Discussion of the Day
Is Technology Making Us More Connected or More Isolated?
Manu 1678957Jun 14, 25
With the rise of social media, messaging apps, and remote work tools, it's easier than ever to stay in touch with people across the world. But at the same time, I sometimes wonder if all this "connectedness" is actually making us feel more alone.
Are we really connecting in a meaningful way, or just filling the space with digital noise? I ve heard some say that while we have more ways to communicate, the quality of our interactions has gone down and that face-to-face connection is becoming rarer.
I m curious how do you feel about this? Has technology brought you closer to people, or pushed you further apart?
Comments
  • More isolated with less compassion ,no empathy, entitled, self absorbed, selfish, oblivious, nieve, and no sense of pride. It's all gone. The next generation after our latest one will be completely just like like I described. All ofbman kind will be that way it's soooo sad to me. Thats if we make it that long. I don't forsee the future of humans lasting more than ten years and that's being nice. We're doomed. Lost all sense of life because reality isn't what're we're all taught. And if everyone stays blind we are all doomed. Chop suey. Something or someone's labrats and thats all we ever were. So now what? Pretend to live life still. Ugh so much evil out there. What was even the point of life at this point. Sorry for the Debbie downer karen sob but it's the truth
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    • I remember the days before the net ,more fun ,more interaction ,I live in both worlds and yes internet is fun ,but it was more fun back then also .
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      • For me, both. With it, I connect with others I'd might never been in contact with, but as somebody who has moved not only interstate, but also across the planet to another country, it has helped me remain in contact with friends/family back home.
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        • MUCH more isolated. People are keyboard warriors and only want their safe little echo chamber (this is non-partisan btw)
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          • It helps us to be more connected.But I still write letters to my surving friends. More personal connection. Not all have computers.
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            • I think it is making us more connected. When we have face to face connection, we are able to connect with a limited number of our friends or relatives. But by technology we can communicate a large number of people.When we wish to communicate a single person personally that also technology allow us via messaging.
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              • More isolated.
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                • Definitely brought people close together as phone and computer are doing this all thectime
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                  • Tech is great for face time with remote grand kids
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                    • I feel people's are along more this days used mix's like human
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                      • Isolated. No-one wants to talk to a real person, just type on a keyboard.
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                        • I believe it has made us more isolated we tend to reach out to our peers less frequently with no communication connections
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                          • Yes and no you need real people to
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                            • Depending on your circumstances if family are away it’s a way to keep in contact but sometimes we all need a break from modern technology as it over whelms our lives
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                              • Ironically I think we are now closer to people we don't actually know and more isolated from family and friends...
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                                • The funny thing is that we can connect to more people around the globe at various times of day but it is not as close a relationship as a face to face meeting where you can hug or kiss or interact in an activity with another individual. Connecting remotely is not, in my opinion, as rewarding as connecting in close proximity.
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                                  • Well - HERE IS MY OPINION. I think that technology is great - BUT IT DOES NOT CONTROL MY LIFE. I have quite a few overseas friends and relatives and it is so wonderful to be able to keep in touch and see lots of photos. AS FOR FRIENDS WHO LIVE HERE IN PERTH ...... unless they want to catch up with me for a face to face chat at a cafe or one of our homes ....... I lose interest in them pretty quick. Social Media will never replace true friendships for me. Actually only last Thursday I caught up with an old workmate who now lives in Melbourne but was over here for a few days ...... and I am still pretty well on cloud nine over it.
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                                    • Aaww that sounds like a good catch up together and a long way to travel. Good on you Janet...nice one !
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                                  • I think it has made us lazy in making relationships meaningful
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                                    • disconnected - can you have a conversation for more than 1 min with anyone?
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                                      • All right enough of this guys. Technology is to make things faster. remember thing where different with out a car. less isolation. Was it less Isolated with or with out the telephone. Technology makes things faster. it's not for isolation. Smart phones are to make it faster. Find something out before having to walk the distance to your PC. Play a game with out having to walk the distance to a PC. Still the problem is a lot of people don't use PC's any more. You'll always be less isolated talking to your Neo robot. or will you? AI is just to make things faster as well. And make more fat people. Which is why I said they'll figure out a way of making AI fat remover. With the technology of a hoe or Shovel, made it faster than hands. The tech of a wheel made it faster than 4 or more horses by just using 1 instead. Technology is to make things faster. Not for isolation.
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                                      • Loneliness is now a worldwide epidemic with people of all ages complaining that they are lonely. When I heard this I was surprised but when I thought about it I reckoned it's because many young people have lost the art of conversation. If you travel by public transport you'll notice the quiet while everyone looks at their phone. Doctor's surgeries, as well as dentists and government offices are all quite with no-one having a conversation. Steve Jobbs said the invention of the phone would bring people together, and it did but they are all still separate.
