Mashable - The Social Media Guide - Latest Comments in Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

shilpz — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:31:10 -0000

hi Krishna i think u r Indian i have my won website dedicated for India www.petitions.in god place for people like u do visit

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

shilpz — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:26:37 -0000

i agree with ling .technology is what world is all about you are worried with the things which we used to give importance years ago but now we are nothing with technology .who want interaction like chit chat . you are more concern with with humanity but here i just say i don't give dam to humanity

taking me as example i don't communicate much even with my husband i don't i just Google them up i just feel Google is my best friend

who don't want to get updated i thing being updated makes lot of sense in todays world.
so frnd nice article but its just matter of thing
either its goes worst or it goes nice ?

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

alex — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:47:05 -0000

Sure, face-toface is great. But for some women, particularly dieters or women in search of an exercise motivator, the 'real thing' can be simply feeling like you're part of a plan. I think that's why the You Can Do It Programs on fitnessmagazine.com and other stuff like that in the women's mag world are so popular. You can motivate without a whole lot of effort or money down. The most recent plan in FITNESS, one with Daisy Fuentes on the cover, is part of a great series. THis onelets you eat a dessert a day.

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

Krishna Prasad — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:18:43 -0000

There is no reason to be worried about this. No system is perfect. Good and bad go together it depends what to choose and what not to. Like if you see community sites like Orkut give an excellent opportunity to get in touch with long lost buddies. i think internet has given us a cheapest way to get information and communicate with the world. there are more positive aspects than negative aspects in using these technologies. i think this is a great change and more to come.................

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

Orrorin — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 05:07:04 -0000

Why not start talking again with our neighbors?
This is a long forgotten practice in cities (even before the rise of the Internet).
We can use it as a "remediation for a communication disability" :o)

However, is this time spent together relevant? Will we be able to find interesting conversation points other than the lack of parking space or the newly acquired bbq?

We could also start organising small mashable bbqs. This will provide informal meetings for the members.
But then again, why would you like to meet me? (don't worry I'm quite ok)
Are you planning to start a real conversation on this topic hoping we'll find more related interests?

The technology streches our reach, helping us develop new relevant connections based on similarities and interests. And this is great because someone in Peru might be more relevant to me than my neighbors two houses away.

The sad part is that most connections are extremely superficial and are based on limited profiles or cool pictures, we waste our time developing new "empty" relations. Some might feel comfortable with the feeling they are heard, even if virtually, but then again, it's just a sham.

And with the new ?Phones, it will worsen...

Some cities have a "no driving day", why not start with a "no mobile phone and internet day"?
Preferably during sunny weekends...

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

Mike — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:05:40 -0000

I'm intrigued by how many of these new communication technologies are text based. Sure there is skype et al but the general progression seems to be away from voice and in to the written word.

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

Thomas Waters — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 11:38:08 -0000

Interesting point, but then, isn't the problem human nature instead of technology?

People have always run the gamut of experience. Some people reach for high levels of engagement in life, while others do not and settle for what is easiest. Each of us individually have to ask ourselves- at the end of the day, did we get everything we wanted out of out last 24 hours? and if not, what do we want to do differently in the next 24 hours?

Even before technology (as we are discussing it) some people could and did choose to remain unconnected- and shy away from intimate interactions. This is not a new thing. Perhaps easier today, but not new.

I don't ever want to see technology replace in-person interaction completely. I want to see it find its place, and use it where it makes the most sense and fits well.

Steve, the biggest problem I have with your argument is the dualistic nature of it. This is better than that. Rather than both have pros and cons- both have a valued place, and what might the best use of each be. Does that make sense?

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

Carlos Hernandez — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 15:00:13 -0000

I enjoyed reading your perspective and at times I blend the tech and in-person worlds.

For example, I am currently vacationing on Long Island where the locals gather to chat or even gossip at diners. Diners are the central stations of surburban conversation.

Conversely, as I was sitting before the opening curtain of a Broadway show the audiences' teenagers were busily texting their last messages.

Each symbolize an extreme and it takes effort to keep it balanced.

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

janie — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:11:32 -0000

I couldn't describe my own feelings on the matter better than you did about technology being a great thing you wouldn't want to be without. We simply don't want to be dependent on it. Human to human interaction is important and can't consist of a million so called friends on Myspace who we really don't know anything about except what they want us to. We shouldn't be so emotionally involved with our technology yet we see it happening all the time these days. I'm guilty of taking it much too personally when the power goes out and I can't play games or web surf on one of my computers which have replaced TV and a significant other nearly 100 percent for years starting before Wolfentein 3d even came out so don't think I'm pointing the finger at everyone else out there who adores their computers. We just have to be careful not to get too dependent on technology, that's all I'm saying.

