Is technology killing our ability to have close relationships?

1. 94

   kalinin1158posted 14 years ago

   Is technology killing our ability to have close relationships?

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2. 60

   lilibeesposted 14 years ago

   You know sometimes I think so but then, I text my fourteen year old daughter to see what she is up to when she is a her friends house for a weekend and then I don't think so. I also have a lot of family well my entire family lives clear across the country and having a web cam is awesome, and a facebook to keep in touch and send pictures!

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3. 70

   dashingscorpioposted 14 years ago

   I suppose it depends on how one defines the word "close".
   If you are one who only considers being in the physical presence of someone then it's possible you may view techology as a wall. However with the use of text messaging, emailing letters and photos, and video cams, Skype, twitter as well as other social networking websites, and instant messaging, We now have (more ways to stay in touch) than ever before!
   
   Just as one can feel lonely in a crowded room you can also feel close to someone who is half way around the world with just a single click of a mouse.

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4. 56

   OnlyDGHposted 14 years ago

   It depends on the technology and how it is used!  Texting is a great way to maintain close relationships when you are too busy to make a phone call.  On the flipside, texting makes it necessary to be in contact with your relationships at all times and if you don't text back, it is perceived negatively.

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5. 94

   kalinin1158posted 14 years ago

   I agree, lilibees. When it comes to family, especially your own kids, it's great to always have a way to connect. My parents got me a cell phone as soon as they came out, and I talk to my mom on Skype all the time (she lives in Russia). But I already had a close relationship with her - I think it started when I spent 9 months inside her :-) I guess I was wondering how do we form new relationships in the world where everyone's available but no one's around.

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6. 59

   MickSposted 14 years ago

   Think about mobile phones and the way people have them glued to their ears and they don't make eye contact - 'Sorry, I can't interact with you, I'm on the phone.'
   I remember a girl from a few years back, she never talked to her friends, they communicated by leaving messages on their answerphones.

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7. 0

   reeltaulkposted 14 years ago

   I agree but like everything else, it can't be successful unless you allow it to.  I don't even own a cell phone anymore.  I rarely responded to text messages when I had one.  If you had something to say or talk about calling me would have been your best bet!  Texting is one kill method

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8. 79

   Wayne Brownposted 14 years ago

   Ironically, as easy and as instantaneous as communications has become with the advent of technology, it has also become such an electronic medium that we have lost the emotion that face to face discussions bring.  Texting and emailing is also undermining our ability to spell correctly.  Some of it is intentional but too much of it is not. I think we could all step back a bit and weigh the impact in our lives.  We need to hang on to the good that it brings and find ways to dispense with the bad.  WB

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9. 57

   valerie millerposted 14 years ago

   I don't know if it is killing it but is definitely changing it....Balance is a very important issue here.... but a cell phone and a computer can not substitute a hug or a cup of coffee with a friend...

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    Butch Newsposted 14 years ago

    It depends upon the person.  There are a lot of idiots out there and they become mesmerized by social media and the neat gadgets.
    
    Technology is making people more aware of possibilities but blinding them to the obvious things right in front of them so the technology may distract a person from what is really important in their relationships.
    
    And many people don't share the same love of technology.
    
    It seems to be a 2 edged sword.  On the one hand it makes keeping in touch easier, but it opens the doors to straying from a relationship and forgetting to show how much you care about those who are close to you.

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11. 52

    pitwelrotichposted 14 years ago

    Yes it play a big role in making people grow apart.

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12. 61

    joleenruffinposted 14 years ago

    I think that technology has made it easier for me to have closer relationships. People that I had a hard time staying in touch with, I am able to stay in touch with now through social media. For example, I am able to keep in touch with my cousin who lives in New Zealand (I'm in the States) because we can chat on facebook, I can see what's happening in her life through facebook posts etc. and vice versa.

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13. 65

    FloBeposted 14 years ago

    Close relationships is about communicating with each other. I think what is lost in technological communication is touch. We need it, crave it, and unfortunately for many, find it in inappropriate ways. We try to find a substitute to fill those feelings of alone-ness that being in the presence of someone who really cares gives.
    On the flip side (as others have mentioned), technology makes the world a smaller place. Mother and daughter separated by oceans can still speak "in person" through skype; siblings can keep in touch with a chat program, emails or texts usually get through instantly. Long gone are the days when you had to wait up to two weeks or more for a letter in regular mail, only to discover that the person no longer felt the same "crisis" as expressed within its pages. Emotions can be expressed quickly and passed over just as quickly.
    Perhaps the convenience of technology has made it easier to maintain a lot of relationships, but at the cost of developing really close relationships with a few.

