Technology and Social Interaction

Technology has advance greatly over the years and now that almost everyone can send text messages from their phones, communication has been greatly done through text. From a personal point of view I find that technology has a negative impact on everyday face to face interaction. I see people constantly on their phones even while they’re walking on the street or sitting down at a restaurant. Technology I think separates us from reality at times and has us glued to our devices such as phones and game devices. It is difficult to have face to face conversations with people in our society when everything seems to revolve around technology. Sometimes I find myself talking to someone and at the same time texting another person, which is not a respectful thing to do. Other people who I talk to sometimes tend to do the same thing therefore stating no interest or no focus on the conversation that is being held. More generally technology helps us in many ways of course such as with school, work, travel and other important aspects in life. 

Using the web to meet other people isn’t a bad idea and I find it helpful at times. Using Facebook can be helpful in meeting new people and I find it effective. Even though I've never used an online dating site, they seem to be effective when it comes to meeting new people and building relationships and I think that it mostly depends on the person using it. I think those two can be helpful if you are trying to find someone to be in a relationship with, but sites such as Craiglist shouldn't be used for dating purposes. Craigslist is not a site where you can trust people when it comes to dating and I believe that it is built solely for people to post ads and for others to buy things. Message boards are another way people can meet but it is difficult to see what the person looks like through message boards. It is a good way to meet people and interact with others if you like communicating online. Online gaming can be another source for meeting people, but I don’t think that it is as effective in finding a relationship for most people. Not everyone in the real world plays video games online and therefore you are not going to find your ideal type by interacting through video games. I believe that online gaming is not a viable way of creating meaningful relationships and that we turn to online gaming when we are having trouble meeting new people in real life. Maybe someone who has poor communication and social skills turns to online gaming to find relationships, because they might have better writing skills and don’t feel any pressure while online. 

I feel that as a society we should still focus on face to face interaction and we should have “real” spaces where people can talk about everyday things and life. I’m not saying that we should get rid of technology, but we can minimize our usage and focus on communicating with others in person. This way we don’t lose our communication skills and at the same time we can be developing our communication skills. Technology is definitely needed in our society, but we should not forget that strong relationships are built through face to face interaction.