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                                        • Well, isolation is what brought me to this site. Some of you seem to like me... and some people don't. So you could blame the ones that like me.....cos I keep coming back and for the rest of you...stiff !! LoL
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                                          • I like this site too for normal people
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                                          • VonIzabelle 1457992
                                            Does that include me Izabelle?
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                                          • of course! Just don't tell anybody or the weird people might infiltrate
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                                        • I use facebook to contact a school friend who moved from Adelaide to USA, also her sister who lives in a country area a few hours away
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                                          • I’m going for isolated. Nobody writes regular letters anymore. It is much better going to the letterbox to find a handwritten letter from a friend or family member. I find a lot more thought goes into a real letter!
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                                            • I write my emails just as I would a letter. I don't like receiving an email with no salutation or punctuation, and I really dislike the shortcuts and told my family so. If you are emailing me don't use 4 instead of for.
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                                          • Closer, it’s very easy to talk to someone face to face even if it’s over a screen
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                                            • It has it's pros and cons I guess
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                                              • Totally isolated
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                                                • Much more isolated.
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                                                  • For some, it has made families who live distances apart closer by sharing with family groups and FaceTime. Most organisations and community groups utilize it too, making us more connected. But for many, it can be the main source of their connection, which is leading to isolation and the inability to communicate face to face or have true connection
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                                                    • I was thinking today, a similar thing. Me and my friend walking around a Plaza. Just call if we needed to find each other, it's so easy. Where as in the past it would be a meeting place or running around looking for them. Something went wrong a few days ago (I left my mobile charging at home) (it is not a smart phone), so it was a total panick for me when I realised I couldn't call a friend to get in touch in a shopping centre. Social media I don't really use to keep in touch with friends barely. So it is a no for me. But because I grew older keeping in touch with friends becomes less because most people go their seperate ways. If you make friends with a Neo robot it's possible it will stay with you till the end. Unless it is hacked.
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                                                    • Depends on the person, some are addicted to social media and seem to live in a fantasy world, others are capable of using it for communication.
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                                                      • Everyone has their heads in their phones. People don’t communicate or talk with each other anymore. A generation of lost self obsessed people who cannot do anything for themselves.
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                                                        • Very bad
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                                                          • completely ruined
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                                                            • Well technology makes us safer in getting viruses. In reality it doesn't feel the same as interacting with real people.
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                                                              • both
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                                                                • i agree with what you have stated. Technology has taken over and there is less interaction with people.
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                                                                  • YES both. I don't trust social media, so I don't use it. I do talk on the phone, both land line and mobile. I also give kiss's and cuddles, where needed. And catch up when ever I can.
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                                                                    • It’s done both. It’s great to use technology with those that live in another state but it’s the opposite of those that live nearby
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                                                                      • You are what you do!
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                                                                        • It is making us quite different...it is becoming a bit creepy...technology is not being developed to help us...it is being developed to make others VERY rich...and if it is addictive...GREAT..even better...we are being made to evolve to suit IT.....the tail is wagging the dog.....
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                                                                          • That's why I am creepy and filthy rich.
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                                                                          • APBChosen
                                                                            Elon Musk I presume?
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                                                                          • Or Top of the pops on Only fans...
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                                                                        • Tech has made it almost impossible to have HUMAN socal interactions
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                                                                          • I do not believe this to be the case, I still socialize.
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                                                                        • More isolated. Think back to the Covid Pandemic and before. People, especially the young, and I include 10. 11, 12 year-old etc., before Covid19 were all about how vitally important, what I consider to be the Most Dangerous system ever devised, Social Media was to their lives, they loved to brag about all the hundreds, thousands, millions of Friends they have, there has never before been a word which has been so missused. Parents complained that the only way they could get their children, who were in their bedrooms just a few metres away, to come to the dinner table was to contact them through Social media. More Foolish parents there have never been. Along comes the Covid19 Pandemic and what happened? Children and their stupid parents started complaining loudly, and demanding The Government do something, that their little darlings were suffering from Mental Health Issues because of the isolation and that they could no longer visit, talk with their friends! What about all those 1000s they have on Social Media? Just goes to show what a phony, insincere, dishonest system that is. I suppose I should try to remember that People - of all ages MUST have something to complain about so they invent Mental Hhealth Issues. Another thing Retailers, particularly Supermarkets, and big Discount outfits like Walmart, Amazon, K-Mart Bunnings, BigW etc. seem to forget in their rush to destroy Employment and replace Human Beings with those horrible Self-Serve Checkouts is that many people of all ages live on their own or are physically isolated because of their work and that the ONLY face-to-face contact they have with real Human Beings is when they come into town and go to the Supermarkets, Discount Barns etc. and go through the Service Checkout. Technology is destroying humanity.
