When I was in Secondary 1, I started using ICQ to chat with friends and people from all over the world.
When I was in Secondary 3, I first tried video conferences via MSN.
When I was in Secondary 5, I have been familiarized to text my friends through SMS.
When I was having my Associate Degree, I shared my ideas and expressions with my family and friends via Zanga and Friendster.
When I started working, surfing Facebook became my habit.
A month ago, I started spending so much time with iphone.
I can't believe that I can manage my life smoothly and efficiently without digital media. However, I've encountered some problems of over-using digital media.
Two months ago, most of my friends have got iphones while I was still using my Nokia. I found that it was problematic for me to communicate with my friends who got an iphone. According to my observation, iphone users like to discuss the pros and cons of various kinds of "apps" and they love to share the experiences of using those "apps" with other iphone users. Definitely, I would be mute, for at least 15 minutes during the gathering. I felt like I was the out-group and I was being left out. And now, I have got an iphone and same thing happens. During lunch or dinner time, some of my friends complained about me that I keep checking messages and emails, surfing Facebook, playing online games etc. via iphone. Unfortunately, I did ignore them.
I realize digital media entertains our life, yet, we should make proper use of it. One of it's functions is to facilitate communication, but not to ruin social relationship between us.
Hi Aggie, I also receive the same complaint when I gather with friends using mobile. I realize that misunderstanding may be created if I use the technological devices in a wrong place and time. In fact, I treasure face to face contact because I can give responses according to their mood, facial expression, tone and body language. So, if you really miss a friend, don’t be shy to meet him/her to have a face to face communication! Do not rely on ‘cool machines’ too much!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. We should use the digital media properly so as to reduce conflicts. Frankly, I can't stand people saying "you have no friends anymore if you keep addicting to your phone".
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