About once a month The New York Times likes to publish one of these “technology is killing romance” stories, and this recent one from their gadget blog is no different. Blogger Jenna Wortham is concerned about her relationship after she found out her perfect boyfriend doesn’t know how to text properly. She then goes on to explain how technology has become a deterrent in most relationships, causing a major riff between bite-sized, cyber communication and real human ones.
“It could be refreshing to meet someone blissfully unaware of popular digital preoccupations,” she writes. And although she’s somewhat on point, she then contradicts herself in her conclusion by using her boyfriend’s lack of technology skills as basis to end a relationship. So which is it? When our loved ones are more preoccupied with their Facebook statuses than with us, is that bad for a relationship? Or is it the ones who don’t participate in social media that are bringing everyone down because they refuse to live in the 21st century?
We often talk about the complexities of relationships and technology. Obviously nothing can trump real human contact, and although those quick texts you swap in the beginning of your relationship can be cute, eventually further down the road you both will start craving something a little more real. Our advice is to use technology to enhance your relationship while you’re apart, but put the technology aside once you’re together. The majority of your relationship should not be conducted online. Texting your boyfriend a quick “I love u” while you’re both at work is a nice touch to maintain a bond when you’re not together, but don’t use technology as a replacement for lazy human contact. It’s also not a good idea to conduct your relationship via social media, especially when in an argument.
How has technology affected your relationship?
Technology can really interfere with relationships. I’ve seen cases where one person, usually the male from what I’ve heard does not like to talk on the phone but will Instant Message or text very willingly for hours. The female in these cases has problems with it sometimes. In other cases one person does not text properly like said above. Lol. This usually means they don’t reply back quickly enough or give short replies to long thought out texts. It’s definitely a problem but I don’t think technology is ruining relationships, relationships have been enhanced with todays technologies. Look at skype, keeping couples together who are abroad. Just my thoughts
I agree. I think technology gets a bad rap. It’s not technology’s fault if there are some idiots out there who think they can substitute texting for speaking in person, but technology is good for keeping in touch when you’re away from each other. Sometimes chatting via webcam can be kinda romantic. Lol!