It’s 2016, and technology has
brought us closer to people than ever before. I’m in India right now, but I can
stay in touch constantly with my friends and family in the U.S. like I’m just
miles, instead of oceans, apart. We can text over Whatsapp, talk on the phone
with Skype, share pictures and experiences on Facebook and Instagram, and send
each other funny video updates on Snapchat. The world is growing smaller, and I
can share my life with my friends with just a click of my phone. I don’t even
have to flag down cabs and negotiate prices with drivers anymore; I can just
order an Uber and sit comfortably in the back without exchanging a word.
It’s 2016, and technology is
distancing us from people more than ever before. I am on my phone on the train,
at work, and as soon as I get home. When conversations are awkward and stifled,
I end them by peering intently at my phone. Instead of bonding with my family
here, I scroll through newsfeeds of people thousands of miles away. I don’t
even converse with my Uber driver anymore because we don’t have to; he knows
where to go before he even meets me.
Technology,
like almost every other innovation we make, has two sides to it. It presents
greater opportunity to stay connected and informed with everyone important in our
lives no matter what the distance, but it can also take us away from the
present moment, removed from the immediate people surrounding us and alter our
relationships with them. One thing that’s clear, though, is that there’s no
going back from where we started.
Innovations
in social media and technology have certainly changed my relationships with
other people, but I think on the whole it has changed it for the better. I have
Whatsapp groups with my family spanning from the U.S. to India, where we can
stay connected and share important news in our lives. I can see what friends
and family are up to on Facebook and Instagram, and reach out to them about our
common experiences. I can share important political developments and how they
affect me, and reach hundreds of my friends with a click of a button.
I know
sometimes I can be a little more removed and distant than I should be, caught
up on my phone or Netflix on my computer, and sometimes fail to be present in
the moment. I try to counteract this by pulling away when I am with family or
friends, putting my devices on silent, and lightheartedly reminding friends and
family to do the same.
We have
a whole new generation of kids growing up with iPhones, iPads, and laptops.
They are whizzes already at harnessing the power of those devices, but they are
also in danger of getting sucked in by their devices so that technology is their present. We must counteract
that by putting our own phones down. When I am with my family at dinner, I
don’t use my phone. There are sacred times and spaces that we must keep
technology-free. In doing so, we can harness the power of technology without
succumbing to its insidious effects.
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