How Does Technology Affect Families

In today’s age, technology has become a central aspect of many people’s lives. This new tech has brought with it many benefits that people did not have years ago and has helped bring the world together. With the benefit of cellphones, for example, someone can use them to stay in touch with friends and family while they are away and don’t have access to a phone. This connectivity has become an essential part in today’s society since people can now work anywhere that they want. However, this technology also has downfalls that negatively affect the same person’s life. The distractions that technology brings can be seen clearly with someone’s work performance since they will likely do poorly on a project. The way that technology affects someone’s life varies within the different part of their life. With the multitude of benefits that
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