I think that technology has a huge influence on social interaction. I think that people now sometimes use alternatives to real interaction by virtually interacting through AIM, Gmail Chat, Facebook, Blogger, etc. I think that the spread of technology has had a positive impact on my everyday face to face interaction, but I think that for some people it has created a negative effect. For example, I still see my friends all the time and I would much rather go to the mall or go get coffee than skype with someone for a few hours. Unfortunately, I do know some people that spend all their time online and have even had some friends who told me they cannot hang out because they are too busy online, which I think is just RIDICULOUS. But for some people who have serious social anxiety or phobias of interacting with others, I think that it can be helpful to interact with others online where it is not as intimidating, and then hopefully also learn how to face to face interact with others.
When it comes to meeting people online, I find the whole thing absolutely sketchy. When I was younger (probably about 13 to the age of 15), I had a Myspace account and I would have people I did not know contact me. Sometimes I knew it was a fake account and other times it was creepy older men who had kids as old as I was. I think because of this I am never accepting of meeting people online. In cases where you have met the person before, even briefly, I think it is fine to get to know them better online. As for dating websites, I guess that they can be a good place to meet someone but I am still a little bit skeptical about the actual legitimacy of that other person.
I think that we as a society should be a little worried about how technology is affecting our ability to interact face to face with others. While I do not think that everyone will lose that ability to interact, considering we are quite social creatures, that for some people it can be a little worrisome. I think that children at a young age need to be taught not to rely on the internet as a means of getting things across, but that face to face interaction is much more natural and better. I think that this will also reduce online bullying significantly and lead to a much more safe internet life for kids. Overall the internet is a great way to connect to all kinds of people all over the world and to obtain tons of information that would be virtually impossible without it, but as a society I think that we just need to know to not take it too far and loose real connections in real life.
Blog Review/Reflection:
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog. I thought the focus of each entry was great and you addressed some great points. There was a bit of everything, from sociology to images and videos! The use of examples from your own life was great and really added to your blog. Plus the real world connections and current events made it interesting and fun to read. I like hearing about people's opinions on things like Facebook/iPhones/etc because they are so prevalent in our society. Nice job!
I also don't believe in online dating with the exception of like you mentioned, having met the person before physically and just using social networking as a way to get to know that person because atleast you know that the individual you are speaking to is existant and has a face you can recognize in case something bad were to occur. Dating sites can be a bit sketchy because you don't know the true identity of the person you are speaking to, but then again...even in face-to-face interactions there still exists that possibility of being lied to. Getting the full, extended truth about any person is difficult either way, but the internet does make it easier for the creation of a misleading and non-existant real life identity.
ReplyDeleteI guess I've been lucky with meeting people online. I've always thought Myspace was sketchy, which is why I never had one. However, I think forums and Facebook can provide good introductions to people. In my case, the people I interacted with on forums became my Facebook friends, and I've actually met some of them in real life. Dating sites are interesting... I've never used them, but I know people for which those sites have worked. These are people who would have had a difficult time finding someone because of appearance or age. That's a pro of anonymity - appearance and age are blurred so those people have a chance.
ReplyDeleteI am in agreement especially with how technology relates to our youth. So much of interaction today is computer-mediated communication and I think it is important to teach kids important social skills well before they are interacting via technology. I am glad I grew up when I did because internet and cellular technology was not so prevalent until into my teens.
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