Research Proposal
Proposal for Research Topic The topic that I chose to research about is how technology is affecting people and how they interact with one another. More specifically though, I want to focus on the younger generation and children, and how their engulfment in the digital world is seriously affecting their physical relationships with family and friends. Now, to focus on children, family, friends, and how they are all being affected by the new and coming digital life is a decently broad topic. So, to limit my topic I will look closely at what questions and answers I can ask in regards to each of the above areas of research, and develop a tentative thesis. The preliminary research that I’ve conducted so far includes three articles; “How our digital devices are affecting our personal relationships”, “Children, technology, problems, and preferences”, and “Kids really are different these days”. The first of the three, entitled “How our digital devices are affecting our personal relationships”, brings to attention the fact that everyone nowadays is getting really caught up in recent technologies, and it goes on to discuss how such a strong involvement in technology is negatively affecting our personal relationships. Furthermore, the article mentions how the presence of cell phones reduces many vital factors in maintaining strong relationships with friends and family, including trust, closeness, and empathy. The second article, entitled “Children, technology, problems, and preferences”, is solely focused around the younger generation. The article also mentions how an increased exposure to technology can actually now be considered a psychiatric problem – “social media syndrome”. And lastly, the third article entitled “Kids really are different these days” discusses the physical and social changes of children due to technology. More specifically, the article explores how technology and obesity are severely affecting children’s body image and their development.
There are a couple questions that I have asked myself while conducting research for my topic and reading the articles mentioned above. For instance, is the fast advancement of technology altering how children view themselves and others, are families and friends of heavy technology users being greatly impacted by technology or is it minor, and what is happening to the current generation of children as they are being exposed to the fast pace of the digital world?
A potential answer to the first question could be yes; the fast paced advancement of technology is altering how children view themselves and others because children are more exposed to social media and it’s affiliations (perfect female and male bodies, attitudes, income, etc.) and therefore develop lower self-esteem, interact with others lessen due to anxiety and self-doubt, and they ultimately become very self-conscious. Furthermore, a potential answer to the second question could be that families and friends of heavy technology users are indeed being greatly impacted by technology because those who use technology often become less trusting, close, and empathetic. This in effect causes those around them to grow apart and move on, leaving the technology user to become lonely and possibly depressed. And lastly, a possible answer to the third question could be that children are being greatly affected by the fast paced world of technology in a negative way. The reason being is that they develop many issues including obesity, changing habits, malnourishment, unhealthy lifestyle consisting of hours upon hours of screen time a day, mistrust, lowering of self-esteem, and separation from those around them. After asking myself a few questions and conjuring up possible answers, I have come to realize that the most suitable answer to me as a candidate for a thesis for my final paper is that children are indeed being greatly affected, in a negative way, by the fast pace of the digital world. The reason why I think that this answer is the most feasible of the potential answers I’ve considered while reflecting on my research questions is because it allows me to focus my attention solely on children, as opposed to also looking at how their families and friends are being affected and what harm can happen to them. Also, it allows me to have a slightly wider range of sources due to the fact that I would be simply focusing on how children are being affected, instead of getting very specific and just looking at how their self-image is being degraded and how their self-esteem is decreasing. Or in other words, with this answer I’d be able to find sufficient research material that I can support through argumentation and analysis. And lastly, the reason that I think this answer is a great candidate for my research paper is because it allows me to focus on a very important and problematic area of today’s society. I will be able to discover exactly why technology is harmful to children and what long-term affect it has on them. With this being said, my proposed thesis for this paper is: The current generation of children are being affected greatly in a negative way in their attitudes, behaviors, and emotions due to the past paced, on going development of technology.