With technology pervading our everyday lives, we work to avoid the feeling of loneliness and isolation by constantly checking our electronic devices and logging onto social media. The fear of not being connected to those around us often creates surface level relationships maintained by likes on Facebook and simple text exchanges. As the actor and comedian Aziz Ansari put it, dating now is like “being the secretary of a crappy company filled with flaky jerks.”
Relationships today often involve casual texts to meet up and failed attempts to dedicate any type of serious effort. Taking on the "secretary" role becomes exhausting and leaves people feeling depreciated and undervalued. Many people avoid commitment because they worry something better may come along. We pursue one-dimensional relationships because texting and social media make it easy. Rather than allowing ourselves to invest time getting to know one another, we leave our relationships at a superficial and shallow level. People are left with a feeling of emptiness and lack genuine and meaningful connections to others. Since when do we live in a world where one's texting skills matter more than one's personality? Why do we choose to live in a world where one's attractiveness on online media holds greater value than the quality of one's economic, political, and moral values?
Our mobile devices, and the multitude of social media apps that come with them, provide us with more ways to remain unfaithful in a relationship. In romantic relationships the lines become more and more blurred to what is considered cheating. Is it okay to text another member of the opposite sex daily? To Snapchat? To social media "stalk" him or her? What are the true, underlying intentions of these actions? Our modern-day technology allows this disloyal activity to permeate our relationships and daily lives, disrupting and lessening trust even when some actions are not purposefully malicious.
Not only are we becoming unfaithful in our romantic relationships, but technology pushes us to be less sincere with our friendships. When we hang out with friends nowadays, we are constantly connected to our mobile devices and not fully engaged with the person in front of us. We fail to give him or her our full attention which demonstrates that we don't value his or her friendship, even if that is not really the case.
Although technology has the potential to strengthen and improve certain relationships, specifically when distance makes communication increasingly difficult, often times these mobile devices hurt friendships and romantic relations. So rather than paying more attention to our phones, we should set our mobile devices aside and truly work to connect with those we choose to spend face-to-face time with. Technology on its own is not harmful, but how we choose to use it can be. Therefore, we must strive to value in-person connections and encourage ourselves to get to know one another on a deeper level than one's Facebook page or Instagram posts. Technology will only continue to grow in pervasiveness, so we should seek to pursue serious and thoughtful relationships outside of these texts, Snapchats, and posts that permeate our society today.
