When thinking of technology, the mind tends to jump to science, innovation and social media. All these advancements developed communication across the globe and led to the spread of, well, everything everywhere. Yet, according to Techspirited, there is a clear loss of personal contact among society and a definite increase in social anxiety rates.

Broadcast teacher Anthony Garcia said that he believes that when technology is a person’s only way of communication, they struggle and get anxiety when forced to interact with someone in real life.

“I think that we have gotten to the point that the amount of media, social or other, that we consume everyday and the way that we consume it has actually made us less social than more social,” Garcia said.

In another perspective, social media is a large part of the technology age today. In fact, according to Statista, last year the average amount of time spent on social media was around 2.3 hours, a slight increase from the year before. But with it comes limitations. According to sophomore Jillian Lach, social media impacts how students view each other and can even change how they act with one another.

“Social media influences how we act face to face because people judge others based on their status on social media platforms,” Lach said. “If someone doesn’t have a lot of followers, then they are automatically pushed aside and are no longer as important as someone more popular. Social media puts biases on others, and it creates division among peers.”

According to stopbullying.gov, cyberbullying is more of a problem today because kids are able to lie low and stay hidden without actual face to face confrontation. 

“I think that bullying is such a big problem digitally because people can easily hide behind their screens and make harsh comments,” sophomore Vy Dao said. “Also, I feel that people think since it’s online it’s easy to erase and be anonymous, and never leave a trace behind.”

It’s not just social relationships that are being affected by technology. According to Garcia, it’s also society as a whole.

“I think our society is being affected by this digital age in the way that we don’t see each other as people anymore,” Garcia said. “We have become very divided. We have gotten ourselves into echo chambers online where we only hear the same topics and perspectives over and over again. Our society has really suffered in terms of being able to interact with one another in a way.”

Still, online communication does have its benefits sophomore Aiden Seibel said. According to beliefnet, the new 30 Hour Famine study showed that around 44 percent of American teens are more aware of societal issues around the world thanks to social media. 

“Society has become more interconnected than ever,” Seibel said. “With the presence of technology, everything is transferred pretty much instantaneously.”