3 Technology and Social Interaction

Text Messages.

I have begun to question the impact of cell phones and more specifically text messaging for many reasons.  Some people fear that we will all become a society of people who spend all day looking at a screen instead of speaking to each other.  I think this may be a real concern because it may be making our society even lazier than it already is.  Unfortunately, most text messages limit you to 160 characters per message, and if you want to get the most detail out in the least amount of words you shorten some of the words.  However, over the past couple of years these short cuts have gone a little too far.  I personally believe that people who cannot afford to send several text messages use more shortcuts and in some cases this leads to an increase in spelling mistakes.  I feel as though these abbreviations may save time and money however they also bring about some negative effect such communication has on real conversations and developing the bonds that come with it. I believe tone and facial expressions are also a necessary way of communicating and that sometimes and an element of honesty is lost when one can merely send a text message. However, in an age where communication is virtually instant no wonder text messaging is so popular.  While convenience stands out as a key factor for sending text messages it is important to realize if people have the time to balance their needs they will be able to participate in some other form of communication.  

Now even older less technologically friendly generations are willing to learn how to use text messages. In my own family, I couldn’t help but feel like my parents felt some sort of disconnect because of their lack of knowledge on how to text.  I noticed my parents were jealous of the conversations I had with my sister and realized I was in a sense causing conflict in our family.  However upon this realization I taught my parents how to text message and now when I do not have time to call my parents I am able to communicate via text message. 

As a sociology major I have recently learned that people experience social change when they can meet at a defined “space” and have meaningful conversations about their everyday struggles.  From a sociological perspective, society needs a “space” for which every member can interact and discuss meaningful political and social issues.   I have learned through several Sociology classes that social change occurs when people can perceive their private problems as public issues (sociological imagination).  For example, I have learned that poor women factory workers who work in the maquiladoras were finally able to unionize once they were able to talk about their problems in church on Sundays.  In this example, the “space” I am talking about is the church that acts as a meeting place for people to come together and talk about their problems.  As more and more people are choose to text each other instead of taking the time to meet, I am becoming more and more concerned that these “spaces” are becoming less and less prevalent in society.