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Poll: Has technology affected face-to-face communication?

Advances in technology have enabled us to communicate across oceans and continents – but do we tweet too much and not talk face-to-face enough? Let us know what you think.

THANKS TO THE internet, mobile phones and other technological advances, we can now communicate with people on the other side of the world at any time of day.

With the growth of blogs, Twitter, Facebook and social networking, it is even possible to strike up conversations with strangers millions of miles away about any topic.

But Relationships Ireland Chief Executive, Brendan Madden, tells TheJournal.ie today that technology can pose a threat to interpersonal relationships.

In our article about the changing face of Irish relationships, he said:

We have so many communication tools available, but the irony is that the form of communication that we most need – interpersonal communication – is less than ever. Partners can seem more absent.

Madden noted that people can “retreat” into technology, just like they would “retreat” into a newspaper.

Perhaps we avoid face-to-face conversations and instead put our energy into communicating by other means… or maybe technology has improved how we communicate with others.

So we want to know – do you think technology has affected face-to-face communication?


Poll Results:

Yes, it has - for the worse (1287)
Yes, it has - for the better (442)
No, it has not (126)
I don't know (79)

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Read: Changing role of Irish women over past 50 years reflected in relationships>

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43 Comments
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    Mute Réada Quinn
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    Mar 19th 2012, 12:29 PM

    I’m only new to fb and twitter but I love them. You get to know the “essence” of a person from reading what they have to say and not judging them on appearance, age etc.

    I love all my fb friends and twits. I think it’s great the way it has opened up communication.

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    Mute jimbo
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    Mar 19th 2012, 12:33 PM

    reada you sound like your on the first round of the voice lol…( not judging them on appearance)

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    Mute Sean Finn
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    Mar 19th 2012, 1:20 PM

    i think the only issue is a lot of stuff on facebook is very contrived and often isnt true to the persons character so i dont think it does give a good read of what a person is like so much as how they would ideally portray themselves

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    Mute Jonathan Biggins
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    Mar 19th 2012, 1:33 PM

    @Réada

    You’re seriously mistaken if you (seriously) believe that Facebook reveals the “essence” of a person. That’s a pretty sloppy generalisation you’ve made.

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    Mute Réada Quinn
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    Mar 19th 2012, 1:55 PM

    I dunno, most people are not very good liars in reality, as our bodies or our heads don’t support us when we do. It’s quite easy to see that while you may agree with someone on one issue you’ll be in disagreement on another. I don’t mind disagreement on small issues but there would be some where I would draw the line.

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    Mute Sean Finn
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    Mar 19th 2012, 2:03 PM

    very true. everyone to their own. id just take anything on facebook outside of the close friends whom you.ll prob see a lot of with a large pinch of salt

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    Mute Paul Mallon
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    Mar 19th 2012, 6:50 PM

    I find twitter better than any other source for breaking news (no offence Journal), actually that should probably be “unbroken” news, sometimes you’ll get info on twitter 24 hours or more before it hits main stream media, very useful for business too.
    Facebook on the other hand, is like a drug – at first you’re distracted by the flashing lights and shiny colours, but after a while you’re just logging on, going through a routine check, surfing nothing and looking at the same crap jokes and “repost this if…” status updates day in day out. I found after a year or two I was spending less actual time with people I wanted to spend time with, and more time surfing their facebook pages regurgitating the same crap day in day out (myself included).
    Recently I downloaded siteblocking software for my web browsers and locked myself out of facebook from 9am to 5pm weekdays, it was interesting to see how much info I missed, which in total worked out at NOTHING.
    All that time wasted! no longer though. :-D
    Facebook is nice to keep up with family and friends now I’m no longer in Ireland, even still, I’m in two minds as to whether or not I should close it completely, a few of my friends have they’re happy enough.
    I suppose with technology it’s knowing when to switch off. With the daily newspaper there’s only so much content, the restriction of a newspaper is kind of a luxury. You might read things you wouldn’t look at on the web. Access to so much content on-line can mean you don’t expand your horizons so much, continually looking the the stuff you like. I have to make an active attempt to ensure I look for new topics every now and then – otherwise I’d disappear under gigabytes of music production hardware reviews. :-D

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    Mute Paul Mallon
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    Mar 19th 2012, 6:57 PM
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    Mute Damien Kelly
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    Mar 19th 2012, 12:51 PM

    I find that added communication aides my relationships. I’m much more in touch with friends back in the UK where I lived for over a decade, and am able to maintain those relationships with ease and little financial expense. I regularly go back to London and always feel in the loop as if I was there.