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14. 76

    Wesman Todd Shawposted 14 years ago

    Yes and no, yes, as far as physical closeness is concerned. . . it's not helping that at all.  Me?  I feel really close to some people who are nowhere near where I am physically, but I am also "here" on the internet, and so are you, correct?  So in that way, the way in which I can feel very close to people with whom I communicate online, the answer is "no."

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15. 75

    Lady Wordsmithposted 14 years ago

    Not for me - the technology that I make use of, mobile phone and internet, has enhanced my life beyond all recognition.  I have regained contact with people that I lost touch with (I know lots of people use the argument that we lose touch with people because we don't really like them anyway, or whatever - but that's a lame argument, because quite often it's just not true; people lose touch for all kinds of reasons, and there's one friend I've been trying to get back in touch with for a few years whom I just can't find!  If she would just get herself on facebook I'd find her in a couple of minutes!), and I am able to keep in touch with friends and family who live on the other side of the world.  Sure, it's not as good as a hug and a cup of tea together, but it's better than nothing, which is what I had before.  Letters are great, and I write letters too - but they take a long time to reach their destination, and are almost more impersonal than chatting online, because the conversation is always one-sided - you always have to wait a long time for the response, by which time, the moment has gone and the response is irrelevant!  But I do still love letters.
    
    Talking online with people, and texting friends, has made me much more sociable - I never used to meet friends for coffee before, used to keep myself to myself.  But social networking with friends and family who live in my town has really brought me out of my shell.  I meet up with friends every week, and I see family as often as I can.  This is all down to facebook!  I think facebook is a wonderful thing, if used properly - and I believe that I use it properly
    
    So, no, for me technology is not killing my ability to close relationships - quite the reverse.  And texting and emailing have not affected my spelling at all!  *quickly checks through answer for spelling mistakes!*
    
    Linda.

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16. 68

    home witchposted 14 years ago

    I don't think so, not if you use technology to your own advantage. I live very far from my mother, a whole continent away and because of technology I get to keep in close contact with her no matter the distance. Similarly, though in this global age I have people I consider my siblings spread far across the globe we are still able to keep in touch, to know what's going on in their lives and still be involved. If it wasn't for technology, it would be a question of out of sight, out of mind.
    My husband and I chat over MSN all the time - it allows us to keep in touch even when he's at work and I'm writing, so no, not really. If it takes you away from people you love, it's because you allow it to. You need to control the beast, not let it control you.

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17. 73

    ptosisposted 14 years ago

    
    
    Can I answer for some one else who wouldn't be online in the first place?
    
    "The Amish are averse to any technology which they feel weakens the family structure."
    
    Of course there are different flavors, 'plain people' may have a land line but it's outside the house, may ride in air-filled tires but not own a car. And they will adopt such as when milk in the 1960's had to be pasturized the works are made of glass instead of alunimium. Refusal of technology is arbitary. Before 18 kids can do anything without reprisal called wilding. At adulthood they chose to live plain or be of the world.

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18. 62

    rotlposted 14 years ago

    I think it is. Instead of talking, we now facebook, IM, email, or text. People hardly need to meet face to face. We've already forgotten how to write in cursive, soon we'll be speaking in abbreviations like OMG and WTF... oh wait, we already are!

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19. 90

    lindaceeposted 14 years ago

    Absolutely. I think within a generation or two, the spoken word will no longer have much impact. Even now it is being replaced by online chat and texting. People will lose the ability to communicate on a close, personal level.

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20. 59

    Rebecca Saundersposted 14 years ago

    yes....and ....no! Yes if we spend all our time communicating only through technology and forget how to 'connect' in the real world  -  and no, if it may be one of the main ways you have to communicate.
    
    I have M.E. which makes it difficult for me to maintain a busy social life. I maintain a couple of extremely healthy and incredible 'real-world' relationships but also have wonderfully deep and connected friendships with other ME sufferers most of whom I will never meet in person.
    
    Some days I find it too exhausting to hold a conversation, but I am able to write. I belong to a 'secret' facebook group with 19 others who have a similar illness and the level of intimacy and openness continues to astound me. It feels to me that I am developing very close and real friendships with some of the people on the group - perhaps the distance of being online allows us a bit more freedom to be deeply honest about how we really feel?
    
    I, for one, am so grateful for the interaction that technology allows me.

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21. 56

    wwpauljdposted 14 years ago

    YEs and no.
    Yes because you don't actually talk face to face which makes a huge difference. When you talk face to face you can see the persons expressions, gestures, emotions. etc
    No because it is much easier to start a conversation online or via txt msgs since you really dont know the person and you have a lot of time to think before answering.

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22. 48

    jonvyposted 14 years ago

    it depends on the person using the technology.if you use it correctly i think it is helpful yet if you abuse it maybe it will defeat the purpose of its purpose.

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