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                                                                          • Well that was a good piece of social media.
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                                                                          • APBChosen
                                                                            what's a Human being?
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                                                                          • Look in the mirror. It doesn't have black fur though.
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                                                                          • We can never really say another is wrong or right. If they are better or worse. Everyone has their own opinion. Life is Life, it is what it is. No one knows. Still comparing to a cave man, yes things have changed and changing again and again.
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                                                                          • APBDaniel A 2
                                                                            Everyone is unique...exactly like everyone else
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                                                                        • It connects in some ways to family and friends who live hundreds or more miles away but it isolates us too if we get to involved and we don't shut it off and get out and talk to people in person and interact and do things in person each day and each week.
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                                                                          • Totally agree, makes more isolated, but I think that is also our choice or preference.
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                                                                            • Isolated for sure. I feel we don't socialise as much anymore.
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                                                                              • DONT USE IT. so it doesnt bother me, I spend more time with real live people. Spend about on hour a day for surveys the rest is outside and the PC is inside. My phone is a phone, have disable all the extra, but I can use in emergency. Love my life and friends n family Social Media has NEVER replace any part of our life, it has been a small edition.
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                                                                                • Isolated for sure.You can do most things on your lounge seat without human contact .People don't want to or know how to socialise anymore.
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                                                                                  • Technology could be a pro and con to human. We need to be wise enough to know how to use them. It can be a con for teenager if they are stuck to playing games all the time ignoring their family. It could be an advantage for senior to keep up with technology in order to avoid or slower down their dementia.
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                                                                                    • no
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                                                                                      • Definitely more isolated, it's great!
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                                                                                        • Technology is making us more isolated.
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                                                                                          • Remember the population was smaller in the past, so it's not that simple.
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                                                                                        • I think it’s making more connected but not in a real human social way.
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                                                                                          • Yes bit of both, bc unless you are a highly evolved empath we will miss the physical touch, and energy you get from sumone f2f. Tech only really cummicates information per se, but there is a whole lot more we communicate on a phyical level which cannot be conveyed through tech medium? Yes the elderly will most likely suffer the most. :(
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                                                                                            • Connected to information...disconnected from other humans.
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                                                                                              • It's definitely a bit of both
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                                                                                                • Both depending on how you use it.
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                                                                                                  • Can do both depending on how one uses it.
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                                                                                                    • I agree with Steve a little bit of both good and bad
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                                                                                                      • it is a little of both,depending your age
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                                                                                                        • I've made friends that I otherwise wouldn't have and have been able to support others through tough times, I find it useful.
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                                                                                                          • More isolated. Many teenagers are missing out a lot, in their generation as most of them spend far too much time sitting at a computer...playing games....instead of enjoying their young lives while they are young.
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                                                                                                            • It has made it easier to stay in touch with the people who matter to me, but its also made it easier for people I dont want to have in my life to find me and that is definitely a negative
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                                                                                                              • Far more isolated - connection is face to face friendships not how many ticks you have on a social platform.
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                                                                                                                • It depends on how you use it. My family use facebook messenger in ways that are far more convenient for organizing things and getting quick answers to simple but urgent questions. But we don't stop doing all of the other actual face to face things that we have always done. So use its strengths and convenience to complement traditional communications not replace it.
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                                                                                                                  • What has happened to people talking to each other.
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                                                                                                                    • I still do it . Talk that is.
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                                                                                                                  • I'm not up to date on all this modern technology but I seem to be able to get along well enough. I think it's a bit of both really especially with the younger generation. Although I needed to actually post something the other day and didn't have a clue how much stamps are worth now. I do think some people will find it as a good excuse to start ignoring others. Each to their own
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                                                                                                                    • hi ty JANN R
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                                                                                                                      • It connects us in a most isolated way……..lol
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                                                                                                                        • I dont use a lot so it has had no inpact on my life but I do think if you use it to much you become isolted from the people around you
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                                                                                                                          • A bit of both I would say. It is a convenient way to connect to family, etc. I made many friends in chatrooms back in the day, but people have lost the ability to socialize and talk in real time....face to face. Everyone is stuck to their phones...chatting, texting, playing games, etc. It has its place but it should not be replaced with real connections,
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                                                                                                                            • Most definitely more isolated and dumber.
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                                                                                                                              • I believe it is making us more connected.