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    Mute paudy o brien
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    Mar 19th 2012, 1:04 PM

    People thumbing u down cause your English ! Lovely bigot journal troll

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    Mute Réada Quinn
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    Mar 19th 2012, 1:15 PM

    Paudie. What gave you that impression? Your deduction skills are poor. Be sure to show them this thread if called upon for jury duty. I didn’t thumb him down but was happy to thumb your comment down.

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    Mute Jonathan Biggins
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    Mar 19th 2012, 1:35 PM

    @paudy

    Do your parents know you’re at the computer?

    38
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    Mute Réada Quinn
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    Mar 19th 2012, 2:01 PM

    Relax paudie. I thumbed down your comment – not you. Everyone seems to be getting a thumb bashing here. I just think that Damien got hit for the same reason we all did. Personally I think UnitedPeople just put them “in the mood”! ;)

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    Mute paudy o brien
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    Mar 19th 2012, 2:24 PM

    Lol at last bit comment. I would agree with you. I read Damien post a few times and still can’t see why people would think keeping in touch with friends in a diff country would be a bad.

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    Mute Bridie Greene
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    Mar 19th 2012, 12:45 PM

    Can you get this Face book in a local library?

    32
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    Mute B7584
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    Mar 19th 2012, 2:22 PM

    The cattle hadnt an inch to stand on.

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    Mute Kerryspirit Chris
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    Mar 19th 2012, 12:46 PM

    Even I am a gadget fan i think it has affected totally our communication skills – even sometimes the Text language you got – OMG, you can not even read it…. It is somehow a pity if you do not need a beautiful pen anymore…. ;-) well it is the time and we have to accept it but have to try to keep BOTH alive!!!!

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    Mute Sandra Murphy
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    Mar 19th 2012, 3:06 PM

    I was at a lecture just recently and the guy actually suggested that the day was coming when teachers wouldn’t teach young children how to write because there isn’t much point to it anymore. I can understand where the guy is coming from with his idea but when everything is taken into consideration, that would just not work. Imagine a generation that couldn’t even write! Ever seen the movie Idiocracy?!

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    Mute Kemberlee Shortland
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    Mar 19th 2012, 1:09 PM

    I don’t think technology has made communicating worse, but I think it’s down to perspective. As an American expat, I think Skype is the greatest invention next to air travel. I can see and chat with family anywhere in the world. I’ve also hooked up with long lost friends through media sites and eventually use Skype to take the next step in regaining communications. In fact, I’m giving a course on Wednesday via Skype because I can’t make it to the university to talk in person. So technology has great scores on that count.

    But for those without a backbone, breaking up with a partner via text is beyond socially acceptable words.

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    Mute Paul Mallon
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    Mar 19th 2012, 7:01 PM

    thumbs up for Skype, my parents get to have their weekly chat with their grandson and see him grow.

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    Mute Unitedpeople Ireland
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    Mar 19th 2012, 12:23 PM

    Its made it hard to have ‘relations’ with the wife on top of the PC for sure!
    “Hey dear, come and see my floppy. I’ll turn it into a hard-drive for you and insert it in your available port!”

    19
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    Mute Martin Mac
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    Mar 19th 2012, 1:18 PM

    It’s going to save the world from corruption and media BS, just a shame it was not around more when bertie and his parasites were in control of the money. Power to the people is what is happening now with the Internet and communications and free information. The way it should be!

