The lost art of human interaction

[kindle]

Hi everyone, since it's so quiet, I thought I'd start a new topic, something which I personally find disturbing.

While I applaud the invention/creation of the iPhone and several social communication mediums like Facebook and twitter, which is/was intended to improve social interaction, I feel that it has a somewhat reverse effect on society. The phenomenon is quite prominent in Singapore, as opposed to anywhere else I've been to in the world, not that I've been around that much, but enough to compare.

What phenomenon, you might ask. If you are an average commuter, you will probably know it, or are even part of it. In the train on any given day, you can probably spot 8/10 people with their faces stuck on the screen of a smart phone. And at social gatherings, or even wedding dinners, small reunions with friends, even on dates.

What's the worst?

When couples are out and one or both are glued to their phones/tablets. Is the other half so uninteresting that they have to resort to fb or whatever stuff they're doing on the phone to fill in the boredom? Personally, I feel it is downright rude, when you spare time to hang out with friends or your other half, but they spend more that half of that time on their devices.

I feel somewhat sad, that this is what society has become, where people can no longer communicate on a personal level, where they rather "shout" their displeasure or joy on their wall statuses or twitter, or invite friends to gatherings through fb, or even chat with old friends via fb pm when they're actually only a text message or phonecall away.

While I myself own an iPhone, I practice restraint in social gatherings. Maybe I'm old school, but I still enjoy face to face interaction very much, where every word, every tone, every laugh, every facial expression plays a part in a good old conversation.

What do you all think? Feel free to share, defend or rant!