CAMERON TRAYLOR / CONTRIBUTOR

As humans continue to immerse themselves in every crevice of the internet, we have become confronted  with a lack of boundaries between the digital and physical world. In a world with unlimited digital access, the question arises, how did technology get here and where is it headed? Technology has taken precious time, creativity and authenticity from humans by shifting the way people interact on a daily basis, and it has impacted humans more than we probably ever imagined. 

There’s several ways that technology has altered the ways that we interact with each other in today’s world. For example, some face-to-face communication today is done through video chat applications. Constant consumption of digital information and entertainment has decreased the attention spans of many, leading to the loss of deep engagement and true, reflective interaction. Our understanding and concept of patience has dissolved away, as instant access and instant gratification are now the norm, especially when it comes to accessing information and shopping online. With academic, commercial and professional expectations to stay connected in all realms of digital media, people may feel higher levels of stress and anxiety, and constant comparison to others online has led to feelings of inadequacy and the “fear of missing out” (FOMO) that people tend to feel. 

Humans claim that they have privacy, but they also have the ability to see the naked bodies of their favorite celebrities on the internet. The privacy that people used to have is almost nonexistent, and it’s interesting to see how privacy is slowly becoming a new luxury. We fail to realize that technology is currently blurring the boundaries between true human existence and digital personas, which often create false illusions and fake perceptions of one’s self identity and true understanding of one’s self as a human being. 

With advancements in technology, especially in the digital scapes of augmented reality, it’s almost impossible to tell what content surfacing online is real or fake. It’s gone so far that people are sometimes entangled with internet bot interaction online, where in some cases internet users aren’t able to differentiate at first glance the differences between human run social media accounts and internet bots pretending to imitate human behavior online. 

Humans can’t differ or discern the difference between real or virtual anymore. The digital world has fully immersed itself into the natural world of humans, without our full, express permission; however, in a way, humans did accept this digital transformation when they pressed accept on the Terms and Conditions that they didn’t read.

Amid the complexities and chaos that we face, we have found a strange comfort and a fraudulent sense of peace in the digital “sanctuary.” On a journey to find true acceptance and belonging online, people construct false realities and alternate personas to chase their deepest desires that are probably much more fulfilling in the real world. Beyond what we can see, technology is influencing the depths of humanity and shaping not only our external world but our inner selves as well. As technology imposed itself into all of our lives, humans must find a harmonious balance between the technological world and the real world. Human beings must stay vigilant and grounded on the true foundations of our humanity. While people sometimes spend hours of the day escaping their harsh reality through technology, there remains the soul and the true human spirit — waiting to be rediscovered and reclaimed — hoping not to have been forgotten, or replaced by a digital world.