It’s is now the end of the semester, and I will be finishing up Info 3.0 through the Journalism school here at the University of Maryland. It’s a very sad thought that this is the “end,” but it’s one that comes with a lot of reflection about where I’ve come since the beginning of the semester.
At the start of the class, we posted an introductory post on a discussion board to our classmates, and something I said was that “I think that technology is definitely something that can help us greatly, however I think it's often abused and is changing our culture to be more fast paced, which can be good, but can also be bad.” I definitely still believe this to be true. I think that more and more people will start to use technology in a more productive manner, but I definitely think that a lot of people will use it in unproductive and possibly destructive ways as well. There are so many possibilities for people to use mobile applications, and various online tools, that I think that with the right motivation and mindset, that people have extreme potentials to do great things with their lives in many different aspects. From organization, to marketing, to planning, to communicating, people have a plethora of options.
However with these options come distractions as well. There are so many fun websites and applications with games and things of that nature that people who are all ready unproductive with their time, have the potential to get even worse. Another thing that I said in my introductory discussion post is that “I think that the amount of technology used in classes is currently very appropriate, as well as the amount of technology I use at my different work places.” Again I still agree. I was able to see a broad difference between amounts of technology included in the classroom and at work, and I definitely think what’s going on right now is working the best for me. To be able to use your laptop when you want it seems to work for me. As we learned in class, you seem to work better when you’re multitasking and you’re focusing on either verbatim topics, or completely unrelated topics, and those are usually the two things I do. So from now on, I’ll be sure to either surf the web for random things, or find identical information to what we’re talking about in class (more likely the second, because the first is pretty unprofessional).
For those that didn’t get to experience this class, I want to emphasize the importance of privacy. There are a lot of people out there, who are more interested in their own lives, but there are others who definitely a lot more interested in committing cyber crimes, and they do so by stealing our information. Sometimes people don’t know better in the area of giving out information online, but that’s something that I think people should learn more about. People need to know that they shouldn’t put their entire lives online. They should definitely figure out a balance between sharing and privacy, because a lot of seemingly meaningless information could put both you and your loved ones in danger.
At the beginning of this post I said that this is the “end,” and yes the quotations are necessary. Though I’m finishing this class now, I would like to continue writing on this blog even after the semester ends. As I’ve learned with this class, technology holds so much potential. And with that spirit, I’d like to show my potential through technology and show to my future employers, or volunteer organizations, or anything else I do in my life, that I’ve had a lot going for me in my field. I’ve thought about it in many different lights, including technology, and that gives me a one up on some of the fellow applicants to a job, or a volunteer position, or wherever else life takes me.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
The Present and Future of Family and Technology
Technology and family are two realms that are starting to intersect in many different ways. One was talked about in my Audioboo interview with Stephanie Rivero, a first year graduate student in the Couples and Family Therapy program. Rivero talked about how the increase in technology is both positively and negatively affecting communication between parents and children. 
She said that “Whereas before it was more difficult for families to communicate...because there were no cell phones...now they have cell phones and they can contact them, whenever they’re in an emergency and things in that nature.” What Rivero points out is very true. Cell phones are great for those times that you absolutely need to be in touch with someone immediately, but as Rivero goes on to talk about, “A negative is that people, or children, are using technology as opposed to speaking to their parents face to face about topics that can be difficult...because they’re kind of nervous to talk to their parents face to face, whereas sometimes those communications would best be had in person.” Instead of telling parents about things like a car accident, or getting a ticket, or failing a class in person, they just shoot over an informal text, or maybe a post on a Facebook wall.
I’ve talked about mainly families in terms of parents and their children, but something that I also wanted to touch on was actually Rivero’s specialty: couples. A big part of a successful family is having parents that get along. Whether the family is nuclear (“traditional” with a mother, a father, and their children), binuclear (a family in which members live in two different households; ex. divorced or separated parents), or blended (created when two people marry and one or both brings children in from a previous partnershi
p), there is still a major importance revolving around adult role models that get along. In the embedded Audioboo interview, Rivero talks about how a lot of people she’s spoken to in marriages or who have partners “sometimes argue through text messages which is something that is relatively new because text messaging started pretty recently.” This new phenomenon that is extremely convenient is also coming with some positive side affects. Rivero says, “It allows you to...write down what you’re feeling and think about it before you actually hit send whereas...if you’re in an argument face to face, you might actually say things that you don’t mean or things that you’ll regret.” Though it’s nice to be able to filter the things you say through text messaging, there’s also a loss of the nonverbal communication, which is an extremely important component to communication in general, but especially when you’re in a heated discussion. Sometimes through text messaging, you might not realize how harsh something sounds on the other end, especially if you didn’t mean it to be that way.
