Staying Connected...

Today, it seems like we are always connected to some kind of technology. Whether it is consciously or unconsciously. It is very common to be doing other things, while staying updated with new technology, such as our cell phones, ipods, video games, laptops, radio, television, and many other kinds of media technology.

Many people watch TV, and surf the Internet, while other will be doing homework and be playing on facebook, as well as talking or texting on our cell phones. For me this multi-tasking is something that I do all day long. I can be at work helping a customer on the phone, and be texting a friend at the same time. I have gotten so used to the technology around me, and learned how to use it, that I don't have to think about how to use it, it is something that just comes natural to me.

I find comfort knowing that wherever I go, my cell phone will have service. Cell phones have become a technology that so many of us depend on everyday. In the time we are in now, its uncommon to hear of somebody who doesn't have a cell phone. It makes me wonder what would we do if this technology that we depend on so much now, for Internet, texting, taking pictures, was to one day just disappear. We are surrounded by technology everyday, and we rely on it to do homework, to work, to socialize, etc... at what point do you ask yourself, "how much is too much?"

In class, we read the article, "Ubiquitous Computing" by Jason Weiss. He defines the term ubiquitous computing as, "Ubiquitous computing's highest ideal is to make a computer so imbedded, so fitting, so natural, that we use it without even thinking about it." When I think about ubiquitous computing I think about texting. On our cell phones we are given the option of either texting letter by letter, or predictive text. The predictive text option allows us to just type the word and not have to think about it. Letter by letter text is the slow way of texting in my opinion. You have to think about what you are saying and make sure that you spelled the word right. Many people can use predictive text and not even have to look at their phone.

It is so interesting to see how people react when a technology they use isn't working. For example the Internet. I get so frustrated when the Internet isn't working. The Internet is a technology that rely on, more than I think. Most of the time now, I have to have the Internet to do my homework, read emails, stay updated on current events, work and more. Today at my work, for the last hour of work our Internet was down, and we were not able to our job. It is so amusing at school when the Internet goes down, to watch those people who have their laptops sit and refresh their Internet to see if its working. We don't realize how dependent we are on technology, such as the Internet, until we are not able to access it.

In one way or another we are always some how connected to technology. We have adapted to it, and learned how to use new technology to our advantage. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) have made it possible for us to find directions to the location that we are going. This technology has made it so much easier to get places that we don't know how to get there instead of having to look at directions and street signs, a GPS tells us where to turn. This technology is now a part of newer cars, and we are also able to buy them to put in our cars if we don't have one. I have a GPS in my car, and I don't know what I would do without it. It gets me to the location in half the time of me trying to find it with just the address.

Using the latest technology can be a good and bad thing when it comes to interpersonal relationships. It helps all of us stay more connected, but also has the potential to isolate us. How would we go about relationships that we have developed through technology if the Internet was not available to us? I think that without technology that many of our relationships would suffer.

Overall, I feel that new media technology is a good thing for many reasons. At the same time I do think that we should limit ourselves on how much and often we are connected. Its stressful to feel like we always have to be connected, its nice to just shut it off and not have to worry about whats going on in the world of technology. I don't really know the answer of how much is too much when it comes to technology because it brings so many positive aspects to users. It depends a lot on the individual person and how they feel about their use of the technology. But I do feel that we should focus more on the good aspects of technology rather than the negative.

Text Messaging and Relationships

In 2008, 95.4 billions text messanges were sent by United States mobile users. In the same period 648 million texts were sent a day, and 42 million texts per hour. Today texting has become a new technology in itself. All cell phones plans come with some sort of texting plan. Texting has helped to shape and enhance interpersonal relationships. All ages, have started texting to talk to friends and family. It has become a fact that Americans text more than they talk on the phone.

For me personally, I would much rather text certain people in my life then talk to them on the phone. It just seems so much easier and faster for me to text someone, and I know that they are much more likely to text me back then they are to call me back if I happen to call them and they don't answer. Some people see text messaging as a huge benefit to their relationships, and even say that texting saved their relationship because they were able to communicate more. According to the Mobile Data Association, 74% of women say they have used text messaing in the last 26 minutes. (I would have to agree, as I am writing this post and I am texting a friend), and 26% of men said they had.

So the big question so many people ask is "should I build a relationship through texting?" Here are three tips to one should use if they are going to build a dating relationship through texting:

1- quick love notes are better than long 160 character love notes. Sending a quick "I was just thinking about you" is a lot more impactful than "hey, what's going on. I didn't have much going on right now so I decided to send you a message." That's just a bunch of blah blah blah and it has no feeling to it.
2- - ask engaging questions that will make the person get involved in your text message instead of having them mindlessly sending something back to you. Texting is great to play off each other and build attraction. The problem is that some people just don't know how it works and their messages don't go anywhere. A poor text message is anything that doesn't move the conversation along. Remember to ask questions or have leading comments like "you were suppose to be there..."
3- - Flirt, flirt, flirt. You must leave the normal friend conversations and send lines that trigger emotions and create attraction. You do this by role playing, bantering, playing hard to get, taking the person on an emotional roller coaster, etc....

Being able to text in my life has helped so many of my interpersonal relationships to grow. One in particular is with my dad. My parents are divorced. My dad and I dont get the chance to talk to eachother on the phone as much as we would like because we are both so busy. My dad recently learned how to text. We text eachother almost everyday, asking eachother questions that we wouldnt normally ask one another if we were talking on the phone. Texting eachother has made our father-daughter relationship to grow significantly. A survery done by Samusung suggests that over half of American teens and their parents say that textinng eachother has improved their relationship It’s rare that technology actually gets credit for improving parent-teen relations rather than serving as another generational divide, but Samsung claims text messaging has actually moved the two groups closer together. According to a survey commissioned by the Japanese mobile giant, teens report better relationships with their parents since picking up texting.

Text messaging helps to "break the ice" in a relationship. I think that you can learn a lot about somebody by texting because its so easy to do, and almost everyone now knows or is learning how to text to stay in contact with friends, family, children, etc... Texting helps to enhance interpersonal relationships in so many ways. It makes you think about how have we survived without this new technology.