Are you my "Friend"?

I've talked with many of you about the problems I see in "social connections" through technology, mostly because I've begun wondering about myself. Am I really friends with all of the people on my Facebook account? Is it healthy to be on the phone and texting throughout the day? By doing these things do I inhibit interaction with people physically close to me, like my neighbors or the guy at the gas station? Does that even matter?!

What it boils down to is whether technology's new ways to stay connected really create meaningful interaction, and my initial response is "Yes!" I can talk with Mom and Dad no matter where I am, shoot off e-mails to my brothers and keep them part of my daily life, and stay in close touch with friends across the country and the world. But I should stop and think about what all of this increased accessibility to far away people means.

Conceptually:

more time focused on far away people = less time focusing on people present

This doesn't have to be a problem. But I think it could be, if I consistently live somewhere other than where I'm at. Often when I'm not recognizing my present environment, "real life" feels removed and I miss the beauty inherent in talking to someone face to face. The heightened communication that comes through physical presence and body language disappears with most electronic transmissions. I used to think that the worst thing that happens in those situations is that I could misunderstand or misread people; now I think the worst thing that happens is that I am satisfied with communicating at a reduced level. Meeting with people via e-mail and and over the phone is easier than meeting in person, and that level of interaction is usually all I want!

In reality, I'm not really morphing into a hermit; I'm just noticing a few tendencies in myself. Though the tendencies are not inherently bad, I do miss feeling close to people physically close to me. And communicating on deep levels with my friends. In person. The internet, my phone, and especially iChat have kept me in touch with world the past few months, but I don't want to become too satisfied with the current social contact status quo.

An interesting article on the subject sparked these thoughts again for me:
http://www.intuitive.com/blog/does_social_media_really_connect_you_to_humanity.html

I hope you've enjoyed interacting with me through this form of social media. I hope to interact with you again soon. :) Let me know what you think, and don't worry, I won't think that your thoughts aren't a form of deep communication because they're electronically transmitted. They will be food for thought for both of us until we can sit down in person and talk them over!