A study by the Future Laboratory and the coffee giant Nescafe discovered that social network and internet users are not happy with the amount of ‘face time’ they have with close friends and loved ones.
The exciting yet relentless advancements in technology is the main cause with innovations in email, texting and of course social networking sites such as Facebook replacing meeting in person or even talking on the phone.
An alarming 95% of people surveyed said they are unhappy with the lack of ‘real’ time spent with loved ones with 58% of people still preferring a good old ‘face-to-face’ chat over texting, emailing and social networking.
The study also discovered the new term Wilfing (What Was I looking For), a phenomenon where people log on to the internet with no clear purpose. This relates to the age old problem of procrastinating – the internet is full of things ideal for this situation.
Human interaction vs Technology
The study was not against the use of technology for interaction, in fact it proved it can actually help strengthen peoples ‘real’ social lives.
Behavioural psychologist Peter Collett said: “Gadget to gadget is fine, provided it doesn’t replace face to face.
“In fact gadget to gadget comes into its own when it’s used to arrange face to face. That way people get the best of both worlds – a digital fix followed by the rich rewards of human company.”
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