Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It's easier for someone like me at 54 years old to ask this question than it is a 24 year older, yet harder to ask than an 84 year older.
I've seen the line of communication go exponentially global in my lifetime. News spreads now in seconds globally.
This is a question old school versus new school I suppose, and the question is most definitely a double edged sword.
The communication skill set is changing, and it's yet another puzzle piece of a relationship to deal with. One may think anything other than talking in person or at least a real voice on the telephone is impersonal. Someone else may think being able to share videos and pictures and more detail of ones life to another is better communication.
As a true technology geek (I have all the gadgets), I believe for human interaction, technology is an overall negative. It's just how I feel.
Last edited by metalmancpa; 12-09-2014 at 08:26 AM..
I think it is a double-edged sword. I like FB for being able to connect with friends and family far and wide. I like the ease of texting. My cousin and I chat on text during The Voice since I can't be with her in person. I like texting for the convenience of "hey can you bring home milk" without it needing to be a phone call and conversation.
What I don't like is that, for many, cell phone usage has taken priority over face-to-face encounters, that many spend time in the company of others on their phone with someone else. It also seems many younger people are paralyzed with fear about carrying on a telephone conversation, and are not developing proper social skills that are required in life and can only come from voice and face-to-face interaction. While technology has made some things easier, it's made communication into quite a challenge for many.
As a true technology geek (I have all the gadgets), I believe for human interaction, technology is an overall negative. It's just how I feel.
You have to qualify this with some specific examples. I feel like if you have a knack for communication, you will know how to use current technology to your advantage. The people having trouble today would probably have trouble at any other time in history but just in different ways.
I do have a specific example of how smart phones are detrimental to social interactions at social gatherings. A lot of times, people retreat to their phones when they are surrounded by strangers. In the past, they won't have such a refuge and perhaps will be forced to talk to these strangers.
I don't know about where you live, but here young people still gather together in groups and communicate in the same way I did at their age. They may glance at their phones but they are not absent from the group. My house is full of teenagers every weekend and I can tell you that the "communication" gets very loud sometimes!
Tech isn't the problem. There's probably a big list of what are problems but I doubt tech is anything other than an enabler of theothers or lurking on the perimeter.
The quality of the news that spreads around the world in milliseconds is sheer, unadulterated crap!
Here is the latest US news on CNN News:
THE LATEST
Panthers quarterback Cam Newton involved in wreck
Man killed after stabbing at Brooklyn synagogue
Cop caught on camera punching woman Video
Man survives bear attack using his knife Video
Wreck involving black bear and Good Samaritans leaves 3 dead
6 dead after small plane crashes into house
Kate visits Harlem | Photos | When Will met Kate | Royal babies
28 Internet acronyms every parent should know
Obama fills in for Stephen Colbert
Are you in diabetes denial? | 7 products to ease knee arthritis
All of it of grave importance to understanding what happened yesterday in National and foreign politics, our economy, our battle against ISIS (such as it is) etc.
What is the impact on relationships? It is at least as bad.
I think technology connects people in so many different ways, and enhances a person's ability to touch a much broader number. I also feel that it cripples a lot of people, making them even more socially stunted. I've noticed more and more who are unable to really communicate in person. In the last five years, I have met more men/women, who have no idea how to act appropriately, in a social setting. I've literally have been subjected to conversation that was so awkward, that all I could do was walk away. I think locking children up in their rooms with their X Boxes/Playstations have truly screwed up society. Elliot Rodger syndrome......Just like a gun, it's a tool, as well as a destructive weapon, just depends on the person who is holding it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
