Interaction is corrupted

New technology is developed and released almost every day. Think about music devices; from the Walkman, to mp3 player, to the classic iPod, to the most recent iPod Nano which has a touchscreen and measures about 4 inches in length.  Phones used to be the size of a brick. After the brick came a smaller brick. After the mini brick, flip phones came, then phones with full QWERTY keyboards, and now smartphones which aren’t very smart at all. With all of this technology, it’s hard to have a conversation with someone in person without them looking at a mobile device. Families no longer talk about their day at dinner but about someone’s tweet instead. That is, if they can even stay off their phones long enough to converse about anything. Technology and social media have corrupted human interaction skills in people of all ages.

I often find myself out to eat with my friends or more often, my family. We usually go to a sit down restaurant to spend time together but is it really spending time together if at any given time, at least one of us is on our phone? As I glance around to other tables, I realize my group is not the only offender here. I admit I’m guilty of being distracted by my phone as well and that’s why it bothers me so much. Technology is so convenient for anyone to use that everyone is using it now. “They are supremely efficient at delivering information, allowing us constantly to measure the levels of connection radiating throughout our social network.” (Rosen, 93) Our society is desperate for a technology fix after a period of time so we take out our phone, open Twitter, and see the latest gossip in 140 characters or less. We get our fix, put our phone away, and find ourselves back on our phone in 10 or 15 minutes when we need another fix. Two people can’t have a face-to-face conversation without one of them, or even both, checking their phone at least once during the talk.

People are also dependent on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter for information. Whether this information is about a friend, a family member, even a stranger, you’re likely to find it on Facebook. Just yesterday I was scrolling through my “news feed” on Facebook and came across a status asking for prayers because this woman’s son was in the hospital. I understand the want for support, but by posting this status, she was bombarded with “What happened?” ‘s  and “Is he okay?” ’s.  She responded with “I’m not comfortable sharing the situation.” I think it’s a little late for that.

People no longer pick up the phone and dial a friend to tell them news. Now, people say “Did you see my tweet?” and “Look at this on Facebook!” If you think you haven’t fallen guilty to social media you’re either very lucky, or lying to yourself.  Human interaction skills lack in today’s society in people of all ages.  My grandma texts me when she needs me. My mom texts me when she needs something done in the house. My brother texts me to ask for something he needs. I rarely get phone calls and even rarer do I get asked or told things in person. All of this because technology has made it convenient and efficient to send a text to someone no matter where they are, when it is, or who you’re trying to reach. Amazing? Yes. Also very discouraging though, to think of the future generations who, because of developments in technology, won’t have any sort of human interaction skills instead of bad skills.

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