Technological innovation breeds cowardice
by Matt Grantz, Assistant Editor
January 26, 2012

Why do so many people think technology is so amazing? And when I say “technology,” I don’t mean the toilet (because, as anyone who’s had the pleasure of a Port-a-John knows, toilets are great) I mean the computer, the cell phone, the tablet, and the iPod.

Now you might be thinking, “Grantz, you’ve already talked about how awful technology is and how the government can use it against us.” This allegation is entirely accurate, but now I propose an entirely different issue: social media and texting have turned people into cowards.

Why cowards? And how? Consider how often the latest gossip (see Dan’s blog for why gossips are bad) is passed along through a text? How often will someone make a snide remark on Facebook? How often does someone, instead of physically talking to his or her friends, just whine aimlessly on Facebook about friends when they are arguing? Finally, and worst of all, how many people are afraid to talk to someone in person and will detour around the situation by sending an e-mail or text?

Some people might say the use of phones and social media to spread gossip is just the same as literally talking behind someone’s back. You know: the old-fashioned way of passing gossip. However, technology has added another layer of anonymity to gossiping that means gossips face fewer repercussions. In the days when people passed gossip in the hallway, the gossip’s subject or friends of the subject had a chance to listen in. Now, gossip can easily be contained to an electronic gadget to which no one else has access, killing any chance of gossips getting their comeuppance.

On the subject of snide remarks, some might say I am the pot calling the kettle black, but there truly is a difference between making a comment in person or posting it on Facebook. When a person says a smart remark in person, the target knows the speaker and can respond or (if bullying is involved) can report the speaker. When people comment on Facebook, they leave their names out of the comments and they speedily deny any accusation that their comment relates to a specific situation, denying the subject the ability to respond or report.

Next, you might well say that Facebook was designed essentially for endless whining, with the ability to constantly post statuses making it possible to whine. All entirely true, except in this instance I mean that when friends (whether just two people or a group) fight, they refuse to discuss or solve their issues and instead post thinly veiled insults about each other on the Internet. Is that really a mature way to handle an argument? Or are people simply cowards if they refuse to address issues face-to-face?

This final point relates to the previous point, but is slightly different. When I say people use e-mail or other Internet functions as a detour around talking, I mean any kind of talking, not just discussing an issue between friends. Instead of asking a teacher a question, students will e-mail the teacher after class. Instead of placing a pizza order on the telephone and having to (uh-oh) talk to a living person, people place orders through the Internet. Instead of calling my house and facing person-to-person rejection, annoying college recruiters send me e-mails. Is this loss of the ability to call to talk to a person really a good thing?