Couple and family relationships in a world of technology

Modern technologies have changed the way people communicate. These technologies offer new and innovative ways of communication — text messages, emails, chat and social networks. They enable faster and more effective communication and can help build relationships. However, modern technologies can also have negative effects, such as limiting personal contacts and creating tension and misunderstanding in relationships.

Insight

It is not necessary to look far to see the potential disturbing effects of technology in our culture. Who has not seen a family in a restaurant where mom, dad, brother, and sister look at their screens? Browsing, responding on a mobile device in their hands, and complete mental absenteeism. The event in the park: "Mom ... Mom ... MOM!", Calls a child trying to attract the attention of his parent sitting on the bench, but his look is directed at his phone.

Common situations also occur within our homes. We watch television with our partner, where we have eyes directed toward the screen and every time we look at our little device — our eyes are almost never directed towards each other. How many times are we in a situation where a child wants our attention and a conversation with us, but we do not hesitate to respond or quickly respond to him and he needs to wait for, as we need to answer to the urgent e-mail. Do you recognize yourself in one of the situations?

Before continuing, it is important to distinguish between the use of technology and technology disruptions that affect our interpersonal relationships. It is clear that we have many benefits with its use from a cultural and family standpoint. From a cultural point of view, technological innovation is crucial to our intellectual advancement in almost all areas of study. We can work faster, from remote locations, with equipment that is portable, powerful and lightweight. Technology is a great thing. It enables us to make important connections from the comfort of our homes, provide a platform for learning, socializing, entertaining and innovating. However, the use of technology sometimes distorts daily relationships between individuals and can cause disruptions or interruptions in communication.

Couple relationships

Mobile technology and the Internet are presented as an effective medium for designing and maintaining intimate relationships. Thus, technology helps maintain relationships, which helps partners to feel more connected and satisfied. However, technology can also cause interference in couples relationships. For example, when a personal intimate conversation is suddenly interrupted when one of the partners turns his attention to his phone, checks messages, responds to alerts, or makes a phone call. According to the latest research, these interruptions can adversely affect romantic relationships, where the neglected partner feels partnership and life's dissatisfaction and even signs of depression.

Maintaining a successful relationship is not easy. We all know that. We know that we need to be open, honest and loyal to our partners in order to be happy. We are aware that mystery and manipulation with partners are unlikely to end well. We also know that we need to communicate with our partners, whether through the phone, in person or through other online applications. The more advanced the technology makes it possible for us to stay connected, this 24/7, we find that this often makes more distance from one another. Even if we send messages all the time, we are always wondering when another person will return the answer.

Of course, this does not apply to all partnerships. Usually, pressure comes with couples where the relationship is still being established and the uncertainty is more present. Therefore, it is so difficult to start and maintain a relationship with the technology that we have. So we get used to the fact that we have the majority of the world at our fingertips, we expect an immediate response from a person who has attracted our romantic expectations. It is true that we have mobile phones for everything that we may need, but it can be argued that it also puts great pressure on couple relationships, especially those that are in the stage of falling in love.

Family relationships

There is no doubt that technology affects family relationships in our everyday life. Children are constantly sending messages, active in their social media, listening to music, browsing popular websites, watching TV or movies. Due to the phenomenon of mobile technology, these practices are no longer limited just to our home, but they can occur while driving in cars, in restaurants, in fact, wherever we have access to the mobile signal.

With certainty, we can affirm that not only children are responsible for the growing gap between parents and their offspring. It is interesting that parents try to prevent this growing gap, but not by actually communicating with children in person, but by entering their cyberspace. The fact is that since the rise of technology, family life has changed considerably. The consequences of mutual distance can be deep and irreversible. A family without a genuine and real connection can't build relationships as strongly as they can, nor can they maintain them. Therefore, children will feel less connected, trusted, safe and, most importantly, love from their parents. Less communication, it also means that parents are less aware of what is happening in the lives of their children, and consequently, we have fewer opportunities to influence them. Parents are also less able to offer proper control and guidance and to be a good example for their children, helping them to create healthy behavior, positive values and send good messages to their children.

Conclusion

The effect of technology on interpersonal relationships is colored​ by a rather negative image. But this is a valuable debate, as it teaches us how to balance our personal and online communication with others. It seems that the best approach is to try to look at technology as a tool that makes life easier and doesn't act as a substitute for real life and what is valuable to us in life — personal relationships with our dearest people. Technology just can't replace the human touch!

Talk to you soon ..
Much love,
SR*