Cal Poly Pomona Students vs. Tempting Technology Cal Poly Pomona students take on the challenge of wanting to be on their technological devices while maintaining successful social relationships Fall 2019- Fall 2020 Authors: Thisuri Fonseka, BS Candidate (Corresponding Author) Katherine Lopez, BS Yaritza Gonzalez, BS Karla Hernandez, BS Cristina Amador, BS Amy Dao, PhD (Corresponding Author) Abstract This project examines the effects of technology on social relationships. There has been much debate about whether technology, such as cell phones, have negatively affected our social relationships. Does technology create a closer or deeper relationship from their perspective of the user, or does it create the opposite ? Using ethnographic methods, we examine the technology habits of students at Cal Poly Pomona and how they experience their social relationships both face to face and online. We employed to carry out our research through participant observation, interviews, and visual analysis. The places we recruited participants were classrooms, the quad area, the Marketplace, and the Bronco Student Center (BSC). Many of our participants agreed that they would like to engage in social groups where the devices were not the focus. When people are in social settings, they are submersed in their phones and laptops, especially when at school. We examined the reasons for why they are this involved with the devices. We found themes of forced dependency on these devices, as most school procedures including assignments had to be done online rather than handwritten. We also discuss the “agency” of technology devices which “calls” the attention of students. We conclude that there are many reasons that technological devices may have positive or negative effects on social relationships. We conclude that there are many reasons that technological devices may have “grey” effects, which are those effects that are either intrinsically good or bad on social relationships For example, spending time on the computer for four hours is considered bad for the body as it puts physical strain in eyes and posture, while isolating themselves from the social environment for long periods of time, this is the black effect. But what if these 6 hours spent on the computer were for a research paper or group assignment, that allows for social interaction online, this is for the betterment of one’s education, this is the White effect. The ‘grey effect’ we have identified is the mixture of the two where it is inevitable but also benefactory. A mix of black and white resulting in Grey. The shades of grey may differ depending on person, device, and situation. Introduction Our research is focused on understanding how students interact with their technological devices while trying to maintain social relationships. The research question which we address ethnographically is “How does the frequent use of technology affect the social relationships of Cal Poly Pomona Students?” Technology has begun to widely take over humans’ daily life and tasks that once required more effort than are spared nowadays. According to Tim Wu’s article on The New Yorker “[society has] suffered traumas, like colonization and the destruction of cultural continuity”(Wu, 2014) because of our impatience to adapt to new technologies, but also due to how quick the human self can adapt to the new inventions and forget life before the ‘new’. Society is currently centered around social media and tend to obsess over what is the ‘trendiest’. Most of it is related to the new technologies that are released each year which are ‘better than ever’ or full of ‘for the first time only” gadgets and widgets included into the model that comes out every year. Technology in itself is a multi-billion-dollar industry that is producing new products for customer consumption. “According to 2019 data from Statista, $3,360 billion has been spent on technology worldwide” (Today, 2020). Social media presents students with the ability to be whoever they want to be on the internet with the false promise of "no judgement", but it may have also created a bubble of isolation for physical interaction among their peers. “Since 2010, iGen adolescents have spent more time on new media screen activities and less time on non-screen activities” (Twenge, 2018), which does not require physical interaction nor face to face gatherings. But the same technology that has presented us with the aforementioned isolation, has gotten students more interactive in classrooms at the K-12 education system. This may appear as a contradictory statement on procrastination, but the psychology of the human brain wanting to focus on other ‘entertaining’ activities than schoolwork has multiple studies that prove the distraction. Many studies have been conducted on the use of technology in the classroom and many parents complain about the excessive time their children spend on their phones and laptops, however the students have no other choice but to access and interact with these devices, since most, if not all assignments and grades are computerized. Our participant observations contain data that prove this dependency on technology. The school itself has an entire floor of the library dedicated to computers for the students' easy access. It can be noted that through our data we have noticed some dependency on digital devices, but we have at the same time seen that students do not typically want to be so dependent on the devices. While considering such conflicting accounts our research shows how students maintain simultaneous relationships with their technological helpers and the face-to-face interactions. Technology is in fact one of the structures of society that has been designed to meet the social needs of an individual. More than ever, we are able to connect to others in a second whether they are two feet away from us or halfway around the world. Technology has had the power to make instant connection possible. Technology has become one part of society that has helped it evolve and grow and has worked to keep other parts of society functioning together as well. Literature Review Searching for articles related to this topic on Google, and academic libraries like JSTOR, Google scholar, and others showed that there has been work done in this area of study, mostly those related to the influence of social media and the large amount of screen time young adults now engage in. While there have not been work specifically related to the California State Polytechnic University Pomona students, as they fall under the categories of students, university and technology, the following works will showcase some of the work used to support the research. A recurring theme in some of the published works that we found is that technology changes the way that we communicate and changes our sense of “connectedness” (Chayko, 2014). In the article “Techno-Social Life: The Internet, Digital Technology, and Social Connectedness” by Mary Chayko, she describes what it means to be connected in a techno-social world and mentions the fact that technology, social networking, and mobile connectedness has initiated a revolution in today’s modern times. New functions like instant messaging, video calling and even distance calling allows for simultaneous communication with a person from another country without added phone charges given free in apps such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The author also argues that digital communication can actually strengthen face- to-face communication instead of having it be detrimental. Our framework for studying and observing technology was inspired by Katie Kilroy-Marac’s “A Magical Reorientation of the Modern: Professional Organizers and Thingly Care in Contemporary North America”. In it, she explains how professional organizers (PO) try to help those that are struggling with hoarding behavior and material disorder. She argues that some people have a hard time getting rid of their belongings because it causes them great anxiety, distress, and even trauma. Maybe in the same way that these people feel that they cannot part with their belongings, in a similar fashion we sometimes feel that we cannot be without our phones. This is where the theory of human agency comes into play and in this situation, we can raise a question which is, how much agency do we give our phones and/or other technological devices? How much importance do we really give them? Do we have power over them, or do they have power over us? There were a few pieces of literature which directly related to our research topic. The article by “Mobile technology; Its effect on face to face communication and interpersonal relationships” by Lucas Lengacher was an article that discussed the positive effects of communication. The article explores the idea that technology is a good source for communication when it comes to connecting with family and friends that live far away from us. It is an easy way of connecting to our loved ones and helps improve relationships by promoting the idea of instant communication. But the study also discussed how technology affects face-to- face communication. He focused on texting and voice calls and found that technology used in this way is affecting communication in a negative way, because it decreases communication and intimacy, because of the distance. While there is instant communication, there is a group of the population that prefers interaction with a face to the voice. Having face to face communication is a way to gauge the expression, and bodily behavior of the other person who is involved in the conversation. This article was valuable to our research because it discussed both the positive and the negative ways technology can affect relationships. The idea of communication between family members is another aspect we read into, the idea of communication is as expected important in today’s globalized world, being able to reach one’s family members is an idea often marketed.