Since a community consists of limited members coming together to share their concerns and opinions, technology gives them a platform to improve their quality of interactions.
Since the advent of Internet, emails, mobile phones people prefer to call up their loved ones rather than have a get together and share their experiences over the weekends. So while the technology tools are available in all types and shapes and sizes, the usage of the same makes our lives easier and more comfortable on one side, and on the other hand can also make us distant from our close ones.
Here we will discuss the effects of technology on the quality of interactions between our families in respect of conversations, togetherness, work related, communicating through media etc.
Usage of Technology
Families increasingly view themselves as management problems to be solved, just as they would be at work, with technology. So, you will see more technology tools being used to solve the household problems. There will be organizers, pagers etc used to keep track of the groceries or used as reminders to pick up the kids from school etc.
With the help of technology, communication has also become cheaper, quicker, and more efficient. We can now communicate with anyone around the globe by simply text messaging them or sending them an email for an almost instantaneous response. The Internet has also opened up face-to-face direct communication from different parts of the world thanks to the helps of video conferencing.
Pagers, cell phones and answering machines, PDAs etc are being used increasingly to coordinate complex household schedules.
So, be it housewives or working members of the house they can be seen sporting high tech tools and helping out with the household chores.
Togetherness
There is a feeling of togetherness built in when families watch television, go for movies, travel together etc. The devices that facilitate these like phones, computers, and answering machines help the families to efficiently plan their outings or get together in a well planned manner.
Families tend to use these tools on a regular basis once they get used to the advantages of the tools and also tend to pass on the same to other families or even their work groups.
But the level of technology usage depends from family to family. And in some cases it may also result in disruptions or disagreements as to the television programms to watch etc. Like the men folk prefer news and sports while women like to watch movies or soap operas.
Work from Home
With the use of advanced technologies, there is a shift in the work-home relationship. With the ability to work at home, a lot of people are leaving their offices for the opportunity that allows them to, spend quality time with their family and not have to deal with the hassle of commuting to and from work.
So, with laptops, internet connections, video conferencing, remote connections etc life has been made easier for the thousands of working professionals who are opting to spend quality time at home as well as earn their living.
Qualitative Talk
With the information overload by the usage of technology, the work load has also been increasing. So in effect we have lesser time to spend with our loved ones.
But also since we know that their loved ones or colleagues are just a call away, we tend to get immersed in our work and tend to be very short and static in our conversations. So while technology should be making our lifestyle more comfortable and bringing us closer to our loved ones and family and friends, it is in fact bring in formalized and cool behavior patterns into the picture.
Proper Language
Have you ever read an email, blogs or an SMS sent on the mobile phone? If we read out any of the above, I can guarantee that 90 % of the above will not have the correct spelling or grammatical sense.
Now most of these communication tools are being used by the next generation children who are being educated. But if we don’t monitor their level of education and the “shorthand language” being used by them, then it will affect their further interactions while growing up.
The onus is on us as to how to guide the users towards better usage of the language e it English or any other local Language. It is more important that the language should not lose its purity and accuracy, in such means of communication.
Increased Use
The increased use of technology sources has affected our lifestyles. Be it television, Internet, mobile phones, pagers etc, it has affected our social lives.
Take for example: The penetration of television into nearly every home affected, not only the spread of news and entertainment, but also patterns of social interaction. Families spent more time around the television set, and less time talking with their friends, loved ones or neighbors.
The increased usage of technology not only affected the interaction levels between the family members, it also affected the time needed to monitor the children and discipline them. As a result of this the new generation children are more independent and in need of discipline and guidance from their parents.
I know many of my readers will tend to disagree that this differs from family to family, but in my opinion this is the general trend going on in our 21st century society.
