Blog Post 3: An understanding of how changes in technology impact on the way humans communicate and the ethical issues that surround these changes

                                                                Fiore (2017)

Changes in technology have impacted the way in which we as humans communicate, creating ethical issues and being a major cause of disconnection amongst human beings. There has been a large decline in intimate human contact since the development of social media and portable communication devices. Previously communication was much more meaningful between people and conversations were a great way to connect. Since the implementation of social media, a simple birthday post seems to suffice rather than making the effort to call a friend or loved one.

Tardanico (2012) argues that amidst technology individuals can easily hide behind text and varies other sources of digital communication. This is due to the fact that the written word does not present tone therefore quite often vulnerable individuals will fall through the cracks potentially creating a situation where the individual could be vulnerable to self-harm instead of receiving much-needed help which can easily be obtained when an audience can see the warning signs that someone is not ok.

Social media has also become a way to hide the fact from fiction, when unhappy with their lives or situations; it is very easy to create a pleasant scenario to hide the real problem that they may be faced with. By doing this they are creating a situation where they feel better about themselves without ever dealing with their circumstances, these individuals are becoming vulnerable to various ethical issues. Social human contact can be very important for creating strong and lasting relationships which help people to be satisfied and happy, in turn, feeling better about a situation or themselves.

Reference:

Fiore, M. (2017). KQED - Facebook. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/09/07/492871024/facebook-and-mortality-why-your-incessant-joy-gives-me-the-blues

Tardanico, S. (2012). Is Social Medica Sabotaging Real Communication? Forbes.com. Retrieved 22 September 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/susantardanico/2012/04/30/is-social-media-sabotaging-real-communication/#4f730a672b62