According to the Marriage and Family Encyclopedia’s article written by Tara M. Emmers-Sommer and Kathleen M. Galvin, “Whereas e-mail has increased communication among some family members, it is used as a substitute for face-to-face conversation among others.” This is a problem because of what I mentioned earlier about the lack of nonverbal communication. The fact that technological communication is often replacing face-to-face communication is a problem, however it’s being addressed. With products like webcams, Skype, and more recently the iPhone’s FaceTime, people are starting to gain the ability to incorporate visuals wit
h their online communication. Instead of sending and receiving virtual messages through a computer screen or faceless cell phone, you can finally start seeing people’s faces. This is great for those families that can’t be together, like long-distance relatives, or partners who are separated because of a work trip. The possibilities are endless. Recently, Apple has added FaceTime to their iPod Touches, which is an outstanding way of incorporating communication into other realms. You could just be listening to your favorite song, and then pause to see your cousin’s new baby, or to quickly give advice LIVE about which prom dress your sister should buy. Like I said, the possibilities are endless, and the future of technology is helping increase the range of things we can do to stay in touch in better ways.
The future of technology could also improve married couples or other partners. Now that more information is available online, there are likely many applications being designed to address social issues like communications between partners. Things like reminders to do something sweet for your partner, or even a reminder of important dates like birthdays and anniversaries will help. The world of technology continues to grow, and could help improve these kinds of issues. However, like it was mentioned in the Audioboo interview, face to face communication is important too. If people become too dependent on technology and communicating in that way, then partners might not maintain the kind of relationship that allows for growth through face-to-face conversations, which is an essential component in a successful relationship.
She said that “Whereas before it was more difficult for families to communicate...because there were no cell phones...now they have cell phones and they can contact them, whenever they’re in an emergency and things in that nature.” What Rivero points out is very true. Cell phones are great for those times that you absolutely need to be in touch with someone immediately, but as Rivero goes on to talk about, “A negative is that people, or children, are using technology as opposed to speaking to their parents face to face about topics that can be difficult...because they’re kind of nervous to talk to their parents face to face, whereas sometimes those communications would best be had in person.” Instead of telling parents about things like a car accident, or getting a ticket, or failing a class in person, they just shoot over an informal text, or maybe a post on a Facebook wall.I’ve talked about mainly families in terms of parents and their children, but something that I also wanted to touch on was actually Rivero’s specialty: couples. A big part of a successful family is having parents that get along. Whether the family is nuclear (“traditional” with a mother, a father, and their children), binuclear (a family in which members live in two different households; ex. divorced or separated parents), or blended (created when two people marry and one or both brings children in from a previous partnershi
p), there is still a major importance revolving around adult role models that get along. In the embedded Audioboo interview, Rivero talks about how a lot of people she’s spoken to in marriages or who have partners “sometimes argue through text messages which is something that is relatively new because text messaging started pretty recently.” This new phenomenon that is extremely convenient is also coming with some positive side affects. Rivero says, “It allows you to...write down what you’re feeling and think about it before you actually hit send whereas...if you’re in an argument face to face, you might actually say things that you don’t mean or things that you’ll regret.” Though it’s nice to be able to filter the things you say through text messaging, there’s also a loss of the nonverbal communication, which is an extremely important component to communication in general, but especially when you’re in a heated discussion. Sometimes through text messaging, you might not realize how harsh something sounds on the other end, especially if you didn’t mean it to be that way. According to the Marriage and Family Encyclopedia’s article written by Tara M. Emmers-Sommer and Kathleen M. Galvin, “Whereas e-mail has increased communication among some family members, it is used as a substitute for face-to-face conversation among others.” This is a problem because of what I mentioned earlier about the lack of nonverbal communication. The fact that technological communication is often replacing face-to-face communication is a problem, however it’s being addressed. With products like webcams, Skype, and more recently the iPhone’s FaceTime, people are starting to gain the ability to incorporate visuals wit
h their online communication. Instead of sending and receiving virtual messages through a computer screen or faceless cell phone, you can finally start seeing people’s faces. This is great for those families that can’t be together, like long-distance relatives, or partners who are separated because of a work trip. The possibilities are endless. Recently, Apple has added FaceTime to their iPod Touches, which is an outstanding way of incorporating communication into other realms. You could just be listening to your favorite song, and then pause to see your cousin’s new baby, or to quickly give advice LIVE about which prom dress your sister should buy. Like I said, the possibilities are endless, and the future of technology is helping increase the range of things we can do to stay in touch in better ways. The future of technology could also improve married couples or other partners. Now that more information is available online, there are likely many applications being designed to address social issues like communications between partners. Things like reminders to do something sweet for your partner, or even a reminder of important dates like birthdays and anniversaries will help. The world of technology continues to grow, and could help improve these kinds of issues. However, like it was mentioned in the Audioboo interview, face to face communication is important too. If people become too dependent on technology and communicating in that way, then partners might not maintain the kind of relationship that allows for growth through face-to-face conversations, which is an essential component in a successful relationship.
I foresee a lot of changes in the culture of families and how they communicate. With more ways to communicate through technology, I think a lot of people will start to contact each other in those ways, however like all new things, I also believe there will be people analyzing the negative side affects, and addressing them. If it were to get to a point in which divorce rates were rising due to incompetent communication, or if parents and children were starting to feel disconnected even with all of their online communicating being done, someone will do something to bring it back to an acceptable level.
**I wasn't able to embed the actual interview, but I WAS able to Tweet it, so please see my Twitter feed on the right to hear the interview itself!
Sources: Emmers-Sommer, Tara M., and Kathleen M. Galvin. "Communication - Couple Relationships, Family Relationships." Marriage and Family Encylopedia. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. http://family.jrank.org/pages/291/Communication.html.
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