Do tools such as on-line dating, ipods, and mobile phones make us more or less social?

Question

So if we're moving closer to being able to find the people we are looking for whenever we want to, does that improve our social skills? Do we become better at interacting with everyone or only in the particular situations that we are used to?

Answer 1

I read a really good article on this very subject a couple of months ago. I'm linking to it so you can read it for yourself. It was in the magazine "Psychology Today."

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20070116-000005.html

I think it is spot on.

Answer 2

not less social. it has created many different communication channels. it has made us less personable (we prefer emails rather than interpersonal communication). it also effects the way we talk and sentence structure. email conversations allow people to use acronyms that do not translate into real life conversations, in a way it has made us lazier. Don't get me wrong, email , mobile phones and Ipods are great because they make life easier, but at what cost?

Answer 3

It's a trade off. We become more social, but we lose all forms of ettiquite, and respect.

Especially here in my office, where my peers would rather e-mail each other than have a meaningful conversation with each other.

Answer 4

I think they make us more gullible. No one I've met is anything like they represented themselves on the dating site.