Does Technology Make You More Social?
Just about everyone has a cellphone these days allowing people to make and receive calls and text message anytime anywhere. The Facebook and Twitter sites get thousands of updates every day but are people more sociable today than they were without these technological marvels of the last decade?
A study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project gathered from a sample of 2,512 adults in the US indicate that:
• People who use cellphones are more social and are more likely to volunteer in local organizations than those who don’t.
• People using social networking sites like Facebook are 30% less likely to be acquainted with their neighbors.
• The circle of friends among cellphone users is 12% higher than non-users and people sharing photos online or instant messages have large social circles.
The study should close the issue that to some extent, spending most of your time using cellphones or being in front of computers doesn’t necessarily mean you’re losing touch with friends.