting can talk to us on the phone all night. Beauty isn’t determined by how many likes you have, but who looks at you with that spark in their eye.
Degrading yourself in front of the world is now a career goal for many, and being unethical pays big; while the real culprit alludes responsibility, and that is the “Parents”. Leadership has taken a backseat to popularity, because parenting is treated like a burden instead of a gift (with tons of responsibility), and approached as such. I believe the television may have raised all the children from the day it was introduced to the general public, up to our recent day. Who are the parenting leaders of today? Scandalous promiscuous music and unethical television shows that promote degradation have the highest followings, yet the same people who claim to be against this behavior are the ones in control of the content. Imagine a world where the children make the rules and the adults follow what the rest of the world is trending... sounds stupid... but this is actually reality. It’s time to start being the leadership the youth need, and not their buddies bidding for their approval.
The 1st Amendment is something that we can never take for granted, but all sources of power can be abused by those with misunderstandings of facts. Fact is we all should have the right say and represent what we wish, but ethically being respectfully open is the key. Should we hold social media sites accountable for their influences? I don’t know, did the government blame the crime rate in the urban communities on Rap music? Did homemakers blame demonic behavior on Rock-N-Roll? Or was the content being produced misrepresented. The answer is clear as day, and it’s Yes! Conservatives and Liberals alike could agree on pointing the finger at music genres before they place blame on the very thing that create these behaviors and that is, a failure in leadership. Some countries ban porn on their internet, so is this a breach in freedom, or strict social ethics that denounce the encouragement of unethical behavior, by deeming it unacceptable on all media platforms?
As far as human beings competing with robots when it comes to productivity in the work place we honestly don’t stand a chance in the devil’s fire, but helping humans become more important to the machines will create the compatibility between human and robotic resources. Yes, drones will fill the sky with new ways of delivery and mailing, but human beings will be needed to pilot, maintenance, and build the machines. Self checkout lanes will still require an attendant to supervise transactions, fast food restaurants will still need cooks, and buses still require a driver... don’t know for how long but they do. We still are a huge part of the future we are just not sure how far into the future, but we won’t be extinct to machines in the work place immediately.
To keep the people protected and safe from the threats of unethical people on social media and internet, the government must instill better programs and security. A cyber police should be new additions to all police departments to prevent unethical behavior before it escalates into physical crimes. Though some believe the F.B.I and C.I.A are mostly responsible for monitoring the web, they could use a lot more assistance in keeping things in order on such a large playing field. The unethical uses of Drones looking into people homes and watching them has lead law enforcement to establish licencing requirements and registration for Drones in many states already, and that is the curve we need to be ahead of. Verbal assault is crime in most states because these threats can be and have been acted on in different incidents; and if they can be diminished before some are harmed, then more ethical respect will be enforced online. Most sites should have age restrictions and better filtering for your protection, but it’s not about what you need but what they can cash out on.
If you can’t beat them, join them! I heard that phrase when I was younger and never really liked it, because I was taught to always fight until you win. I would rather find the solutions to helping people keep their jobs instead of replacing them with robots, but that also depends on the job itself. I would advise, no I would demand that everyone in our new world get educations in computer technology if you don’t plan on being a public figure like a Judge, Athlete, or Management, because any job that is systematic is in danger of being filled by an automated machine. I once thought taxi drivers had it bad thanks to all the new driver apps that allow for you to be picked up and transported to your destination, but now that “Self Driving” cars are on roads today, puts the job of any transporter or delivery driver in the hot seat. I love technology and I embrace it in my life everyday, and being informed is something I have made my business when it comes to computer technology and computer science. Guiding the world into a new future is a task that will take a new form of strong leadership to keep the world head strong, and it is all of our responsibility, as adults, to keep the younger adults and small children more ethical. As homes become more technological we may see less humans cooking in kitchens, less humans cutting grass, or even babysitting children; so we can expect humans to become only more dependent on technology.
That is why we have to preserve our “Social Ethics”, so we may never forget the value of human resources. The respect for human life is why all this technology even exist, and it is this technology that we now, held more valuable than our fellow man and woman. We have to let it be known that living in a false world will only produce humans with social disorders that only become worst over time, and many have become mentally sick behind a life as such. There is need for psychiatric evaluation of internet and social media ethics, and any dangers or dangerous actions should be controlled upon any negative issue that arises during internet interactions. Age restrictions, criminal restrictions, and more laws need to be in place to protect the ethics of all.
In conclusion, we have to sustain our “Social Ethics” in order to keep hold of our humanity as a whole, which has always been on the silver lining of brute and scholar. Our new objective as a civilization is to birth a new generation of thinkers who use technology as a tool to better the lives of each other, and not replace the values of human life. We have to get with the fact that our world is technological, yet still in need of social awareness and social responsibility among more ethical responsibilities. We can no longer give all our attention to our cell phones applications and social media sites that in the end subtract from human value, although advancements into the future are inevitable they should be regulated. Parents should have more involvement with their children’s upbringing in society, and no one should ever be mentally dependable on being connected to the web. We have to start identifying this as an addiction for some, and warning to those uninformed. I hope that I have opened your eyes to what a huge issue it is to secure our social ethics, in the name of all humanity; and I hope you have your grip on the future of technology.