How often do you find yourself looking at your smartphone when you’re driving or talking to someone? Don’t you prefer to use online location maps instead of stopping by to ask strangers for directions? What about recommendations for travel or hotels… the list goes on. The smartphone has virtually acquired the status of our best friend and guide in most day-to-day situations.
A study on the ‘Social Costs of Ubiquitous Information’ finds that increasing dependence on smartphones is associated with declining trust in others, which is what they call “the social lubricant of society”. The more someone uses a smartphone for information, the less likely she is to trust “neighbours, strangers, and people from other religions or nationalities,” states the study.
The impact is not just restricted to casual social conversations. Even our real-life relationships have started moving on to social networking platforms, limiting our interactions to sharing online pictures or exchanging quick pleasantries on special occasions. Consequently, the number of ‘real’ human interactions in our daily lives has reduced significantly.
There is no doubt that economic development led by technological innovation has benefited us in several ways by bringing us closer to the global environment. It has given us more opportunities to learn and grow; provided us access to a whole world of information and knowledge that we can use to our advantage. But this global revolution and barrage of new ideas has also created a sort of socio-cultural confusion that is affecting the core fabric of society.
On the face of it, social media may seem like the perfect solution to building a more connected society, maintaining relationships and staying in touch with loved ones in far off locations. With Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or WhatsApp you can easily communicate with anyone, anytime, anywhere. However, the results have proved otherwise.
Recent studies have shown that spending more time on social media is actually adversely affecting our social life by reducing face-to-face communication. Ironically, technology that is improving our ability to connect is also making us isolated and lonely.
With most of the communication happening on online forums, the younger generation is making more friends online and getting into virtual relationships. According to a study, those aged between 18 and 34 have more than six times the number of online friends as “real life” friends. These online relationships tend to be more superficial as people usually like to share only the good things in their lives. With everyone sharing lovely pictures and notes on fun trips and happy occasions, it creates pressure on others to keep up. Living in an environment of virtual reality and fake relationships only increases our insecurity and vulnerability. Those genuine moments of sharing actual experiences, long intense conversations and emotional closeness that were all a part of real-life relationships seem to be dwindling.