The Pew Research Center recently fielded a study focused on the future of social relations. The research study revolved around one statement:
“In 2020, when I look at the big picture and consider my personal friendships, marriage and other relationships, I see that the internet has mostly been a positive force on my social world. And this will only grow more true in the future.”
In the end, 85% of the surveyed audience agreed with the statement, while 14% took to the other direction and saw the internet as mostly being a negative force within their social world.
Although this recent study is no way mind-blowing, or anything too shifting that causes our culture to stop and wonder, it does open up the idea of influence and just how much a catalyst the internet is for creating shifts in our daily lives. With creation, cultivation, and the expansion of social relationships – we are able to touch a number of points & places in the world that just a short time ago we had scarce interaction with.
In the Pew study, survey respondents noted that with the internet’s many social positives, also came alongside a number of negatives. Respondents noted that tools such as email and social networks are & can be used in harmful ways. In addition, it can cost valuable face-to-face relationships; where communications are hidden behind computer screens and often never reach past a shallow conversation. The internet was also tied to the idea of being a place where individuals silo themselves and limit their exposure to new ideas. Privacy was also brought up as a key indicator, however, we hear of this constantly when mentioned alongside negative connotations, and yet we see little to no drop-off in growth, so I see this as something that will always be mentioned, but often ignored.
Many people who said the internet was a positive force noted that it “costs” individuals less to communicate with each other, helping structure new relationships over more geographical territory. Some respondents suggested that there will be new “categories of relationships,” a new “art of politics,” a sort of evolution in friendships if you so desire.
And most notably, as this plays out, people are just beginning to address the ways in which nearly “frictionless,” easy-access, global communications networks will alter how reputations are created, perceived and trusted. (Think of YOUR BRAND here)*
The Lonely Internet
The virtual world that exist, connected through computers, laptops, digital devices such as mobile phones, netbooks, tablets, and so on; offer us the ability to avoid a lonely internet. Think back to when you first were online, think pre-social networks and what type of interactions you had? The internet was used as a portal for just searching information, which was in no way as robust as it is now. Social networks and the internet are another utility for supporting social life. The idea of ‘thinking’ too much about social networks and the role they play in society will eventually dissipate, similar to as the telephone did when that was a new type of communication tool (*I know, this was a very long time ago :P), and eventually was taken-for-granted. You don’t see any individuals think the telephone is an alienating force; it supports your social life. And now as social networks and internet take to life, they too will eventually be assumed a basic daily utility. You see this happening now as a recent study had a 1/3 of women 18-35 checking Facebook before they even rolled out of bed in the morning.
Human interactions are always up for debate, and we see that the internet has helped extinguish some of these differences people have had and now it acts as a communications gold mine. By closing the geographic distance between family and friends, the internet now acts as a communicative tool that can function through instant-messages and video conversations; it frees up more time for individuals, as well as cutting costs on travel and other manners of communication that may cost more. Twitter & Facebook, as inferior these tools may sound to many, provide a wide range in forms of communication, that can offer comfort & encouragement, expand a person’s worldview, filter information and offer feedback on-demand.
The internet also breaks the shyness barrier, which is often in the very beginning stage of every relationship. Think of that person you were always nervous to approach, or maybe that event or new place you wanted to venture to, be it a restaurant, a concert, a movie, a large event, maybe even sky-diving! Think personal items such as clothes or electronics – you can ‘scratch & sniff’ now without even leaving your home. Point it, research can be done on-demand, whether you are at your desk or on-the-go, and often very quickly based on your insight, as well as other recommendations. In the end, your decisions are becoming easier to make, because they are being made for you with the internet and its social utilities.
Shallow Relationships
Those often against internet and its social utilities, frequently fight the battle of face-to-face encounters. The argument is valid and does stand as a cultural issue in today’s world with users spending more time behind the computer instead of communicating with “real individuals.” This type of exposure opens the idea of social networks promoting shallow relationships, which many see as a negative force in today’s world. You might know what your 30 friends had for dinner last night, but you don’t know whether any of them might be struggling with major life issues. If we live by this point, many people will have a hundreds of acquaintances, and very few friends. (*Not sure if acquaintancebook.com is available?)
One point I do consider, is what type of impact this has for a child born in this new age of information exchange. I, as an adult, became involved in the internet and using it as a social utility; I stress as an adult. In some ways I fear what might happen to children who consume this type of information exchange so early – what type of real-life relationship might they form, and how will they function when they reach a social reality outside of a computer? Children consume video games, the internet, reading books on their parent’s iPads & Kindles, etc. The question remains should this activity be arrested and pointed out, or do we continue and allow this type of behavior because it’s becoming accepted and well known in our culture. Something I can’t really answer…can you?
Conclusion
As time moves forward though, I truly expect technological advances to continue to change and shape how social relations take place online. As we see now, both sides to the argument prove worthy cases for and against the internet evolving as a daily social utility in our lives. In the future, we can only expect a more intense display of technologies and new ways to communicate, such as holographic displays, powerful visualization decision-based tools, permanent and trusted cloud archive storehouses, even stronger semantic web tools that predict our own behaviors and act for us.
But, as the Pew Research study pointed out, while our tools are changing quickly, basic human nature will most likely adjust at a much slower pace. It’s sad, but very true.
What are your thoughts on the topic, will social media improve your life in the future, tell me how? And feel free to reach out to me via email, Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook. I can also be reached @LoomisGroup via cifuentesn@loomisgroup.com
become the Mayor of your workplace or the supermarket next door, maybe even the Target down the street – but one key thought that revolves around all of this – I know what you are doing, I know where you are, I know pretty much everything about you.
