How can Technology impact the way we communicate as individuals and are there any ethical issues surrounding this?

As individuals we live our lives based on our ethics, the morals and principles that govern our actions in our lives. When we refer this to technology these same principles and morals should apply to our behaviors online. Especially considering how we communicate with others through social networking applications and online communication services. As humans we must consider internet etiquette. This relates to what we speak on the internet and how we communicate with others such as typing in capital letters can be seen as screaming or shouting at someone. Internet etiquette is important as this can also effect individual’s opportunities to apply for certain types of work as must employers complete background checks of Facebook and other social networking applications.

As technology continues to grow and change this can ultimately affect how humans communicate with one another either positively or negatively. “With the proliferation of technologies that are able to overcome the obstacles of time and space (e.g., airplanes, cars, the Internet), one would think that these tools would be used to gain an understanding of other cultures, meet people all over the world, maintain and strengthen familial relationships, communicate effectively with others, and help people to become more socially adept” (HumanKinetics, 2016), therefore technology has many positive impacts on social communication between individuals.

This new and advancing technology, continually changing and developing can also have a variety of negative impacts on social communication. Some of these technological advances cause individuals to become distracted and unaware of reality, it can make individuals stressed about getting up to speed with these advances and ultimately can isolate individuals from the rest of the world. It is important as human beings that we do not let technology control our lives but in turn enhance the way we live our everyday lives.

Human Kinetics. (2016). Technology can have positive and negative impact on social interactions. Retrieved 16 September 2016 from, http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/technology-can-have-positive-and-negative-impact-on-social-interactions