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

Ling — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 04:20:59 -0000

Actually, you should be more worried about the destruction of the learning process, rather than social skills. I mean, if you don't know something, all you do is Google it up and make use of the ready information without really understanding it. Time was when people actually had to buy a book, read things (like learning programming) and understand them. Now, you just google it up, find a script or a widget and you're good to go.

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

Eric Rice — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:01:17 -0000

While technology might provide awkward in small distances and local situations (think of all the times you see people unreasonably glued to twitter), it has personally allowed me to have a worldwide network for friends and colleagues.

In almost every country in the world, I have people that I can hang with, socialize with, do deals with-- nearly all of whom are those I've connected with online or other technological means.

When my wife and I went to Tokyo for my birthday, our schedule was pretty maxxed since there were so many people to hang out with face-to-face.

So the future is bright, as long as we learn to find balance now.

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

brad — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 01:11:47 -0000

But the internet has provided me with such narrow interests and hobbies that nobody IRL knows what I'm talking about!

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

Bernard Moon — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:56:07 -0000

Great post. I agree with you. The physical presence and interaction between people is critical and will increase in its importance as technology continues to improve. Even with video conferencing, there is no replacement to receiving nonverbal communication and the bond that physical presence brings between people.

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

Graham Chastney — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:37:23 -0000

Nice post - thanks for the reference.

I think we still have a long way to go with technology before it does some of the things we do without it. It's going to be a very long time before you can do everything on a teleconference/videoconference that you can do on in a face to face meeting. Have you ever tried brainstorming with more than two people over a video link - pointless. Give the same set of people a room and bits of paper and magic happens.

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

lousir — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:11:06 -0000

Yea, I am really missing the quality time I can be spending with car salesman while trying get a reasonable price on a new car.

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

willfoxy — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:37:45 -0000

p.s i'm seeing an hilariously ironic ad for cisco on the right, anyone else? :)

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

willfoxy — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:36:07 -0000

there's a simple balance to find. once we start getting sombre about one thing or another it can stifle creativity. i'm in touch with my close friends almost 24/7 now, compared to 5 years ago when we'd occasionally text and meet at weekends. and it's great. and i can still 'un-plug' if i feel like it!

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

Serial — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:30:46 -0000

What if it comes back to sense and memory?

Think: The smell of an old lover's cologne brings back a memory long locked away. If you have no smells, no breezes on your skin, no light glinting off of your companion's arm to associate with the conversation you had with him, how much different is the memory of the conversation stored in your brain? Can it incite the same kind of response in your mind, the same string of connections that are the hallmark of great art?

But goddam if I don't love me some lolcats!

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

Man of Exception — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:42:22 -0000

Ironically enough, I was writing about this similar topic on my website when I came across this article and I agree with the message completely.

I think a lot of "nerds" (and I say it loosely to avoid sounding condescending) spend too much of their lives in a fictional reality of IMs and Twitter and blogging and forums and the like.

They have e-friends and e-girlfriends and e-lives that don't necessarily correlate with actual living. Since many of these people possess a lack of social skills, they use the internet to recreate the lives they wish they could have in their own reality.

When writing for my own site, I try to get as far away from my PC as humanly possible, just to avoid the writer's block that used to occur from checking e-mail and other nuisances that come with being on the internet. I understand Chastney's take on it completely.

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

StevenHodson — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:23:44 -0000

I agree about there needing to be a balance between all forms of communication but it is human nature I think to always take the easiest way out and electronic communication allows us to do this much easier.

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

StevenHodson — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:21:18 -0000

electronic comunication allows us all to be emotional cowards. I think it in some ways also allows us to bypass any responsibility for our actions.

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

StevenHodson — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:20:14 -0000

or do we even want this to happen?

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

StevenHodson — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:19:33 -0000

I realize that electronic communication has its place and is extremely valuable. That still doesn't make it an intimate vehicle for that eye to eye contact where you can feel what is being said. It is this emotional part of connecting with a person on a much more basic human level that is important and something technology cannot - and should not - replace.

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

StevenHodson — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:15:35 -0000

your writing can't be any worse than mine :)

Re: Is the Internet Destroying Real World Interactions?

Jonathan — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:15:15 -0000

Of course, we're all making the dewey-eyed assumption that face-to-face communication is a good thing, or at least better than the other kinds.

That's not a very safe thing to say given the horrific history of the human race until now, and the fact (which of course might change) that the net and attendant forms of communication have been on the whole pretty damn good for all of us.