This essay examines the negative consequences of excessive computer use on individuals and society. Drawing on sources from journalism and popular media, the paper argues that immoderate computer use atrophies critical social skills, deconditions courtesy and civility, promotes isolation, and dangerously blurs the boundary between virtual and real-world experiences. The author traces a progression of harm — from delayed social development in teenagers, to the erosion of polite interaction norms, to potentially fatal consequences when virtual detachment overrides real-world judgment. The paper concludes that deliberate vigilance is required to prevent these outcomes.
The paper demonstrates evidence-based argumentation with escalating stakes. Each section builds on the previous one by raising the severity of the harm described — moving from social awkwardness, to interpersonal rudeness, to life-or-death confusion between virtual and real. This structural escalation is an effective rhetorical strategy that holds the reader's attention and reinforces the central thesis that excessive computer use is genuinely dangerous.
The essay follows a classic five-part structure: a framing introduction that establishes the thesis, three body paragraphs each addressing a distinct harm (social skills, civility, virtual-real confusion), and a brief conclusion calling for vigilance. Each body paragraph follows a consistent pattern — general claim, supporting quotation, analysis, and implication — making the argument easy to follow and suitable as a model for undergraduate-level persuasive writing.
Computer usage has become commonplace. The home, school, and workplace are inundated with computers, and there is little thought given to how they are used. It is almost inconceivable to imagine modern life without them. This widespread infiltration, however, is a double-edged sword. The use of computers comes with a cluster of benefits and harmful effects. Whether the computer proves beneficial or detrimental depends largely on the level of use. The inordinate use of the computer results in multiple debilitating effects on the individual and, ultimately, on society.
An immediate drawback of immoderate computer use is the atrophy of critical social skills. Staples (2004) notes that modern teenagers are "more cut off from the social encounters that have historically prepared [them] for the move into adult life" (p. 70). This childhood social deficit is not easily overcome in adulthood. The individual is therefore ill-prepared for the complex social interactions that comprise the adult experience. This lack of preparation becomes a barrier that delays the transition into adult behavior, resulting in a number of people who may engage in adult economic activity while remaining socially immature.
Additionally, greater computer usage increases the potential for social isolation. Not only is the individual cut off from social encounters, but they also become ensconced in a world of their own creation. Goldsborough, citing Dr. Johnson, further comments "that if you replace important social, occupational, educational, or recreational activities by sitting in front of your computer, you've gone too far" (p. 304). This situation is potentially more destabilizing than simply having poor social skills. The avenue for developing better skills through socialization with family members is closed off by time spent in chat rooms and other virtual experiences. This time cannot be regained, and the opportunities to engage in meaningful dialogue and interaction with family are lost. Tragically, much of this occurs without the teenager recognizing what is happening, or believing that online experiences can compensate for a failure to interact face-to-face — they cannot.
There is also an insidious and largely unnoticed problem developing with heavy online use: the devolution of civility and courtesy. Coffee (2002) pointedly addresses the issue when he argues that "using computers deconditions our habits and practices of courtesy" (p. 302). Engagement with other humans forces the consideration of feelings and thoughts both before and during interaction. This engagement is governed by norms that have become second nature through social conditioning. As interaction with the inanimate computer increases, individuals gradually become deconditioned. The appropriate responses to social stimuli recede from immediate awareness and begin to require deliberate effort to produce. Thus, constant interfacing with a computer places these social norms in jeopardy.
Further, prolonged computer use fosters what might be called a demand perspective. As the individual continuously receives whatever they demand from the computer, "we become accustomed to demanding rather than requesting, and we unlearn the skill of making someone feel good about doing what we need" (Coffee, 2002, p. 302). The experience of having continuous demands met by a machine runs counter to what is required for healthy interaction with people. An inanimate object exists to satisfy all cyber desires at the press of a key; a person does not function the same way. Interacting with others requires a fundamentally different attitude — one that is not exercised when the computer is the primary interface. The net result is diminished civility and a boorishness that imposes demands on others. Obtaining services from people requires politeness and, at times, social grace; neither is involved in digital interaction with a computer.
Perhaps the most damning consequence of excessive computer usage occurs when the virtual world becomes confused with reality — and this confusion can carry deadly consequences. Horsburgh and Dodd (2003) recount a scenario in which a young man dies while his virtual friends look on. They quote John Perry Barlow, who observes, "What makes this different is that the edge was blunted by being virtual" (p. 306). There is a blurring of the virtual and the real, and this blurring benefits the virtual world at the expense of real-world experience. Persons who spend immoderate amounts of time in a virtual environment begin to interpret all of life as virtual. Even witnessing another person engage in a self-destructive act does not carry the force it would in the physical world. The distance imposed by computer interaction serves as a barrier to assistance and even to a sense of personal responsibility.
This blurring can produce disastrous results even when the actions involved are unintentional. The mother of the young man in Horsburgh and Dodd's account is "adamant that her son would never have intentionally killed himself" (2003, p. 306). This may be the most damaging dimension of the problem. The highly structured nature of the digital world insulates users from reality. Individuals feel safe behind a computer screen and believe they have full control; nothing could be further from the truth. The potential for chaos and disaster is not diminished by physical distance. Real actions taken in a virtual context have real consequences. Herein lies the central challenge: communicating to young people that even within the apparent safety of their own homes, dangerous acts carry real and debilitating consequences.
Prolonged and continuous computer use damages social skills and creates a climate for thoughtless actions. There are dangerous consequences associated with uncontrolled computer use. Avoiding these outcomes requires deliberate thought and action; vigilance from everyone is demanded.
Staples, B. (2004). What adolescents miss when we let them grow up in cyberspace. New York Times.
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