Tuesday, March 22, 2016

The Ripples of Social Technology (part 2)


Smartphones, tablet computers, and other devices used to access the internet have actually seemed to separate us more than bring us together. People prefer texts to email, and email to phone calls—the less we have to deal with someone in person, it seems, the “better.” Couples waiting together in line or at a doctor's office are often totally focused on their phones, texting or browsing seperately rather than talking with each-other. Even video games are moving away from multi-player experiences with other people in the same room to online-only mutliplayer—it's been a challenge for me to find a game these days that I can play at home with my friends or family in person. The more connective technology we get, the less we interact with real people. Texting, chatrooms, and email have all broken down social boundaries in our society, and things you would never comfortably say or even dare to say in person are suddenly easy. Will we eventually lose the ability to deal with people directly, and will politeness be a thing of the past?

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