Task 2 model answer: Has technology made us less sociable?

It is often claimed that smartphones and social media have eroded our ability to form meaningful relationships. While I accept that technology can displace face-to-face contact, I largely disagree with this view, because for most people it has expanded rather than reduced their social lives.

Admittedly, there is evidence that excessive screen use can weaken real-world interaction. Families who sit together while each member scrolls through a separate feed are physically present but socially absent, and teenagers who spend most evenings online may miss opportunities to develop the conversational skills that only practice provides. In these cases, technology does appear to make people less sociable.

However, this picture ignores the many ways in which digital tools create and sustain connection. Video calls allow migrants to see their families every day rather than once a year, and messaging groups keep friendships alive after people move to different cities. Online communities also give isolated individuals — such as people with rare illnesses or those living in remote areas — a sense of belonging that their immediate surroundings cannot offer. For these groups, technology is not a barrier to social life but its foundation.

Moreover, much online activity leads directly to offline contact. Event platforms, neighbourhood forums and sports apps are used to organise meetings that would otherwise never happen. Rather than replacing physical gatherings, technology increasingly acts as the infrastructure that makes them possible.

In conclusion, although careless use of devices can undermine personal interaction, I believe that technology has, on balance, made people more connected. Whether it isolates or unites us depends less on the tools themselves than on how deliberately we choose to use them.