Technology: Has it brought US closer or further apart?

Has it brought us physically closer? No. It seems that face-to-face human interaction time might have decreased with the advent of the telephone and now the Internet. But we can’t forget that these technological tools have the potential to connect people on a meaningful level.

With that said, I don’t think it’s healthy if the majority of someone’s human interaction is done via the internet or texting, etc. I think nothing beats old fashioned face time. Sure it can be more difficult or inconvenient but you learn more about yourself when dealing with people in real life.

Growing up in a relatively sheltered home and community, the internet has helped me learn far more about my fellow man than I would have learned otherwise, I think. It also gave a way to find people with similar interests to my own, the negative part being that I now long for these same social interactions in my real life (for example, I know no comic book fans off the internet, besides my brothers).

Both. It allows us to find people like us more easily. It allows us to meet people we would never otherwise meet. It allows us to cooperate with people no matter where they are.

On the other hand, there is a digital divide between those with access to technology and those without. They do not get any advantages from technology, and the gap between them and the people with access to technology is growing. Our lives are becoming increasingly un-understandable to each other.

Well, it’s brought us closer together on Fluther.

Well, certainly technology has done a lot of good.
Technology also granted us more efficient ways of killing our enemies.

While I enjoy the connections the Internet offers, I think in the long run, technology alienates us from real life and real experience.

If you see someone walking with a cell phone, they are not in the now.

If someone is spending their life tweeting about their life, they are not living it.

Technology is not so separate from man. If you look at it from the perspective, that a car eats, moves, breaths, then it’s similar to a liveing thing. Or if you look at a one of those computer board things with the little odd bits and silicon and copper lines running everywhere that’s kind of like our cities from a birdeye view. And if you don’t take LSD kids, you don’t end up saying stuff like this.

In a global sense, I think it brings people closer. I have come to know people from all over the world through common interests expressed and explored on the internet.

Sometimes at home, I will be in one room working on the laptop and my husband in another on his laptop and we will communicate with skype or ichat. It is funny we are only a room apart but if it were not for the lappys maybe we wouldn’t talk at all, at least at that moment.

A little of both is my opinion!

It has brought us much closer in numerous ways while allowing us to be physically more apart. But it also lets us become physically closer as well (such as meeting a romantic partner). Humans are very social creatures, and the internet lets us fulfill that need through various ways (talking on this very site, taking and sharing pictures or videos, chatting with close friends on Facebook) at one’s personal convenience. I have to say, I couldn’t imagine sustaining as many friendships as I do now without the help of the net.

Closer. The world seems a much smaller place now that I can look up just about anything on the computer. News is instant and 24/7 if you want it, anyone can be a reporter with a celly, you can tour famous sites via webcams, see satellite imagery of where your friends’ favorite local spots are, attend live seminars, etc. I lurve tech.

We are closer. Facebook, AOL, Fluther, twitter. We can effortlessly talk to people a world away.
I remember being an operator, having to patch cords to talk to Hong Kong, or Europe.
We live in remarkable times. These are days of miracles and wonders.

Ask a woman with a vibrator.

My first reaction would be further apart. Instead of sitting with friends and talking, I’m typing and looking at your avatars on the screen. How has this brought anyone closer? On the other hand, if you are introverted, or live far away from people, or are just shy – this is a way to connect – and ultimately meet up with people, too.

With the kids – I’d rather spend quality time with my teens – but it’s not always possible. When I get a text “I love you” from them, I know it’s the equivalent of writing a real letter, posting it, and even placing a stamp on it, for their generation. This new generation grew up with the technology; we, on the other hand, understand (and therefore compare) both worlds.