Technology makes social interaction a potential constant. Before this technology evolved, true alone time existed. Today, even when you are alone, you can see what your friends are doing, be in contact with the push of a button, and before you know it you are not really alone. I think it has the potential to make us devalue personal face-to-face reactions. At the same time, when I think about memories of friends, the most important and meaningful ones do not come from text conversations or facebook wall posts. They come from the spontaneity of real life interactions complete with body language, awkward silences, and the unpredictability.
I do think there is a lot to be said about the creation of an online community. For people with very specific or unique interests, technology makes it easier for them to find people who also have the same interests, making them feel less alone and more understood. For someone who enjoys football, they have an already readily available network of potential friends with a similar interest. But for someone who has very specialized interests, or who doesn’t live in a very diverse or accepting geographical area, these tools are absolutely invaluable to helping them find their niche. Fan sites and virtual realities assume the same purpose, and I think usage of these networks is fine as long as one doesn’t allow their virtual reality to become more important than real life.
Dating sites are one of the most fascinating aspects of the intersection between social interaction and technology for me personally. Just looking at the sheer number of how many couples meet online and through dating sites is amazing. I definitely am interested to see if these relationships are more successful or last longer than traditional couples but only time will reveal that data. The reason that these relationships work is because they merge their online match up into real life right away. I think that you cannot really know someone until you interact in real life. It is very easy to put on a fake persona when communicating online or long distance through phone calls and texting. I do not believe that having a solely online relationship is sustainable or healthy. Integrating a romantic partner into your life requires them to know your friends, and family, and that is very hard to achieve through purely online relationships.
I think as far as society creating more public squares in real life as opposed to message boards and online communities, I don’t foresee that strategy being too successful. Online communities allow quiet and shy people the chance to express their opinions. How well of a public speaker you are, how attractive, how many friends you have in the audience is not so much an issue online as it is in real life and by reverting back to traditional methods, the ideas of those quiet people become silenced.
Overall, I believe that there are many positive outcomes on social interaction due to technology. I think that these can be used as tools to expand relationships and help to preserve old relationships. I do feel that there are dangers associated with losing yourself in the online world and disconnecting from the real world. Like all things in life, finding a healthy balance is key.
