So...there have been a ridiculous number of reviews on this movie. I have not yet seen it, but the more and more I hear about it, the more I've felt that I've already seen it.
Unlike many other college students, I only text when I have to, only check my facebook about once a month, and I've never "tweeted" in my life. My mom e-mails more than I do, and I have no desire to take photos of every event that I go to and put them all up on my facebook page.
I do not own an iPhone. In fact, my phone doesn't even have internet, and I have my original ring-tone that I've had since the beginning. I've owned it for four years.
The movie, "The Social Network", seems to merely explain how it all got started, but the truth is there has always been a form of it in one way or another. Instead of listening to the local gossip and knowing who to talk to, now it's just "go on facebook". It's a way of making things worse, I feel, and it honestly scares me as to how much interaction people do over the computer.
My friends and I don't e-mail each other, and we never text each other. Over the summer, we have virtually no contact with one another, but when we see each other again, we get along as though no time has passed. Hard to believe, I know, but none of us like to. We are an anomaly in this generation. All of us prefer face-to-face interaction. And because of the way I was raised, I know, for a fact, that nearly all communication, real and honest communication, is communicated nonverbally. That's right.
By limiting our communication to the computer, we are completely cutting ourselves off and destroying an important part of the human experience. It's called the human experience for a reason. Because we talk *directly* to people. People wonder why marriage is dwindling and divorce is increasing...well, here's one of the reasons.
People think that sending a text to your boyfriend or girlfriend saying that you love them is considered an interaction for the day, so when two people try to actually talk face-to-face they don't know how to act because they don't know what to do. They have no clue how to *read* the other person. My mom has taught me all about this, and I completely agree with her. We are losing something so important, but the sad part is that people don't even realize it. In a few generations, talking will cease to exist, and all communications will be done through computers.
To me, that is absolutely horrifying.
So, my advice is this... TALK TO SOMEONE!! (without using any electronics)
I feel a little strange posting a comment on here, thinking maybe I should call you instead, but I would like my comment to be seen by others as well! (which is one thing that I think is a benefit of electronic communication- same message can go out to multiple people at once, even to people to whom you wouldn't ordinarily send the message...)
ReplyDeleteMy one defense of facebook is that I LOVE being connected to good friends from my past. I had two best friends in elementary school, and after I moved away I lost contact with them until we connected on Facebook (after 15 years!). One of them is a mom like me now, and I love seeing how the person that I knew and loved then has grown and changed, yet still remained so much of who she is as a mother!
Yes, facebook can be very addictive for people like me who crave social interaction (that's what happens when you're around people under 4 feet tall all day) but I think it's also a valuable and convenient tool to stay in touch and maintain connections that otherwise would have been lost. I am also often more comfortable communicating through the written word rather than face-to-face- I'm still a little shy, and I feel I express myself much more clearly when I can edit! Also, my husband found his biological father through facebook and is now building a relationship with him- you just never know!
Nothing takes the place of face-to-face interaction, that's for sure, and I am in agreement that there are a lot of members of the younger generation who are losing their social skills due to overusing technology. But let's not write it off altogether- I think that, like anything, if it is used in moderation it is a great thing!
Oh, and by the way- the only thing my cell phone does is send and recieve phone calls. I think it can text too, but I never use that. It's so basic that I even had someone who mistook it for a toy phone! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to defend texting...
ReplyDeleteMy brother, the great jet-setting world traveler, has a program on his phone that sends me a text automatically with his flight number and departure/arrival times. I find this completely invaluable. I would never know where in the world he is without it! And I can understand why it wouldn't always be feasible to call and tell me the info, especially if he's running, bags in hand, to his gate. And what if I didn't have a pen and paper handy when he called? I could have him talk directly to my voicemail, but somehow that seems worse.
As a whole, I totally agree with your comments,though. I cannot tell you how aggravated I get with electronic gizmos that infringe on family time. (If the person I'm talking about is reading this, sorry. At least I'm not mentioning names!) The person can be in the same room with you, but their brain is not engaged in the same environment that you're in, so they might as well be on the moon.
Yet another way we're losing face-to-face communication because of electronic gadgetry and programs. :(
I agree that we are losing face-to-face communications because of electronics. I also see at work the problems that people face when they think that they are making friends online, only to being taken advantage of, and lose a lot of money to their so-called friends.
ReplyDeleteI do not like to use the telephone, because I have had to spend a lot of time on the phone at work, and I prefer not talking period whenever possible. I also do not like my cell phone very much, because I don't like being able to be reached any time and anywhere. I have tried to convince my husband that I don't need it anymore, because I have a work phone and a home phone, but he says it makes him feel that I am safer if he can reach me any time.
I have to defend email though, because I like to write. I feel like I communicate better in writing actually, because I don't feel intimidated, or anxious like I can when speaking. I used to do a lot of letter writing back in the days before email, but I imagine that most of my friends and family would think I had gone absolutely insane if they got letters every week from me in the mail.
My two pet peeves of the electronic age are the internet and television though. To me television is just background noise, and most times I would rather it not be on. The internet also drives me crazy, because I like to learn things the old-fashioned way, through experience and reading different types of books. Both of these media seem to interfere a lot with what I would say is quality family time.