Technology is ubiquitous in people’s day-to-day lives in the 21st century, and there is no way of avoiding its power. While technology may have a number of downsides to some people, it is also an amazing way for people to stay connected to one another and have the best possible chance of preserving the community bonds that have begun to slip away over recent decades. From social media and email to news and gaming, there are various areas in which technology makes a transformative impact on human connections. Here is a summary of just how technology is achieving this aim.
Social media
When it comes to technology, it is quite clear that the main way through which most people now connect with one another is through social media. This form of technologywas barely even a concepta few years ago, but it has now seeped into many people’s lives. Social media has become a way to remain connected to everything from events in your local community to the fun that is taking place at family parties.
The real connectivity power of social media lies in its multimedia offering. A grandmother who lives in Florida, for example, can now see her grandchildren’s latest baby photos even if they are all the way on the other side of the country in Oregon. This sort of connectivity is something that cannot be valued enough, andsocial media is likely going to continue to play a major role in helping families and communities develop stronger bonds.
In some ways, email provides people with the same opportunity for personal connections as social media, but overall, it isdefinitely a little different. Emailreplicates the letter-writing functions of years gone by, and this isan excellent benefit for people who want to either become or stay connected to others.
While some individuals periodicallyclaim that the Internet is discouraging longer-form types of personal connections due to the short length of tweets and the low attention spans of young people, the existence of email suggests something else. By giving people the chance to write messages of unlimited length, email can be a vital way for people to bond with one another on an emotional level, even if they are very far away from each other.
Playing games
Gaming technology also connects people now more than ever. Those who play games online can now communicate with their friends through complex video and audio-based systems, meaning that the modern gaming experience offers many opportunities for people to join in on the fun. If you are more of a gambler, meanwhile, thentechnology also gives you the chance to connect to your lucky stars, thanks to the rise of the matching tool and horoscope lucky numbers system that can help predict your best lottery numbers.
News and media
While online news outlets might not be as much of a two-way street as email and social media, theydefinitely have a role to play in building community connections. Whether people enjoy the way that the news media tells them what they need to know about politics and economics or simply how the latest weather forecast will affect them, they have an easier time feeling part of a connected world when theyare well-informed about what is going on in it.
With something as large as the Internet, there are always going to be question marks about the extent to which it connects people and the degree to which it drives people apart. The news is actually a key plank in this debate – with fake news and misinformation now widely recognized to be everywhere online, divisions are in some ways inevitable. However, this is counterbalanced by the many community news websites that have sprung up in recent years to fill the void caused by closing local newspapers.The online news media brings people together in a way that may not even have seemed possible a decade or two ago.
Looking out for one’s community used to second-nature to most people. While this concept may now seem as though it is under threat due to how modern life has panned out, the power to claim it back actually lies right under your nose. From the ways that technology allows people to share photos of their family members to the power that it holds in connecting people around news stories, games and many other types of content, it is now the driving force in preserving social bonds.
