Technology as a barrier to social interaction

Has nobody brought up escapism yet?

My iPhone is my opiate...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUzFtWNOOOU

Connor L. wrote: Has nobody brought up escapism yet?

My iPhone is my opiate...

That's what i was referring to...

Same reason food, drugs, alcohol, etc, gets abused....

Lack of wanting to be "where they are"...

Sorry Jestor, you're totally right. :laugh:

Were you "escapism"ing?

Lol... :lol:...

Must be so!

Yes, technology has blinded people for year's, and I just hope that they wake up, we are losing the human touch to things.

You know, in my day before radio or TV or internet, we'd just stomp off into the mountains, find a cave, and stare at the wall. Not a better way I can think of to tune everyone out!

Safe it is to say that screens, like all other drugs, are distractions and there are both good and bad distractions. Good ones take your mind off of troubling thoughts that can be depresssing or even painful. These give your mind a chance to decompress and formulate a way to move forward. The bad distractions are the one that you can not take yourself away from be it and like Jestor says taking you out of the here and now. Also screens are a valuble tool keep yourself up to date on friends and family but take you away from your intented focus...it's time to turn it off.
Is technology a barrier? Only when not taken in moderation.

MTFBWY

Edan wrote: I'm talking about offline rather than online.

A common thing I see is people sitting or standing in places where they're supposed to be 'people facing'.. but they're actually staring at their phone. I find it quite annoying when I'm trying to talk to someone but they're more interested in texting.

I generally think about it in the form of manners... but do you think that we (everyone we, not us Jedi we) are too 'involved' in technology and not enough in being conscious in everyday life?

I see this kind of behavior every day with my students. During the lesson everyone feels the need to exchange and chat with the person sitting next to them. As soon as the break begins, the room falls dead quiet and everyone stares at their screen, looks like a hoard of zombies sometimes. The psychology behind this is difficult to grasp. I guess it's an addiction for some, others just use it to relax after having had to concentrate for a while, I guess. I personally find the behavior somewhat disturbing. I know that some schools ban electronic gadgets on their premises, but I've yet to see a study that would confirm that bans like these are beneficial.

One of my students actually did a term paper on cell phone use. She came to the conclusion that it's partly peer pressure and the fear of missing out on something that keeps the people glued to their Facebook accounts.