Friday, February 4, 2011

Online Networking and Social Phobia - Technological Evolution (srsmode engaged)

Alright well, complete change of pace from the last couple of posts as I actually want you to think about this and hear your opinions and thoughts on the matter. Also, completely ironic to be talking about this on a blog. :P

We live in an evolving society that provides victims of social phobia to function entirely in their home through technology. You can order groceries online, go to school online, work online, and even submerge yourself into massive virtual worlds. Most victims of social phobia crave social interaction just as much or more than those who do not suffer from it. As a result, many of them turn to the online world of social networking where they’re free of face-to-face social interactions but can still satisfy the need to communicate with others. This creates an illusion of relief from social phobia but rather it worsens the anxiety of face-to-face social interactions as the person is exposed to them less and less. Once they’re placed in a face-to-face social interaction, the same self-critical fears about themselves being subjected to others' judgments will arise again, and possibly worse than before due to being withdrawn from interactions. One might ask what this means for an evolving society where face-to-face social interaction can be limited so severely. What does this mean for future generations where people can nearly be raised entirely in isolation and through the internet? Never before has this been possible until the last decade, where technological advances have brought us the possibility of living almost entirely socially virtual lives. Does this mean people will inherently become more and more afraid of face-to-face social interaction as social networking through the internet becomes more dominant? One might look at this information and wonder what the next fifteen to twenty years might hold and if the traditional means of social interaction could change altogether in a world where social phobia becomes more severe and rampant.

This is a small part of my psychology paper from last semester which I never really got to discuss with anybody and I'm truly interested in what you all think about this. Also, thanks for all the support!

28 comments:

  1. Nice post. We truly live an anti-social world where everything is done online... I also wonder how these "facebook generation" kids will turn out. 0_o

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  2. One of the elements of a society delving into this status we must consider is that an increase in those afflicted with social phobias is a decrease in encounters between socially phobic people and people with no social inhibition. What I mean is there will be more people who are socially phobic, therefore less awkward encounters where one party makes the other party feel socially inept.

    Of course, the problem is that you don't have a big sticker on your forehead that tells people you're socially inept, so as to attract attention from the proper crowd. But, it is more often than not that I see shy people dating shy people.

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  3. I don't know.. In a way I could think it might be better to have the practice of interacting with people online even if it isn't face to face, than being a total and complete hermit. Kinda of like a jet fighter that first practices in a simulator, online could be a simulation for real life and help build social skills.

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  4. @Jimmy Fungus

    I can see what you mean but practicing in a simulator indulges you into realistic scenarios about what to do in an actual situation and is specifically designed to help prepare you for that. I can see this becoming the case as video chat increases in popularity but in the current state of networking I don't really think this is the case (yet, anyways). Online interaction leaves you free of any judgment based on any physical traits (if you choose to hide this) or any other traits you possess which is really what social phobia comes down to and is most often triggered in real life situations where you're most vulnerable to be judged.

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  5. this network made the world small and i can know every thing and contacts with all my friends.

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  6. Futures looking scarily anti-social...

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  7. As a former World of Warcraft addict, I can tell you your ideas are correct. Spending so much time online made me very antisocial. You lose friends, you stop hanging out with them because you are too busy being on a computer playing games, browsing the internet, etc.

    But there is also a positive side, you can meet lots of different people from all over the world, this helps you understand different cultures, different ways of thinking. And this makes you a better human being.

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  8. facebook generation sucks. ugh

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  9. I have social phobia, and I don't think that the internet poses any danger of isolating people. It joins them. You can talk to anyone in the world, video chat, tell them pointless things about your life via facebook (which I don't use). The internet doesn't isolate people, it helps them isolate themselves.

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  10. I still really enjoy going out into the public. I work in retail so I have no fear of talking to people nor does it annoy me. I think we've gotten more social as a species to be honest.

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  11. @Rose facebook generation does not suck, it's just unpolished....

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  12. This just reinforces my fear that one day we'll all become surrogates. Nice post though.

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  13. great blog. Following and supporting.

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  14. Lol my brother seems to me like hes an anti social bastard who stays home on the comp and goes to work everyday all he does is this.

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  15. socialising in hand to hand combat is oldscool
    nowadays bullys kill with explosions caused by computer viruses in the computer

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  16. Interesting, I think that kids will grow up to stay inside for more reasons just than social anxiety. People are getting lazy.

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  17. Indeed Gamerman. My friends are in their early twenties and it's a struggle to tear them away from the PS3 long enough to go out :/

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  18. Ningen said exactly what I was thinking. It all comes down to todays day in age.

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  19. I think the problem is the opportunities of things to do in one's town are as massive as on the internet, I think once computing technology is accessible and a large segment of the population can actually use a cell phone the same way they use a computer people will be free to do as they please.

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  21. i like the blog, you have good points, our society over-relies on technology. Definitley following this blog

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  22. I think that the advances in technology as time goes on people will forget how to be social.

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  23. most probably nothing will happen
    lone wolves will stay like that, those more sociable will look for company

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  24. It's such a double edged sword. I value the friends I've made online very highly and never underestimate the value of internet friendship, but wonder how different things would be if I didn't have the option of internet.

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  25. run for ur life, then kill it with fires

    mixtapes

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  26. I have no clue where this world is going, its a scary place now and getting even more distant from each other.

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