Can Cyber-Communication Weaken Relationships?
I always wonder if I am alone in thinking that electronic mail, text messaging, and social networks depreciate our relationship with others. Things we used to say face to face can now be conveyed ‘mechanically.’
This results in a number of changes; it eliminates our ability to see the other person’s facial expressions, which can communicate a great deal. Our circles of friends increase to a significantly larger number because we are able to befriend people very easily online. For example, people who have hundreds of ‘friends’ on Facebook have many friends that are simply acquaintances. Yet, because so much of their lives are exposed on Facebook, we suddenly know lots of random information about them. This can leave us with less time to concentrate on our relationships with people that are closer to us.
I myself am a great sucker for Gmail chat. It is easy to use and very reliable. I feel like I am freer to speak my mind. I find it easier to say things because chat is less formal. In one aspect this feeds our laziness, although, John Suler’s The Psychology of Cyberspace points out that email forces us to be more creative in expressing the “subtle voice and body language cues (that) are lost.” This may entail more effort for some people. The positive of email shortcuts is that it frees up our time to accomplish other things.
I love Facebook too. It instantly updates me on the comings and goings of my friends. The downside: I think I know what’s going on in their lives and no longer feel the need to call them. When I do, I realize how much I miss without verbal conversation.
Ravenwerks – Global Ethics, Etiquette and Effectiveness, successfully tackles The Downside of Personal Communication Devices! They really seem to have their ‘head screwed on’ with regard to drawing the line between work and personal life. Easy access to these communication systems causes us to unintentionally merge all aspects of our lives. Is this what we really want? Thankfully, Ravenwerks suggests ways to segregate the work and the personal.
Having grown up in a cyber-world, I wonder what it would be like to have to write letters, and send them via post, and to indulge in eloquent conversation. It just seems so real. And yes, I know I can do that today, but today we seem to have so much less time for these ‘luxuries.’ We are not forced to live the way we were then. We live in a fast pace, flat world.
Interesting piece. On the upside: increased opportunity for social networking can broaden horizons and allow for friendships that wouldn’t otherwise develop. Having a longer friend list doesn’t mean that the your inner circle of friends has to suffer from lack of intimacy. If you play it right, you can have the advantages of both.