Time to Meet Part 2
To build off of the last journal entry, I fear that relations are getting harder.
I'm viewing with increasing alarm the difficulty of maintaining relations. As written below, the time available to meet is getting smaller. In an earlier entry I also mentioned the increasing difficulty for remote relations due to people using different methods for communicating and the lack of a standard. This means that each method I use can only access a few other people each. It it isn't nearly as efficient to have many communication programs with a few people each as it is to have one with everyone. While I respect people's choices in the matter (I do not demand everyone to follow me) the problem of non synchronization remains.
As for nearly every friendship, in person meetings are much better quality than online relations. But nowadays it seems online relations have decayed even further to being near zero for almost everyone. This means in person meetings are the sole means to maintain relations. Unfortunately as mentioned below, this too is losing footing like an island to the rising oceans.
Now it is important to note that I think face to face interactions to be superior to online ones and I wouldn't like a situation where face to face is abandoned in favor of online ones all the time. In fact if getting off the computer results in everyone meeting more often, then that's great. However, it would be nice if the decline of online relations was accompanied by a rise of face to face ones. Sometimes it seems the decline of online communication is not being accompanied by a rise of personal interaction. We are turning inwardly for fast satisfaction with computer games and TV shows and other solitary activities but that will lead to boredom and isolation. It's really a junk food of entertainment since it is cheap and easy and fills you up in the short run, but is unfulfilling in the long.
Personally I hope this trend can be reversed. I hope it is still possible to hold on to old friends and make new ones with the limited time resources in the future. We'll have to wait and see.
I'm viewing with increasing alarm the difficulty of maintaining relations. As written below, the time available to meet is getting smaller. In an earlier entry I also mentioned the increasing difficulty for remote relations due to people using different methods for communicating and the lack of a standard. This means that each method I use can only access a few other people each. It it isn't nearly as efficient to have many communication programs with a few people each as it is to have one with everyone. While I respect people's choices in the matter (I do not demand everyone to follow me) the problem of non synchronization remains.
As for nearly every friendship, in person meetings are much better quality than online relations. But nowadays it seems online relations have decayed even further to being near zero for almost everyone. This means in person meetings are the sole means to maintain relations. Unfortunately as mentioned below, this too is losing footing like an island to the rising oceans.
Now it is important to note that I think face to face interactions to be superior to online ones and I wouldn't like a situation where face to face is abandoned in favor of online ones all the time. In fact if getting off the computer results in everyone meeting more often, then that's great. However, it would be nice if the decline of online relations was accompanied by a rise of face to face ones. Sometimes it seems the decline of online communication is not being accompanied by a rise of personal interaction. We are turning inwardly for fast satisfaction with computer games and TV shows and other solitary activities but that will lead to boredom and isolation. It's really a junk food of entertainment since it is cheap and easy and fills you up in the short run, but is unfulfilling in the long.
Personally I hope this trend can be reversed. I hope it is still possible to hold on to old friends and make new ones with the limited time resources in the future. We'll have to wait and see.