If one thing is becoming more clear, it’s that society is plummeting into a deep, anti-social spiral. It’s becoming more noticeable when we interact with people outside of our social groups or different cultures. People don’t know how to verbalize their thoughts correctly or even have a normal conversation. People “stick to their own,” to what is comfortable. It’s frustrating, and it’s due to how our modern society utilizes technology.
Basically, everything nowadays is technology-based. You can order food through an app and someone will bring it right to you. A computer will answer your questions rather than a classmate or coworker. You don’t have to rely on word of mouth for events or good news, you just see a “status update” and click a button to congratulate someone.
Social times are rapidly changing and, contrary to popular belief, it’s not for the better.
Banks are now encouraging their customers to use a mobile app or ATMs rather than speaking to a teller. They are even going to great lengths to accomplish this by removing tellers from their banks and relying on instant tellers. Consequently, we’re missing out on golden opportunities for financial advice that could better prepare us for the future.
Additionally, grocery stores are offering more and more self-checkout lanes or those that only accept a card instead of cash. People who use cash are still out there; I’m one of them. Hence, It frustrates me when I go to a store and can’t use a certain line because I only have cash on me, and am forced to wait in a ridiculously long line. Additionally, I refuse to use self-checkouts because they are a leading cause for loss of employment. And I actually care about other people getting work.
Yards are getting smaller while the homes keep getting bigger. Enjoying all the wonders nature has to offer has been minimized, and today’s youth’s imagination is dwindling. Instead of playing in their friend’s yard for hours, they play on a tablet indoors (where the WiFi connection is stronger than their friendships).
What kind of life lessons are we teaching them, aside from how to be antisocial?
Customer service has become atrocious anywhere you go. Whether it’s speaking to a frustrating automatic voice recording that doesn’t understand you half the time or waiting on a vague email response that ultimately gets you nowhere. It’s rare you get people with a sense of urgency or a fabricated sense of care. Everywhere you go people are rude when they actually have to do their job to help you. I find speaking to a person resolves issues much quicker, even if it angers you how you are being spoken to at times.
Furthermore, everybody has a phone with so many abilities yet no one actually spends time talking. Instead, they stay isolated watching videos on a small screen, wear earbuds to ignore the sounds of life around them, and type everything they want to say. Social media has also made it extremely easy to become too outspoken and anonymous. Also, it has taken away the need for anyone to be accountable. How does this make any sense?
Think about it — our adventures aren’t fully being fulfilled in life because we are too focused on having other people see them instead of actually enjoying them. A moment must be truly special for it to take our breath away and make us focus on the beauty in front of our eyes. And those are few and far between.
Now, you can call me old-fashioned for my belief that technology has lessened social interaction in our society. Some may argue that electronic jobs are becoming more common and provide an opportunity for those who may not find it in the physical world — which I do agree with. But I also believe we should still have the option to socialize and it should be enforced. Our personal connection, communication, and interaction is far more important than the connection of WiFi. Relationships are what is most important in life — not the number of devices we own.
Featured image from @igorstarkoff via Unsplash.
