People are too reliant on their gizmos, and young adults believe it’s dehumanizing their interactions.
A recent study released by Intel Corporation surveyed about 12,000 adults between the ages of 18 and 24 and found more than half felt society relied heavily on technology and made people less human.
Genevieve Bell, an anthropologist and director of Interaction and Experience Research at Intel Labs, said although the results might make it seem like young adults are rejecting technology, the reality is more complicated.
“A different way to read this might be that millennials want technology to do more for them,” she said in a statement, “and we have work to do to make it much more personal and less burdensome.”
Adam Worner, a 19-year-old UF anthropology sophomore, said online conversations with friends often feel less personal than talking to them in person.
“You start getting used to talking to people through a screen,” he said. “You can’t get a heartfelt conversation that way.”
UF electrical engineering junior Russell Crowe, 20, disagreed.
“It doesn’t seem that way to me,” he said.
A version of this story ran on page 3 on 10/29/2013 under the headline "Study: Technology is dehumanizing society"
