How Technology Complicates Relationships

For a college student in this era it is hard to remember life without constant cell phone and Internet exposure. I personally had my first cell phone at age 13 because my parents wanted to always have access to communicating with me. While cellphones, smartphones, and the Internet have a limitless amount of positive possibility it also can create endless problems. I recently just ended a one-year relationship with a girl that ended with her literally and physically punching me in the face. The cause of it was because of Instagram. Instagram is a popular social media app that originated for the iPhone and has now also moved to Android platforms. Instagram is basically the visual version of Twitter. You post images and people can comment on them and like them. What set my ex off was that I simply liked another girl’s picture that she didn’t approve of. While obviously there was some immaturity also involved with the relationship it made me do some thinking about how things used to be so different. Less than 30 years ago forms of communication included telephone use, face-to-face, and written letter. They didn’t have cell phones that listed every person you called, received a call from, or a missed call from. There wasn’t as much opportunity to stalk through someone’s life and create new insecurities. They didn’t have grouped text and Facebook messages saved to a platform that a crazy girl could go through while the guy is asleep. Other students have commented on how they found out more about their boyfriends and girlfriends from Facebook than by actually communicating with them at first and I feel that this will only get worst. Recently Google released this video to demonstrate new glasses they are producing: 

Google Glasses

These glasses seem to have what I mentioned before, a limitless amount of positive possibilities, but can you imagine how far being able to just look at someone and know everything about them can go? Perhaps you’ll meet a gorgeous girl that really takes you in and then take one glance at her and find out she has opposite political, religious, and social beliefs than you all from your glasses being linked up to her Facebook. The traditional love story the way Shakespeare saw it in his time is quickly slipping away. This faster than ever spread of technology will complicate and change human behavior more than anything that has come before it.