I welcome you to my blog. It is no new news that our world is changing and things are no longer how they used to be. Every day, one technological advancement or another is introduced into our world, and for every technological advancement that hits our world, the more distant apart we get from each other (friends, family, classmates or schoolmates, work colleagues). Once upon a time, to know how a friend or family member was faring, you had to visit them, stay with them for some time, probably a day or two, and see for yourself that they were doing okay.
Then we got mobile phones, and a little distance came into the picture. We reduced how much time we got to see them in their houses and how much time we spent there whenever we went to see them. After all, when you hear their voice over the phone, you can be able to deduce if they are fine or not. Also, since there is a way to reach out to each other whenever there is an issue, there is no need to show up at each other's place from time to time, and that is exactly how the rate at which we used to have face-to-face interactions with friends, family, classmates, and colleagues reduced drastically.
Smartphones, laptops, and social media are some of the things that reduced face-to-face interactions below the barest minimum. What's the point of going to see a friend or family member if I can just text them on WhatsApp, Facebook, or Instagram, and if worse comes to worst, I can voice call them, and if I am not convinced with what they are saying, I can video call them just to be sure? With a video call, I can see how they are doing and their current location. If I can do all that and all it will cost is data, then what is the point of leaving the house, paying for transportation fare, and risking my life on the highway just to go see them? And that took face-to-face interactions below the barest minimum we have today.
I have friends that will even tell you not to call them unless it's an emergency; just text me on WhatsApp. I am always online and will reply immediately. What makes you think someone that does not even want phone calls will want you in their space? With every technological advancement, the distance between us skyrockets to another level, causing us to have very little face-to-face interaction with one another.
There were also days when, as classmates, we could come together and work on an assignment or homework, and everybody would copy together, and we enjoyed each other's company, but these days such a thing happens on rare occasions because of the existence of AI (artificial intelligence). If I can comfortably use artificial intelligence and solve my assignment or homework from the comfort of my room, then what is the point of leaving my room? Group study for students was taken out of the picture, and face-to-face interaction reduced even more.
