In their study 2001 study entitled, “The Use of Communication Technologies by Older Adult: Exploring the Benefits from the User’s Perspective”, researchers Anne-Sophie Melenhorst, Wendy Rogers and Evan Caylor investigated what, if any, influence advanced communications use, such as e-mail and other internet based communication, had on older adults ranging in age from 65-80 years old (Melenhorst et al., 2001). According to the authors, older adults that used of advanced communications tended to have larger and more active social networks. That is to say, use of advanced communications by older adults produced the same results as with younger users, namely that they were more socially active with their family and peers; and therefore less isolated, lonely, or out of touch with the world (Melenhorst et al., 2001). The issue with there being fewer older adults, according to the authors, more active in advanced communication therefore was not because they did not want to or that they were unable to but rather because they did not understand hoe a particular technology would be beneficial to them (Melenhorst et al., 2001). That is to say, if an older adult knows the usefulness of a technology, they are just as likely to learn how to use it and use it as anyone else.
In their 2014 study entitled, “Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology in Relationships: Finding from an Open-Ended Survey”, University of Nevada at Las Vegas researchers Katherine Hertlein and Katrina Ancheta explore, as the title suggests, the good and bad impacts of technology on couples of 18-years of age and above. According to the authors, some of the positives aspects of technology on a couple’s relationship includes: (1) arranging the initial meeting by providing a range of tools that work to overcome partner shyness, reducing anxiety and finding areas of common interest before physically meeting; (2) deepening a relationship once it has started by allowing for easy and constant communication; and (3) decreasing the tensions that every relationship encounters from time to time (Hertlein & Ancheta, 2014). Conversely, the authors found that the negative influences of technology on a relationship include: (1) decreasing intimacy by involving communication methods that are impersonal, lack intimacy and can be emotionally cold; (2) increasing conflict by eliminating boundaries; and (3) increase distrust and confusion through misinterpreted messages (Hertlein & Ancheta, 2014).
I used my next door neighbor as my interviewee. She is a 55-year old retiree from China that moved here about a decade ago to live with her son and his wife and help them take care of their daughter. In China she was born and raised in the countryside but moved to the city in her 20s where she learned English and worked as an administrative assistant in a state-owned company. According to her, the “new” technology that came out or that she first encountered or that she noted made a big impression on her was the fax machine at her office. Prior to her company getting a fax machine, any communications where it was necessary to exchange of documents or get a signature or confirm its contents, require the document to be transported physically from its place of issue to its destination. If the destination was in the next office or even in the next building, she said that was fine and fun as it would mean that she or another of her colleagues had a chance to “escape” their desk for a while. But the problem was that the as the distance grew so did the inconvenience. For instance, a location in another part of the city, to get an urgent signature might require taking a taxi, bus or even riding a bicycle across the city and waiting in another company’s office for hours before they could meet the right person to authorize the signature. If the location was in another city, it general meant express mailing the document and waiting for return mail before whatever action could commence. But with a fax, the office inconveniences were dramatically decreased as most document exchanges, even those across the world could take place quite easily. One the other hand, she mentioned there a few disadvantages of having a fax. First, because it almost eliminated the need to physically deliver and return documents, she and her colleagues rarely had the chance leave the office as they did before. Moreover, since the fax made it easier to contact clients and customers, it also made it easier for her company to find more work which meant that they were also busier than before. As well as impact on her relationship with others, the only significant impact was that she had less time to chat with her office colleagues either in the office or on the trips that they used to take delivering and receiving documents. However, she was sad about that because those chats were often the highlight of the day prior to the fax. In terms of change her view of the world, the fax had a deep impact. While she could speak English, she rarely had the chance to use it before the fax. After the fax, and as the company began corresponding with companies abroad, she began to use her English more and more to draft or read faxes. Most importantly, she began to regularly communicate with people, albeit electronically, from other countries at a time when most people in China had no possibility to do so. Those communications gave her great insight to what was happening elsewhere and that the world was much bigger than what she had thought before.
As for me, the one new piece of technology that has come out, or rather become more popular, over the last several years that has impacted me are the messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook messenger, Line, or WeChat. The reason that it has impacted me is that it provides me with the ability to inexpensively contact my family and friends instantly, no matter where they are in the world. In essence, it has shrunk the world to the size of my smartphone. The impact on my relationships is that, I know never really have to say goodbye to a friend moving back home or my parents. They are all always just a few taps of the onscreen keyboard away. Moreover, if I really miss them, most of these apps allow me to call them or video conference with them via the app. The technology has changed my view of the world because it allows me to see other parts of the world without leaving my home. For instance, the lady that I interviewed used the WeChat app to video conference with her son who is not in China. With the app I was able to see her old house and a glimpse of Chinese countryside life.
In conclusion, while on first consideration it would seem that the fax and the modern internet text messaging app are two wholly dissimilar technologies. But while they are technically different, their underlying purpose, namely to improve and facilitate easier communications between people is the same. As mentioned, both, shrink the world and make managing distance relationships, whether they are between two companies or a parent and her child, much more simple but with higher effectiveness. Further, both focus on the human desire to connect with others as well as the fear of isolation or to be left out. This was alluded to in the two studies mentioned above. That is to say, no matter one’s age, most of us want to be connected with our friends and family and will use technology to accomplish this if we know that it will help us achieve our goals. Similarly, despite some of the disadvantages of technology in relationships, there are still plenty of benefits, such as allowing easy and simple communications that technology offers that will necessary persuade many of us to use technology to improve our social connectivity.
References
Hertlein, K.M. & Ancheta, K. (2014). Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology in Relationships: Finding from an Open-Ended Survey. Retrieved from http://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1260&context=tqr
Melenhorst, A.S., Rogers, W. & Caylor, E. (2001). The Use of Communication Technologies by Older Adult: Exploring the Benefits from the User’s Perspective. Retrieved from http://www.cc.gatech.edu/fce/ahri/publications/mele_rog_cay_01.pdf
