We have come a long way from the 16th centuries views of courtship and relationships. No longer are your tithes of love dependent on the swift rider but rather a swift fiber connection. Have we moved to that impersonal space where a digital image is enough to suffice and sustain our modern relationships. Has romance and creative language left our being due to technology providing us the ability to do too much at one time; in turn leaving us no time to sit and dote or create sonnets of undaunted love?
Has social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace taken the mystique and intrigue out of a personal meeting that we are now hardwired to the immediate image and pure physical attraction?
Is traditional romance dying as technology advances ? The connection to one another so simple that in turn we are so easily available we take things for granted or are we to adapt to this new blessed medium that allows you to have a relationship half the world away. As humans are we rapidly losing the language of love.
P.S. I would be really interested to know what Ode Shakespeare would have written from his BlackBerry, not to mention the trouble he would be in when his significant other reads them. LOL
Isn't everything taken for granted- even if your significant other is in close proximity we don't create sonnets or the like- courting no longer exists.
ReplyDeleteHowever if the apple of your eye is half way across the world a note no longer takes half a year to get to them, I guess its wat the note consists of that matters..'How come u nuh respond to mi ping yet...'
The plus side is that you can research whether you and someone have something in common or not from the get go. So you won't have to meet them and then be dissappointed. But then, it also allows people to research someone they are interested in, and tailor themselves to seem to a be a fit. I will admit I have tried to do this in the past, though it didn't work at all :P
ReplyDeleteIt is also true that part of the joy of meeting someone, and hitting it off, is finding out the things you have in common the more you guys spend time with each other. The moments of finding out you two happen to love the same song when it happens to play on the car radio, or happening into each other at the same venue you both are interested in. Or simply just sitting and talking for hours about what you two like and finding out that way.
When you know each other's interests befor you even start dating, what is the point?
@Zee i for one appreciate the convenience of technology in crossing large distances in a fraction of the time. However, has our dependency on the internet and robotics in turn made passionless shells of our former existence in how we relate to each other?
ReplyDelete@Chris I do agree that if everyting can be captured from a short read what is the sense. Can virtual interactions really suffice? Will we find ourselves in a world where the physical is secondary to the virtual. It makes me wonder if those sci-fi movies will be our reality.
Great topic. Great comments. I admit, I too miss love and poetry and the warmth of human interaction (and no, webcam sex will never be enough!) Technology really does present an interesting conundrum in that it enables long-distance interaction, but in a lot of ways makes our connections more superficial. I'll have to make this a regular read. It's nice to get away from fashion and beauty news from time to time and explore something deeper...
ReplyDeletei agree with Zee...those 'lovey dovey' things arent widespread anymore...fairy tale loves stories are once in a blue moon these days.
ReplyDeleteAs it relates to technology, as with most things there are pro and cons...as the post relates, yes it does tend to break down the "traditional" sense of relations ship, but that doesnt mean the love aint there :)
@Darcy thanks for the review i am glad to refresh your reading .BTW LOL@ " webcam sex will never be enough" u might not have a choice see link http://www.gizmag.com/realtouch-virtual-sex-device-for-men/14126/
ReplyDelete@ Chris - I must agree that getting to know someone before dating them, makes dating pointless. Gone are the days when dating was the means by which that was achieved. Now are the day of instant messaging (IM).
ReplyDeleteHowever, the things about each other that are shared are the things spoken. what of those things that cannot be expressed in words; like the expression on one's face during a particular situation, movie, to a particular song, etc. It's the reactions/responses not planned that are the best, as they really show the TRUE personality/person,as they are not premeditated.
WOW..breathe of fricking fresh air..loving the blog already. All i can say is "Im tired of using technology", take what you want from that statement:)Ive been guilty of not communicating ftf and only using bb for long periods and so it kind of loses the type of relationship you wanna build but you just have to take the time to tear urself away and become human sometimes without a gadget attached to your hand. And webcam sometimes is enough Darcy..LOL
ReplyDeleteFunny how we all comment on relationship just being that of an "intimate/personal" nature. what of social, work/business, family, etc. these things too have been drastically affected by technology and its use. as mi granny wudda say "too much a one ting gud fi nut'n". this phrase applies to any and everything; even sex. :D
ReplyDeleteIn the world of business, the f2f/human aspect has almost been totally "abolished", if i may say so. the not so recent movie "up in the air" depicts the very removal of emotions when it comes to "letting ppl go" as they put it. Performing this act, has gone to being done over a computer. the idea is for the 'Firer' to be void of emotions.
this too makes one wonder if, when technology will take out places where we sit now typing these comments...(tapping fingers on keypad)
i agree wit kwintie and her granny :-D
ReplyDeletethe onus is on us to not bcome desensitized because of the advantages technology has afforded us. we done know sey it takes alot from f2f interactions, so it is us who have to make a concerted effort in relationships and business.
i want the poems and sonnets and courting dagnabit! however advanced technology gets, i dont want that taken away...
but i'm so caught up in all this gadgetry lol, i'm sure i express myself better over bbm than jus calling some1 (i been accused of this too often for it to not b so) but if a guy approaches 'whats ur pin' instead of 'whats your name' i scoff and say ' the nerve of him... lol
but damn if i dont wanna b whisked off my feet...
@Swalters thanks for the compliments on the blog. Can you share how you overcome this gadget dependency i.e techniques : no phone for a day, phone penalties when calls or texts are made in each others presence.
