The Light and Dark Side of Technology

We all live in a society where technology is available right at our finger tips, and there are many different ways to view how technology has changed our interactions with others. Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with old friends and family, and it is rather convenient to just shoot someone a text rather than take the time to call them. Now, I text and use Facebook just as much as the next person, but sometimes I wonder if my relationships with others would be different if I hadn’t. I ask you, has technology been detrimental or beneficial to the relationships that we have formed with others?

Sending text messages can be very vague in a conversation. Without being able to see the expression on your face or hear the tone of your voice, people can’t always understand exactly what you’re trying to say. Has that ever happened to you? I have to say that it has happened to me quite a few times, and it can create a pretty awkward situation. Now, if you just need to tell someone that you’ll be back in ten minutes or that you’re on the bus, that’s not a big deal; but if you’re having a serious conversation with someone that requires great detail or emotion, texting isn’t the best way to go.

Finding old friends on Facebook is fantastic. Every once in a while, I’ll be poking around on Facebook, and I’ll come across someone that I haven’t seen in years! Well look at that, it’s Such and So from middle school, my how they’ve changed. That’s weird, seeing how much someone has changed just in a few years, but that’s the great thing about Facebook, you never know who you’ll see again. Being able to talk to someone who you haven’t spoken to in years is one of the main reasons as to why I use Facebook; to ask where they’ve been, where they are now, and where they plan to be is the best.

So what do you think? Detrimental or Beneficial? 

Regarding My Personal Expertise in Advertisement...

Last Sunday night was just like any other Sunday night with my roommate. She and I just chilled out and watched TV, and to nobody’s great surprise, there was nothing on. What we did come across though were commercials, and several of them. We all have been subjected to a seemingly countless number of commercials. Whether it be on the Internet, on billboards, or on the back of a box of breakfast cereal; advertisements are everywhere. One particular advertisement that may be familiar is AT&T’s most recent commercial promoting their Mobile to Any Mobile family plan.

The commercial begins with a teenage girl calling her boyfriend to tell him that she is giving him the “silent treatment”.  Her boyfriend is confused because she has already called him several times, but she tells him not to worry because she has unlimited calling to any mobile. He then tells her that she doesn’t know how the silent treatment works, and what is her response? Nothing.  She sure showed him.

Now I’m no relationship expert, but these two have some serious communication issues. Having someone call you just to say that they’re giving you the silent treatment? That’s harsh. Watching this commercial isn’t making me curious about AT&T’s Mobile to Any Mobile family plan; it’s making me wonder how this story ends. Do they resolve their differences? Will she call him back just in time to end the madness? Or will her boyfriend be the first one to break the ice?

Surely it is to no great surprise that my last paragraph was laden with sarcasm. While I enjoy a witty commercial just as much as the next person, this one is just painful. Why must I endure watching this lunacy? Whose bright idea was it to incorporate the relationship of two teenagers into an AT&T commercial? Now I have seen quite a few commercials in my day, and I must say that I am quite disappointed. Shame on you AT&T.