Technology x Interpersonal Relationships must = Balance

"In LA... nobody touches you. We're always behind this medal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much that we crash into each other just so we can feel something." Don Cheadle, Crash 2007.

While it is true that America has evolved from a society of slow archaic manual labor to a technologically advanced society where a girl in New York could keep in contact with her friend in China with a push of a button or the fact that companies can hold merger talks using a Video Teleconference (VTC) or have internal organizational meetings by way of Virtual Private Network (VPN). Because of technology, our personal and professional lives are more productive and fulfilling now more then ever before.

On the other hand, technology has had an adverse effect on many people in our society. For instance, when we go to the checkout counter at various stores, there is an automated checkout counter where there use to be a cashier or when we use to talk to each other on the phone, but now we find it more convenient to email or text message one another. Something seems wrong! Whatever happen to a good old fashion hand shake or meeting a women face to face instead of through a computer system that tells one who would best suit them. How about experiencing "love at first sight" without having to meet all of her friends and family on MySpace or meeting 10 women in a matter of 20 minutes during a speed dating session (as though someone could determine who they wanted to date in that short amount of time).

I feel that current and future technology coupled with the Internet are excellent tools that will propel us further and faster on to this information highway that we are now traveling. It is important that we don't let the basic things that make us human beings fall into a ditch on the side of the road during our high speed travels. In some cases, we as a society have become less interpersonal with one another due to our use of technology. We let our emails and text messages say I love you or rather the numbers 1-4-3 replaces our warm voice that could reassure her of our feelings. Many arguments have occurred and some relationships have even broken up due to miscommunication from using these written mediums. In most cases, a simple telephone call could have alleviated the misunderstanding. As we continue to march further and faster into the 21st century it is important not to get trapped behind the computer or telephone texting screens. These mediums should not be a persons primary means of communication. Rather, one should find balance and develop a technological/interpersonal relationship in both their personal and professional lives.