Thursday, March 11, 2010

Sneak peek of SXSWi panel: Is Technology Weakening Interpersonal Relationships?

It's spring break and in Austin, that can only mean one thing: time for South by Southwest! Tomorrow I will be participating in a panel on the effects of technology on interpersonal relationships along with Ashley Brown (a former comm. student and advisee), Jenn Deering Davis, and Matt Weber. The plan is to discuss how our wired lives and our need for constant connection are affecting our offline relationships.

To me, there's no denying that technology is changing how we relate to other people - the question is whether it's a change for the better or worse. I'm mostly interested in the question of whether our technology use is taking a toll on our real life relationships. I think a lot of people are starting to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of technologies (& the relationships attached to those technologies) they need to keep up with. I know I am!

For those of you who can't make it to our panel, here's a little sneak peek:

3 comments:

evision said...
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MattHurst said...

While I go back and forth on this all the time, SM does offer a new insight into existing relationships. It seems adverse communication just takes place in a different space, although many of the offending behaviors might be the same.
That being said, I've spent more time in public houses on my smart phone using SM than introducing myself to my neighbors/strangers. Maybe we're trading in part of our community for another interpersonal association?