Building Walls Instead of Bridges in Relationships?

In this tech savvy age, we have all sorts of gadgets for staying in touch 24/7. We have smartphones, pagers, Twitter, Facebook, email, etc. You name it and we have it. While contacting a person has become easier than ever, why is it that people are actually lonelier now than when we didn't have any of this fast paced technology to keep in touch?

Maybe being accessible 24/7 is not as fantastic as we thought it would be? Being accessible all the time limits our opportunity to have some peaceful 'down' time. We need that time to maintain some personal freedom and to allow our minds to take a breather, unwind, and just relax.

To gain that much needed freedom, more and more people now avoid answering their phones. Thank you caller ID. We are having a relationship with each other's voicemails instead! People are also interacting more via text, Twitter, or email than actually getting together in person. Are you guilty of this? Aw come on, let's face it, how many times have you avoided seeing a person face to face and emailed or texted them instead?

Technological advancement has actually created a new age way of 'building a wall' between others and us. We simply turn off our gadgets to end communication. The same gadgets that were meant to make communication simpler and faster are the same tools we use to avoid closeness with others.

The need for face-to-face interaction is becoming obsolete and reliance on technology continues to isolate us further from one another. "Getting together" is now done via teleconference calls. We get together with others who share a common interest or common challenge and provide 'support' that sorely lacks within our communities, families, and friendships. Relationships end via text or get posted with a change of status on Facebook!

It is a shame that the more technologically advanced we get, the more isolated and lonely we become as a society. While it's wonderful to be able to connect with someone who lives thousands of miles away, it's sad that those who live within driving or even walking distance from one another opt to communicate via techs than in person.

If you find yourself feeling more isolated than before, put down the phones, walk away from the computer and make plans to get together with friends and family in person. Get to know your neighbors, reach out and form a connection with another. You'll be surprised how many people are craving the same but afraid to step outside their increasingly limited comfort zones.