Don’t you feel that human life has become inseparable from technology? We use technology every hour of every day. The dependence on technology is ever escalating. We need technology to communicate, to travel, to do business, to study, and to live in comfort zones. Mine is staying online – Instagram, Facebook, etc.! The moment Cox Internet Deals stops working or goes through a glitch, I instantly dial my Cox customer service number. Today, we don’t even dare to imagine a life without the technological amenities.
However, there is another dark side to the technology. And a massive number of people have their concerns. Yes, poor application and excess of technological equipment have contributed to environmental pollution. It has also made people convenience-seekers and dependent. But these are not the aspects which we are going to discuss in this blog post. We are going to discuss the greatest challenge that technology poses for us. And that’s determining the type of future that we need to have with technology. And to deal with the negative impacts of it. If we observe keenly, technology has affected human relationships immensely. While technology seems to facilitate our communication, it actually is having a negative impact on human relationships.
Let’s look into it.
Conversations are not Real and Lack Context
Even if you are the biggest fan of technology, you must have felt certain things when it comes to communication via technology. One of the most common concern is the inability to accurately detect tone! When communication is taking place over a technology-based forum, detecting the tone is almost impossible. You can’t really say that a person is being funny or sarcastic or plain solemn.
Have you been there? When you wondered what somebody really meant by a certain statement in a text, on social media, or on an email. It sometimes leads to frustration. Real conversations involve looking at a person’s facial expressions, listening to their voice and understanding the environment. Guessing the context around written words is such a chore. But unfortunately, most of our communication is via technology. And it has led to assumptions, miscommunications, and misunderstandings.
Online Communication Lacks Empathy
There is a sheer lack of empathy while we are communicating and interacting with others via technology. You can take it a corollary to the lack of reality and context issues. You will understand this fact when there’s a tragic moment. For instance, if a dear one dies or, someone loses their job. There is no touch of solidarity, empathy, and compassion in a text message. Like, ‘I’m sorry to know that you lost your dad/job’. Mere words don’t convey actual feelings and hence create a communication gap.
Tech Addiction Leads to Cocooning
It wouldn’t be wrong to call technology and electronic obsessions and addition. Some people love this overload of technology. They prefer this virtual world to the physical one. They get addicted to the features, which technological forums offer. And just like other addictions, this addiction also affects the quality of relationships. Conversations via social media and texting have replaced traditional communication, meetings, and discussions. This facilitation of communicating with people while being the comfort zone of their house has led to the cocooning phenomenon. This can actually be crippling for many and can lead to social isolation.
The Essential Personal Touch is not delivered via Technology
We are humans and we can’t survive without the actual human touch. Yes, technology has facilitated us a lot. But at times all we want is a real hug, or a handshake, or an encouraging pat on the back. Unfortunately, emoji and stickers simply cannot replace it. A smiley face and thumbs up emoji is cute but they lack the personal connection completely. Take the instance of your pet. Can you pet a cat or a dog with technology? It is not even possible. People seem to forget that we are also social animals who crave personal touch and attention.
Social Media Obsession is Ruining Relationships
Last but not least, you need to pay attention to your real relationships. Make time for your parents, spouse, kids, siblings, and grandparents. Or whoever you live with. Social media obsession has made families and friends distant. If you don’t want this to happen to you, subscribe cox packages. Don’t give all the time to your gadgets which you should be giving to the people around you. After all, your smartphone is not going to hug you when you are sad. Value relationships!
