Answer:

Humans are made to be in relationships. We have an innate longing to share our lives with family, friends, and partners. This social interaction is important but it is often complex. A person sends and receives information in many ways when they are communicating with someone PHYSICALLY in front of them. For instance, a conversation is not just about the WORDS, rather the message includes tone of voice, body language, facial expressions, context, and sometimes physical touch. While face-to-face interaction is the most genuine form of social interaction, technology has enabled people to socially interact without physically being in the same place.

Now we can communicate with one another through websites and apps like Facebook and Snapchat. Ironically, technologically based social interaction becomes more popular as it adds features that mimic face-to-face interaction. For instance, the introduction of emojis in texting and on Facebook has given us the ability to show a facial expression and even indicate physical touch. They are popular because we feel we are able to better express ourselves but the actual expressions are still artificial. Snapchat is also popular because it does not have the same permanency as Facebook. Snapchat incorporates emojis, texts, pictures, and videos so we can not only show our surroundings but also use our own tone of voice and facial expressions. However, these methods of connecting are limited because they do not incorporate all aspects of face-to-face interaction.

Social technology is valuable because we are able to stay connected with friends and family who are further away but it is beginning to replace face-to-face interaction. It may not be a conscious decision, but more and more people are rely on technology for social interaction rather than interacting with others in person. Additionally, people have become so vested in how they are portrayed online that they often will only put flattering pictures and stories on social media. The COMBINATION of spending less time interacting in person and having superficial interaction online is making us feel isolated.

In a recent Ted Talk, psychiatrist Robert Waldinger discussed the findings of a 75 year study on adult development conducted by researchers at Harvard University. They found that the one most important contributing factor to happiness was healthy, genuine relationships. Those who were more socially connected were happier and healthier whereas those who were more isolated were less happy and LIVED shorter lives. As mentioned before, social interactions through technology tend to be superficial, isolating and less genuine than face-to-face interactions. Social technology can actually be detrimental to our well-being and overall happiness.

If the CURRENT trend continues over the next 10 years, we will grow increasingly more reliant on technology for social interaction and the amount of time spent physically with other people will reduce. This trend will cause us to have significantly less genuine social connections and we will ultimately feel more isolated. In the new reality we will prefer to brag about our lives online in order to gain affirmation from our followers instead of sharing a funny moment around a dinner table. We will grow accustomed to seeing a cartoon face on our phones instead of a candid expression but ultimately technology will never be able to bring us happiness in the same way as face-to-face interaction.