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                                                                                                                                • Isolated
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                                                                                                                                  • I can say in some instances technology makes us isolated because we tend to look down on our phones more than being aware of our surroundings. This has limit us in terms of getting out to public and meeting a random person face to face in a public space and rather relying on the 'social media' status so we can be 'online friends'. But on the plus side, technology has advanced to where we can wear CGM - continuous glucose monitor - to keep track of our glucose monitors through our phone without the burden of carrying something bulky in our bags to track our health data. And technology has helped with communication across seas where underdeveloped counties are slowly building cell phone towers so they can Facetime their loved ones far away.
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                                                                                                                                    • It depends
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                                                                                                                                      • Both depending on user and why. I can keep in touch with friends and family anywhere in the world by email,social media .very alert to scams etc
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                                                                                                                                        • Technology allows me to face time my daughter who lives overseas. I get to see her, her husband and my two grandchildren and see them grow.
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                                                                                                                                          • socially it is isolating.people wont know how to communicate face to face
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                                                                                                                                            • We can choose to use it or not. If you over do it then you have a problem posb.
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                                                                                                                                              • I love technology and ease I can do things today that were once hard - taking a video, photo, recording, getting facts but it has come at the cost of social isolation and always it is the most marginalized that are isolated most.
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                                                                                                                                                • Both
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                                                                                                                                                  • Both.
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                                                                                                                                                    • It’s a bit of both. Technology is great for those far away there’s video calls but it also makes us lazy to those close by
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                                                                                                                                                      • yes it is we need to put our phone away
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                                                                                                                                                        • Had dinner at a restaurant not long ago and a table near us had four people, all texting or otherwise occupied on their phones. It seemed they only spoke to each when the food arrived. To be fair, I do not believe this to be the norm but it stood out as social isolation to me at the time.
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                                                                                                                                                          • It all depends how you use it. Some, I can see, would make people more isolated however I have a few friends on this and otherwise we would never meet as we are not in the same state...so I am grateful.
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                                                                                                                                                            • "Is Technology Making Us More Connected or More Isolated?" Both at once. Internet and devices make it far easier to connect with people anywhere in the world, but it can also make you more isolated from the people immediately around you (family, neighbours, etc.). On the internet people also tend to congregate with others with the same interests, instead of the variety of those your local community.
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                                                                                                                                                              • Generally, I would say apart we have lost contact with quite a few people because they prefer this social media stuff as a point of contact. My daughter has an army of friends on this Facebook thing. She is always on her phone chatting, yet if you invite any of these guys over for interaction/tea, or a drink, maybe, they are always a no-show, yet she calls them friends, some of them she has never met, this is the way of the future im told, sitting around a fire with a drink chatting is a thing of the past, yet everytime we do it she takes photos and sends them to these guys look what we are doing, Mr Zuckerburger you have a lot to answer for i reckon
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                                                                                                                                                                • Both actually
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                                                                                                                                                                  • I find it helps since I live in a different country to five brothers and sisters and we message each other at least once a month or face time, so it does help to keep connected with them.
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                                                                                                                                                                    • I liked it better in the days gone by. You had a phone at home and if you missed a call and did not have an answering machine, did it bother you, NO. I hate carrying around a phone now, they are to bulky, and they have to many idiots on the other end, trying to sell you something you don’t want. If you want to advertise something on my phone pay me!
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                                                                                                                                                                      • It isolates everybody. There dosen't seem to be any real conversation any more. You see teenagers talking to each other by texting when they are walking together. Mental health is very much affected by social media. Children like bullying is causing many problems.
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                                                                                                                                                                        • Technology does not always connect people,I see it when we meet for family gatherings,my teenage nieces and nephew are on their phones constantly and that is sad for the grandparents that try to communicate with them and get no answer because the phone just takes over.
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                                                                                                                                                                          • Our family all live close by but still rely on Technolgy to keep in touch.
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                                                                                                                                                                            • For those of us with family like me whose relatives re far away and never bother with me- I feel more isolated than ever. If you have a rel loving family then yes they bring you closer together.
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                                                                                                                                                                              • Apart from the cost it has created we are connecting in a remote fashion and that makes us lonely. Nothing beats face-to-face connection and even a letter is more connected because we have something material to hang onto. So many negatives with this technology that surpasses any positives.
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                                                                                                                                                                                • Seeing 2 people walking next to each other in the park, while both are texting, makes me want to shout out " STOP TEXTING and SIMPLY TALK TO EACH OTHER ", but that is considered interference by many. !!!
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                                                                                                                                                                                  • I think it’s a combination - while it is rare to see someone not on some sort of “device” when in social settings - it offers a great opportunity to be able to reach out where it would not otherwise be possible.
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                                                                                                                                                                                    • ITS TOO MANY WHO CARES
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