As technological advancements are evolving, so are our societal expectations. Long gone are the days when you have to wait in line at a movie theater so see a new movie or wait for a CD to be released to get the music you want. Now, anyone with a computer or smartphone and internet connection can have the newest content literally right at their fingertips. The downside to this of course, is that we expect everything else to be just as fast, and some of the human connection is lost.
In my role as academic advisor here at SNHU, I see this with my students. For example, with emails, many students will send emails like how they send a text message and often expect an immediate response. I politely remind them of professional tone and that I have a 24-hour response time. I think a lot of professionalism is lost in this need-it-now- instant world.
Smartphones are essential to our life – they have changed how we interact with others. While this has enhanced how we communicate with the people online, people often focus more on their screens rather than the people right next to them. The youtube video below discusses a term for this: “smombie” where people focus only on their phones and ignore their surroundings. The video also discusses how we lose the emotion and feeling behind many interactions. watch this video to learn more
While the need for an instant response is a negative to the technological advancements, one positive is that innovation input and social processes are also drastically impacted. In the article “Mobilizing Social Transformation with Technology. The Shaping of social Processes since the Development of Industrial Society and Beyond: Innovation Input and Social Processes,” the authors analyze the role that technological interfaces play in social transformation and discuss digital technologies and their impacts on social inequity. Society has been greatly impacted by technological advancements going all the way back to before the Industrial Revolution. Now, the changes are more personal, it’s our personal devices that are impacted. As a result this means that many of the social skills are lost as these technologies expand.
So while the instant gratification that comes with technological advancements can be negative in that some communication is lost, it also advances society and brings to light social inequity issues and has made our lives much more convenient over all.
References
Alfaraz, C., & Tully, C. (2024). Mobilizing social transformation with technology. The Shaping of Social Processes since the Development of Industrial Society and Beyond: Innovation Input and Social Processes. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 38(2), 589–605. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13511610.2024.2346813
How did Smartphones Reshape our Society? – Moments that Shocked Us. (2025, December). [Video]. Youtube. Retrieved January 4, 2026, from https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=social+impact+of+smartphones&&mid=158278F5E5C0CAB3D9BC158278F5E5C0CAB3D9BC&&FORM=VRDGAR
Erin A Clark 