After reading this week’s chapter on groups, networks, and
organizations, I do believe that people are more isolated due to technology.
When answering this question, I first thought about the Internet and how that
applies to the topic. The Internet is a way to form networks, which are sets of
informal and formal social ties that link people to each other. However, I
believe that these networks consist more of people that you know indirectly
than directly. This makes interactions on the Internet less personal. In
addition, these networks tend to be very large groups of people. As groups
increase in number from dyads and triads to larger groups, the intensity of
interaction between people decreases. This means that each person would be more
isolated.
I also think that technology has made people more isolated
in regards to interactions via the phone. It used to be that people would talk
on the phone. Just being able to hear a person’s voice and the emotion they are
expressing makes a conversation more personal. Now, most people tend to text
message instead of having actual phone conversations. I think this could lead
to a person feeling more isolated.
I'm not certain that it's so much if its so much technology as much as reforming taboos. For instance, talking on the phone is fine if you know that it's okay to call at that point. Or if it's not too late (older individuals won't call after ten because it's taboo and rude, you know?) so email may be the only way to "talk" to them at an appropraite time.
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