Digital Spaces: Promoting Unity or Encouraging Isolation?

Digital Spaces: Promoting Unity or Encouraging Isolation?

The developments that have been witnessed in technology in recent years have immensely affected the way people live, communicate, and do their business. Additionally, technology- specifically the Internet and the invention of digital spaces- have caused notable transformations in the way people relate. There are two opposing views regarding the impact of technology on interpersonal relations, with one school of thought holding that technology brings people closer while another school of thought suggests that technology actually drives people apart (Merson, 2010). While it is true that digital spaces have enabled people to maintain their friendships, the position taken in this paper is that the internet and digital spaces have caused more harm than good, encouraging isolation and driving people apart rather than bringing them closer.

The fast-growing popularity of online relationships and transactions facilitated by digital spaces reduces the necessity of face-to-face meetings even for people who work or live close to one another. As observed by Merson (2010, p.235), it is not uncommon for directors or managers to prefer emailing “a colleague at the next desk rather than turn and talk to him”. What this means is that digital spaces have encouraged isolation among people because people get more attached to phones and digital devices and less interested in what is happening around them. In the same way, many relationships today are being conducted via digital channels- chat applications, Facebook and WhatsApp- even between people living in one neighborhood or city (Mapua, 2018). More importantly, research has established that a significant number of people prefer addressing conflicts via Facebook messages as opposed to meeting and talking about issues (Mapua, 2018). Such a report indicates that digital spaces serve to escalate distance between people by pushing people apart especially where conflicts are involved.

In conclusion, therefore, there is no doubt that technology enhances communication between people, particularly when people are far from one another. Nevertheless, the same technology arguably creates distance between people that are geographically close to each other. Based on this latter observation, it is correct to conclude that digital spaces encourage isolation among people.

References

Mapua, J. (2018). Understanding memes and internet satire. Enslow Publishing.

Merson, R. (2010). Rules are not enough: The art of governance in the real world. London: Profile.