Influence of Technology in Modern Life: Social Networks

The accessibility of the new information technology has led that social structures change, and with it the ways of relating to others. With this process of change has created what is known as “virtual communities”, Rheingold defined the virtual communities as a group of social aggregates which arises from internet when a group of people create public discussions long enough to create networks of personal relationships in cyberspace. (Rheingold, 1993, The Virtual Community,). Thus individuals create new social networks where they can exchange information anytime, anywhere, depending on their needs and desires. Issues such as that new information technologies can interfere interpersonal relationships are increasingly questioned by several studies that analyze the impact positive and negative to the use and abuse leads. The aim of this essay is to discuss the pros and cons of the effects that are producing social networks.

Get Help With Your Essay
If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!
Essay Writing Service

The influence of technology in modern life entails negative and positive aspects, Bauman (2010) argues that contemporary men are desperate to relate, however they avoid a permanent relationship, for fear of the tensions that might imply, contrary to what which are not able or willing to endure, as they would limit the freedom they need. The relations are characterized by the ambiguity and they occupy the spotlight of modern individual’s liquids, being the priority in their life projects. Digital communication has caused formal changes in communicative genres and materials in interpersonal relationships (Laborda Gil, 2005). Interpersonal relationships are in constant transformation in everyday human being, and this transformation have influenced the new technological applications generating changes in interpersonal communication. The fact that digital interactions between people increases, is creating a different perception of space and time, a sense of immediacy of events and an acceleration in the process. Interpersonal relations is mutual interaction between two or more people. It involves social and emotional skills that promote effective communication skills, listening, conflict resolution and authentic self-expression. One of the first theorists to dedicate himself to the study of interpersonal behavior was Leary (1957), defining it as any behavior that is related open, conscientious, ethical or symbolically with another real or imagined collective human. Today, we tend to regard interpersonal relationships and cognitive processes as two sides of the same coin, as it begins to pay more attention to the emotional and motivational aspects involved in the interaction, and integrate the contributions from the field of interpersonal theories. This is how it leads to the deepening understanding of the cognitive processes that are involved in interactions with other individuals. However, from a critical look Bauman (2010) argues that people rather than transmit their experience and expectations in terms of “relationships and relationships,” talk about “connections, connecting and staying connected”. Instead of talking about “couples”, prefer to speak of “networks”. Unlike relations, kinship, partner or any other idea that emphasizes mutual commitment; disengagement network represents a matrix that connects and disconnects at the same time. In networks both activities are enabled at the same time, ie connect and disconnect are equally legitimate elections, equal status and equal importance. The network suggests moments of being in contact and other time to snoop; in the networking the connections are established on demand and can be cut as desired, being able to be dissolved before becoming detestable. The pre virtual relationships and real relationships are replaced by virtual relationships or connections. These latter are easily to access and output, are characterized by being sensible, hygienic, easy to use, friendly for the users, as opposed to the heavy, inert, slow and complicated the trues. The relationship between users of social networks goes from vertically to horizontal, enabling a fictitious equality, in which any user becomes emitter producing their own content, and even as a receiver transmitter information for Caldevilla Domínguez (2010) these new forms of communication and interaction, emerge new threats to privacy, if does not differ the public for each of the profiles, being one of the disadvantages of using networks, the identity spoofing and individualism as possible trend to the actual isolation from sociability network. The absence of direct perception of the body and the inaccessibility of the same in cyberspace constitute a limit whose intersubjective effects are paradoxical, as it is lived as both defect and deficiency in the relationship, or as possibility of eliminating a factor of discrimination against others. The difficulty, would lead search reinforcing relations to others through other means with which manages to avoid physical presence or direct exposure in social situations and can remain anonymous or develop a fictitious, or even personality, leave the virtual relationship without negative consequences directly perceptible.
Pretend downplay changes in human relations that the new virtual culture presents is to deny the possibility of believing that a new era related between social media and individuals are emerging. These relations between both parties requires significant knowledge to recognize and use those tools to approach the other from the place that elapses your experience. It will be left to the professionals responsible for an election that contributes to the growth and welfare of those who demand service.
References
Bauman, Z. (2003).Liquid love. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
Bergo, B. (2006).Emmanuel Levinas. [online] Plato.stanford.edu. Available at: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/levinas/ [Accessed 6 Apr. 2015].
Caldevilla Dominguez, D. (2010).Las redes sociales. Tipología, uso y consumo de las redes 2.0 en la sociedad digital actual. España: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias de la Informacion.
Internet Archive, (2015).Interpersonal diagnosis of personality; a functional theory and methodology for personality evaluation : Leary, Timothy, 1920-1996 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive. [online] Available at: https://archive.org/details/interpersonaldia00learrich [Accessed 6 Apr. 2015].
WhatIs.com, (2015).What is virtual community? – Definition from WhatIs.com. [online] Available at: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/virtual-community [Accessed 6 Apr. 2015].
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/virtual-community
Bauman, Z. (2010). Amor Líquido: acerca de la fragilidad de los vínculos humanos. 1a ed. 13ª reimp. Buenos Aires: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Laborda Gil, X. (2005). Tecnologías, Redes y Comunicación Interpersonal. año XII – número II (24) / 2011 fundamentos en humanidades 229 Efectos en las formas de la comunicación digital. Anales de documentación, N°8, pp. 101-116.
Leary, T. (1957). Interpersonal diagnosis of personality: A functional theory and met- hodology for personality evaluation. New York: Ronald Press.
Caldevilla Domínguez, D. (2010). Tipología, uso y consumo de las redes 2.0 en la sociedad digital actual. Documentación de las Ciencias de la Información, vol. 33, pp. 45-68.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/levinas/
https://archive.org/details/interpersonaldia00learrich