ReplyDelete@Kwintie i can definitely agree with how it has changed the dynamics of social, business and family life. Interesting how you have linked it to sex. Its funny but when i was young i remembered my grandmother used to communicate with my aunts by shouting from one house to the next as they were in relatively close proximity. Fast forward to today when i am calling a colleague from work using a cell phone (bear in mind this person is 4 seats aways from me).
when was the last time any of us picked up pen and paper, wrote a letter and mailed it at the post office to that favourite Great Grand Aunt we have living in England? HUH? Not one of us. We have even come so far where we subject our Great Grands, to the age of technology. telling them to go with the flow, and to not get left behind. is it them who will be left behind, or have they progressed leaving us behind.
ReplyDeletethey have moved from telegrams, telegraphs, 21 lined telecommunications system, to what they now know. they have moved from not knowing technology to knowing technology. of is it that what they had was viewed as technology? what is the real meaning of technology?
what is it that we will progress to, if we progress? is there anything beyond technology?
I believe we have all been told/heard the word "balance" in our society over and over again. They say technology is suppose to make our lives better...hmmm..correction easier. My question, has it? or is it just creating a new problem for us to work on?? I do believe that technology have allowed us to stay in connection with love ones, lost ones, and out of reach ones. It has gone so far by take our breaths away as to how much of a multitasker we can become by using it and how close the world can become by just a click. What it cannot do is show that smile in the corner of the mouth and that sparkle in the eye that flashes so quickly when something sweet have been spoken.
ReplyDeleteA relationship need a seed to begin, it needs planting, watering, pruning, nurturing etc..and most importantly it needs "Communication" that eye to eye, skin to skin kind of communication where every emotion is seen and can be interpreted by each other in the correct manner. I believe in some sense that technology have been and is still robbing us of a relationship where we get to know that person on a personally (not technological) level. Yes, it keeps us connected in some way, if that person is out of reach for a time period but can a smiley icon really tell that other person how bad you are in need of a a hug???
I "Like" what technology have enable us to to do but I "Love" what real human connection can do to a relationship (it enable you to read and understand each other without spoken words)...but I guess the key word as they say is balance
Let me begin with this...I was in an IM convo the other day with a girl who had her webcam on...I said something, and she typed "lol" yet i could see a blank, spaced-out look on her face. Need I say more?
ReplyDeleteTechnology can NEVER replace the element of physical touch, or the connection and unheard expressions of one's eyes in a f2f encounter.
I miss love letters!!! :(
As simple as they were, it really meant something when a girl took the time to put pen to paper, "waste" some of her precious lipstick and perfume on that same piece of paper, and mail it off (all that fine detail didn't necessarily happen to me). But technology is stealing so much from us and we are too busy indulging to even see it.
The real fact of the matter is most of us have become cowards when it comes to LOVE and that "fairy tale" romance we ALL want! So technology is a good way to hide and limit the "risk" of disappointment. Technology can work in our favour, but as long as we try to stay in the comfort of our fears we'll never experience such advantages in a relationship setting.
Technology is necessary but we cannot allow it to take over everything. The people in Venice still have to travel by boat in a world of Super cars.
There's sooo much I can say...
It's the same technology making our air polluted, helping to make us unhealthy and miserable everyday, thus difficult to communicate with sometimes. It's technology that has our young ones exposed to EVERYTHING. There's very little privacy or "Parental Control" so kids grow up into what the media teaches them to be (promiscuous, afraid of love, wear this, say that, "this is the type of guy or girl u want") It's all technology.
As Kwintie mentioned, technology is creating a HUGE gap between us and our elders, thus we can't/don't subscribe to their wisdom anymore because we think our time is soo different (confusing technology with human nature). So we only take advice from our peers (who often times are in the same holes we are in) and the media (who's only main objective is to get an audience and awards and ratings).
In a Soap Opera, basically everybody sleeps with everybody else. We now see where more and more, the alternative lifestyle is becoming a norm in pretty much everything on TV (even the cartoons, oh gosh). This is waaay bigger than technology actually, but technology is a major tool.
The world is going for less Bible and more comfort...if u know what I mean. How did I get this far? This is how big the whole thing is! Technology is just a platform for the total transformation of the morals which NEVER hurt anyone...why change those morals?
Some of what I said may seem irrelevant...but I believe there's sense to be picked from it. Please bare in mind I'm not an English major.
I have yet to overcome the dependency..Im a work in progress:((
ReplyDeletewith technology taking out, why dont all work place move to people working from home. i mean, i would get so much more done, especially if i have a boss who micro-manages. someone breathing down your neck it makes it so much harder to focus.
ReplyDeletefor those who are not able to work on their own initiative, they can get timelines and deadlines. :D
with technology, there are many ways to track productivity. Think about the money that an organization could save, having employees work from home.
Sooo true Kwintie!!! I'm a natural born freelancer. Mi cyaan tek work fi people...too much stress and then this big chunk is cut from your salary as tax (when basically everything else you do with your money is taxed). It's a PAIN in the "tender places" :P. I would definitely need the timelines and deadlines though...I procrastinate waaay too much! Work would be sooo much more fun that way.
ReplyDelete@Gerrard - something you mentioned in your previous post, "technology is creating a HUGE gap between us and our elders, thus we can't/don't subscribe to their wisdom anymore". Our elders are not living as long as they use to, their minds are leaving them quicker than before. as Gerrard says, we are not "using" them anymore, so their mind becomes inactive, thus making them feel useless, unneeded. Technology could be a contributing factor to our elders living shorter lives. most persons ask google things, which in the past, they would have called up their 'nana' or even their parents. If technology is decreasing how long our elders live, could this be a chain reaction and will soon reach our parents, uncles and aunts. then to eventually get to our peers? could technology be the extinction of the human race?
ReplyDelete