Social Interaction

Social interaction has changed a dramatic amount in recent years. We've gone from going out for coffee, working out with friends, movie nights, and dinners, to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Pinterest, e-mails, and texting. We spend more time interacting on our own terms and however we want, than learning to deal with people. Humans crave interaction, touch, acceptance and love. We gain this by replacing it with constant connection to technology and a multitude of friends on the other end. However, it's not what we really need. We need other people to talk to, facial expressions, a hug, and a gentle pat on the shoulder for reassurance.

According to a study done by World Technology Report recently released by Cisco Systems, Inc., "Forty percent of the college-age participants stated that the Internet is more important than dating or going out with friends. Technology was used when you couldn't see someone face-to-face. Now, face-to-face is being used when we can't get to someone through technology," Roca said.
The relationship between technology and the 18-to-30 age group may be even more severe than initially suspected. One out of every three students and young professionals said that they considered the Internet to be just as necessary to survival as food, water and shelter."

Moreover, too much attachment to technology can produce health concerns. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg recently studied more than 4,100 Swedish men and women between the ages of 20 and 24 for a year and found that a majority of them who constantly use a computer and mobile phones can develop stress, sleeping disorders and depression." Thomee said in the study. “It was easy to spend more time than planned at the computer (e.g., working, gaming, or chatting), and this tended to lead to time pressure, neglect of other activities and personal needs (such as social interaction, sleep, physical activity), as well as bad ergonomics, and mental overload.”
The study found a correlation between stress and always being available on the phone.

It doesn't stop there. Technology is beginning to affect our children. A website for parents called iKeepSafe has an article detailing some things observed by a school principal: Socially, they learn to instant message friends rather than develop face-to-face relationships, which can impact their way of relating to peers. As one principal explained: “The Internet is hurting their ability to work in groups. Our teachers struggle to get them to participate in any kind of team assignments; instead they would all rather stare at the computer. When I observe them talking to one another in the hallway, I see young girls who are socially aggressive or inappropriate, and I can’t help but think that the Internet is socializing them in ways that emotionally stunts them and makes it difficult for them to deal with others in the real world.”

Real social interaction is becoming a caveman type principle and is affecting physical and mental health, as well as our future generations. While technology can help you stay in touch with grandma, too much can harm you.


http://www.eaglenews.org/study-shows-internet-is-replacing-real-social-interaction-1.2645627

http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2012/07/17/study-people-who-are-constantly-online-can-develop-mental-disorders/

http://www.ikeepsafe.org/be-a-pro/balance/too-much-time-online/