When communicating through technology, we can present ourselves like we want to. Instead of
connecting face-to-face with one another, noticing each other’s imperfections, not knowing the
outcome of the conversation when spontaneously taking turns, some people prefer writing an e-mail
where they can stay totally in control of what they want to say, how they present themselves and
when to take their turn. Similarly, we may perceive others like we want to, not as they actually are.
When communicating through technology, we may pick and choose exactly whatever we want to
learn about others and what to communicate about, compared to face-to-face interaction where we
also have to listen to the “boring” stuff.
Some of us have already changed so that we don’t even realize that we have substituted real
social interaction to sending messages and social media. New technology has done a lot of good for
society, but at the same time it may have changed us into something we don’t necessarily want to
be. It is one thing to reach for remote connections when there is no one around, but what if you
already were in a social situation, would you still rather attend to your mobile device?
Phone-snubbing, or phubbing for short, is a word that was invented to describe a behavior of
deliberately ignoring other people in a social situation by attending to your phone instead
(Phubbing, 2014). This kind of addictive mobile device behavior could be considered something
that is normal nowadays, and phubbing is not necessarily done on purpose. Ignoring others while
attending to a mobile device could be a behavior that some have fallen into, without meaning to
harm the others.
Another symptom of our preferred technology mediated relations could be that some people are
willingly listening to music in public and blocking all distractions from the real world by hiding
behind headphones. Some might be gazing at their mobile devices, intentionally showing that they
are busy and actually uninterested in real social interaction. Some gamers can be so immersed into
a virtual world that they do not even know what is going on around them. Some may be doing all of
these at the same time for the maximum effect. Imagine what happens when new gadgets like
augmented reality glasses become ubiquitous. A person you are with might be looking at you, but is
mentally somewhere else.
So how is modern communication technology changing society? The “Truth about connected
you”-survey of 9000 online participants (McCann Ericson, 2013) reports that more than 80% of the
participants felt that mobile technology has improved both their social and family lives, but over a
third felt that mobile devices distract them from what matters most. Out of the respondents, 72%
said that to be connected requires technology, but 72% also believe that connections today are
weaker than they were in the past.
A clear change has happened in the way we interact with each other. This applies not only the
youngest generation who grew up tethered, but also us who have learned to be more efficient in