The Lost Art of Social Interaction

Before you read any further... I'm going to throw my hands up and confess. This article is going to come across as a bit contrary... but there's a point and we'll get there so bear with me and try to keep your inner keyboard warrior Zen, at least until the last paragraph.

So technology huh? It's ruining our ability to socially interact. Sure, we'll bare our souls, our inner desires, our deepest secrets and explicit pictures with random profiles of people who may not even exist, but we can't acknowledge the bus driver in the morning. 

Social media then isn't entirely social. It gets worse too. Thanks to technology, we don't even need to speak to people to order anything. Our cabs arrive like clockwork, our bills are paid with bleeps and ask yourself when was the last time you actually spoke to a receptionist... for like anything?

Even finding your soul mate is conducted via algorithm. A recent study by dating site eHarmony found that 69% of people ran a Google search on prospective partners before agreeing to meet. 

It's not just the big things in life either. Technology has become such an overwhelming force in our lives and in particular the lives of the younger generation that there are some frightening knowledge gaps.

In a reader survey, US-based parental site grownandflown.com discovered that some teenagers were unable to tell the time with a wristwatch, write a cheque or even use a padlock with a key.

Of course, technology is great, it's what I do, but I have to admit I am concerned by its speed and the ease of acceptance. We've all seen the Alexa memes about wiretaps, but the joke is probably on us. For the sake of having the lights come on when we say, we are giving Amazon, Google and their vast AI's enormous power and all of our data.

There was a time just a scant few years ago when the first online stores struggled due to the wariness of consumers to hand over even the most basic of information via the internet. These days though, we'll let anyone have anything for almost any reason. 

It's not all fun and games either. In a study by Duke University, 150 adolescents were monitored as they used their phones and gadgets. Teens who used their devices excessively, over the average of 2.3 hours a day, were far more likely to exhibit behavioural problems like lying and fighting. The study also found a dramatic increase in ADHD like tendencies among those taking part in the trial.

According to The Mental Health Foundation, technology may be a contributing factor in the rise of loneliness and isolation among young people, their study suggested that 86% of people surveyed claimed live interaction with other people had a positive effect on their mental health while 30% said technology, like social media, caused them to feel lonely by replacing the same interactions. 

As an entrepreneur and developer, I understand the need to progress and use technology in life-enhancing ways, but there is a disconnect and it's also making our lives harder. I don't want to grow old in a world where people have forgotten how to speak to each other, where manners have become redundant and where we expect technology to do literally everything for us. I saw an app recently which allowed party goers to send surrogates with a tablet strapped their face and live-stream themselves to the party. I hope it was a joke, but I couldn't bring myself to click the link.

So here's the contrary section... I love and loathe the way technology is going. I like that it's making our lives easier, but I hate that it's making them less fulfilling. So, I'm going to put my mouth where my money is and do something about it.  

From this day forward my apps are going to be about making life better... not easier and I appreciate that it may be easier said than done, but then again it's not all about being easy.