Technology: Reducing the quality of Human Interaction

You have a really good point in referencing the quality of those interactions, but if the quality really was bad, wouldn't people stop using technology? We reach a certain point where texting instead of talking in person loses the question of ethicality (I understand that is not the topic of our debate, and I find myself compelled to agree with you in this matter). Instead of thinking whether it is ethical or not, we might have to look into the idea that people like doing it. It was not uncommon before modern technology that two people would talk and leave the third one not included, though that was considered rude, just like texting instead of talking in person. People still did it, and people still do it. They just have new tools to do it. It seems to me like the concepts stayed the same, but the implementation differed. Weren't there people who got into car accidents because they were looking at the person next to them while driving and talking to them, and didn't technology actually lessen our casualty rates (see graphs and tables in reference 1), since we have GPS systems that warn us where there are accidents and quick ways to hear about storm warnings or road conditions, improved warning systems in cars, and better overall communication to call emergency services when needed? When talking about introverts, you said that they can hide behind another identity and pretend to be someone else. I agree, that isn't necessarily good, but doesn't it make introverts feel better? Wouldn't you rather be very social under a different name than awkward in every situation? Moreover, does it really matter that they do not interact directly with the people around them often if they interact with them online? I would argue that they are communicating with live human beings, which is an improvement over not communicating at all (although they did have letter-sending, which I would also argue has extremely similar effects as texting). As for addiction, it has always existed. People were always addicted to checking their mail and getting back to their pen-pals. It may be easier today to access your "modern pen-pals", but it has always been the case. People were always addicted to reading the paper in the mornings, going to bars at night to find a potential date (as opposed to doing it online). I guess my main argument is that the form has changed, but the addiction always existed. Also, when you said that tone cannot be derived via text, I beg to differ. First of all, there are emojis that enable people to show tone, but back to the basics of it: authors have always showed tone through text without speaking. It's an art, and people now started using things such as CAPITAL LETTERS FOR YELLING or the "..." for hesitation, etc. So I disagree that tone cannot be shown via text. I would agree with you, though, that technology is often misused. Many people are too obsessed with taking infinite selfies and showing off to their friends, or taking pictures instead of watching the concert, or using technology to cyberbully or to exploit people. As with the other things, my argument is that this was always the case, but in another format. People used to have many portraits laying around, then when that age passed, they used to showcase their wealth to the public by wearing the most unnecessary accessories, using a ton of makeup, and openly bragging to people. Now they do the same thing, but by taking selfies and tweeting about their belongings. As for exploitation, people used to walk into banks and point guns at the tellers and take the money, sometimes killing a few people in the process. Now, bank robberies are rare, and cyber-robberies are more common. It's still a robbery, but less people die in the process. Additionally, People used to always get scammed, regardless of technology being present or not. To sum my whole argument up, people with ill intentions or rude behaviors will continue to do wrong regardless of the means they can do it with. Technology has many great benefits, but it also has many side effects. We have to learn to take the good with the bad. I look forward to your reply! (1) http://www.iihs.org...