closer

Global expansion and technological innovation brings the entire world to your fingertips.

It's quite amazing, really. So much information can be accessed and tasks accomplished through the utilization of technology. Sending texts, googling a topic and imagery via satellite are each useful in accomplishing various tasks. Yet, what has intrigued me over the past couple of years is the role of technology in relationships.

The avenues available to "connect" remain endless. Wanna know what the nerdy guy that sat behind in you in 7th grade math class is up to? I'm sure you can find his profile on Facebook. Need to invite several people to a lunch meeting? Send a single text to multiple addresses. Don't waste time handwriting a letter when you can send an electronic message! Instead of reading the morning newspaper, just bring up your homepage and choose from several news sources. And by golly if you know the "private" lives of celebrities. Simply for your entertainment. (because we REALLY want to know)

Are these things "bad"? Is it wrong to utilize technology for the advancement of industry and management of time? No. But what I do see happening is a definite cultural shift in the perceived need for "real" relationships. Integrity and honesty is slowly falling through the cracks of the relational foundation built through years of human contact. It is becoming much easier to manage relationships at a distance without having to be emotionally, spiritually, mentally and physically involved! It works to the perceived advantage of the individual, maintaining friendships at a safe distance in order to avoid all of the joy and pain that occurs in a meaningful relationship. While we continue to grow our social networks, I feel that we carefully detach ourselves from others and eventually, society. For example, I have over 1,000 friends on Facebook. Many of which I've actually met and some that just want to be "friends" with me because of our "mutual friends". Out of these 1,000 or more people, I actively engage in a meaningful relationship with less than 20- and around 7 or 8 in a given time period. This tells me that: 1. I have to limit myself to few relationships in order to experience the quality of each one and 2. I don't really know the other 980 of you. There, I said it. You are just a face on my friend list.

Texting/chatting/IM'ing/e-mail has industrialized the concept of communication into non-emotional streams of words. These messages leave the recipient with the opportunity to incorporate his or her own emotional meaning and understanding of said message. The issue is obvious. Stripped of any human elements, the messages carry the weight of linguistic suicide. (Don't ever try to settle relational issues through text messaging. It's bad.) Regardless, the upcoming generation is fascinated by the use of text and are the driving force behind text messaging plans. You can order a phone with a text-only plan. Seriously- a phone, a device used for over a century to verbally communicate-with sound- now being used to transmit typed messages. This is contributing to the decreasing emotional intelligence of this generation. Face to face contact and conversation is becoming a thing of the past- and our lives are suffering for it.

Let me reiterate- the whole mindset behind these technological advancements is "connectedness". If the consumer can be convinced that: 1. they will be more "connected" by using a certain technology and 2. they will be left behind if they don't embrace it, then people will fall for it. Money is always the driving force for this market, no matter what cultural decay is taking place. The more people are participating- the more capital is being produced.

What is the response? Is it to Thoreau ourselves (haha nice pun) into the wild and neglect the use of any modern-day communicating instruments? You could...but possibly a more effective way to combat the decreasing importance of face to face relationship is simply just to have it, in the midst of our wired world. Take time during the week to "unplug" and "disconnect" from industrial society and have meaningful conversations with people. Make it a point to meet with that friend, in person, to discuss how things are going in his or her life. Instead of expanding your phone plan, carve more time out of your week for the people that are important. Don't settle for the cheap imitation that the culture often embraces. Prioritize your life to place relationships at the top- and leave technology for the few things that actually require it. The world won't pass you by. I promise.