Technology Empowers or Dehumanizes Relationships

Dan C. and I had a discussion today on whether technology empowers or dehumanizes Relationships.

Look around on the train or bus. People are listening to iPods, reading their e-books, replying emails, watching videos, texting messages, playing games. Nobody talks any more, as if nobody needs to. There isn’t even eye contact. It is amazing – and scary – how people in such close proximity could be so disconnected.

Technology is supposed to be a tool to facilitate interaction, not to prevent it. But why people IM when they are sitting to each other? I personally think it is up to the people. From my personal experience, technology definitely empowers me to communicate with my network.

Before Facebook, I seldom talked to my college friends, almost never talked to my high schoolmates in Hong Kong. Now, not only we "talked", we are organizing reunion outside the cyber world. LinkedIn is my address book for most of my colleagues and business associates. It helps me to track if they change job or get promoted. I always send a note to them when that happens. My best friends (since childhood) are not in the US, but we never feel we are far from each other. It is all because of the advanced technology. Without it, I don't know how I work efficiently with freelancers around the world on some of my moonlight projects.

Dan argued that technology is an enabler but also a trap. Since it enables remote access to work, most of us work longer and practically standing by 24/7. People feel compelled to be plugged so as not to fall behind.

Is that technology's fault? Technology improves productivities. It makes remote working possible, but never asks anyone to work more hours. It is the people who choose to work more hours. It is the corporate culture, peer pressure, and close deadline that force people to “choose” to work harder.

But serious, it is your call – to control or to be controlled by technology.