Technology and Social Interaction

Technology has changed significantly over the past years and has definitely influenced social interaction in both positive and negative ways.  A lot of people are constantly texting, on social networks, and on other Internet sites that have transformed the way people life their life.  It is so easy for people to just look down at their phone and separate themselves from reality.  It has become a negative habit, in my opinion, when the phone or computer becomes more important than the person you are actually sitting with or having dinner with. 

  For me, it has impacted the way I interact with people.  I can attest to this force of habit with technology.  I have noticed that sometimes it is easier to talk to someone online because you can’t always meet with him or her.  But regardless of how much time I spend with the social media, I much rather talk to someone face-to-face.  It is more personal and meaningful that way.  I keep reminding myself on what’s really important in life, and that is having “real” relationships where I can physically see the person. 

We don’t live in a media bubble, but then again there are many people who much rather prefer a virtual world.  After seeing the in-class video on adultery and cyberspace, I felt disgusted by how much time people spend “living” in a virtual world.  In my opinion, I believe virtual worlds are extremely detrimental to the relationships in the real world.

         Connecting with others via online communities can be a viable way of creating meaningful relationships through Facebook for example, but not always.  I think Facebook is a great way to communicate with friends publically, privately, or in groups, as well as be informed about upcoming events, and share pictures and videos.  However, it is very easy to be caught up in it through excessive hours and preferring to post on someone’s wall about how they are doing instead of calling them or meeting with them.  It is not that hard to neglect our everyday relationships in favor of these "virtual" relationships.  Since technology has been taking over our lives with social media interactions, we, as a society, need to really focus on creating more "real" spaces publically for people to connect, interact, and discuss meaningful, political, and social issues.  The generation after me will probably be even more connected to it, and I hope those people will still try to find time to develop relationships in the real world too.