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    Mute Sandra Murphy
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    Mar 19th 2012, 3:15 PM

    What about poor Sean Gallagher! His life has been ruined beyond repair – note sarcasm!
    Sometimes bad things happen to people, and Gallagher is making damn sure that RTÉ feels the pain he did, because wasn’t he just the picture of innocence before the tweet was read out. RTÉ made a mistake, a big stupid mistake but come on, behind RTÉ there’s justa bunch of people trying to get it right.
    Digital communication can sometimes become entangled in issues like this, and we all just need to remember that behind every virtual ‘personality’ is a person with their own agenda, and ye, that includes me too!

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    Mute prot0type
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    Mar 19th 2012, 1:24 PM

    I think it all depends on what you’ve grown up with. As a kid for me, social networks weren’t a big thing. Kids didn’t own mobile phones and if you wanted to chat to your friends, you either called them or embraced the wilderness and met face to face.

    I think today, this has changed for the worse. It seems today that teens all have mobile phones. They all use social networks. Texting is a massive part of teenage life. Kids today would rather chat to their mates on FB or through text than meet with them.

    I feel that if this continues, we’re going to see future generations that are more comfortable behind a screen than chatting to someone’s face. It may not seem a huge problem at first but things like job interviews could completely throw future generations. Self confidence in physical meetings could prove a drain as the only self confidence these kids will have is through a screen.

    I don’t think kids of the future will value a physical friendship over one of that with a stranger on Facebook. However, in saying that, the Internet is a great thing that without a doubt makes the world more connected and enables us to know things instantly. It all depends on how you use it.

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    Mute Eric Chubb
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    Mar 19th 2012, 1:38 PM

    I don’t think it necessarily has to be a case of either-or when it comes to face to face and remote or digital communications. One can complement the other and vice versa. I also think face to face interpersonal comms are overrated at times.

    For instance, online dating allows people to check out potential mates objectively, in the comfort and safety of their own home or wherever, while sober. The traditional Irish “face to face” approach affords you none of those things. You’re usually in a dank pub or nightclub, half cut and looking through beer goggles.

    Similarly in the workplace , technology affords employees much more passive and less interruptive forms of communication. Im a software developer which is a job that needs you to keep huge amounts of info in short term memory and be in a state of pretty much 100% concentration all day, and interruptions or noise are a real productivity killer.

    How many times has a co worker come up to you and distracted you from what you’re doing to ask you a poorly thought out and half baked question where they don’t even know what they want ask, and they probably could’ve figured out themselves if they googled it or did a bit of looking around the office for what they wanted? Email and instant messaging force people to think about what they want to say before they say it, and the recipient can respond in their own time with a similarly well formed answer.

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    Mute Susie Chester
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    Mar 19th 2012, 4:20 PM

    Eric Chubb
    I would hate to work in the office you work in . Work is the one place where inter personal skills are very important.

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    Mute Paul Mallon
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    Mar 19th 2012, 7:08 PM

    Hi Susie,

    I think you miss the context of his point, it depends on the job you do – some work requires quiet, alone time.

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    Mute Susie Chester
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    Mar 19th 2012, 7:14 PM

    @ Paul M . Sshhh
    :)

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    Mute Paul
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    Mar 19th 2012, 1:19 PM

    in my life it has freed up a lot of time to have better quality face to face conversation

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    Mute Sandra Murphy
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    Mar 19th 2012, 3:16 PM

    How so?

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    Mute jimbo
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    Mar 19th 2012, 12:30 PM

    Yes it has you can communicate without looking at people you dont really want to see in person.
    Its easier,faster and it spreads the work quicker….

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    Mute Francis Stokes
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    Mar 19th 2012, 1:59 PM

    Yes it is a fact that in the age of Technology and especially the social networks. People do not have time any more to interact with each other. That is a a fact of life these days.Al you have to do is travel on Buses etc and you will see nearly every second person with an I pod. They are oblivious to the things around them. It is important that people converse with each other too. If people could leave their I pods or other at home for just one day and maybe try to live without them for a day would not make a difference to them.Yes we need to be more aware of the way we socialise today, Especially when it comes to conversation. Bring on some old fashioned principles

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    Mute John Conniffe
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    Mar 19th 2012, 3:27 PM

    To be honest, buses were never a place that sane people looked for meaningful human contact. Better to play with a smartphone than to be forced to listen to an over-loud conversation or to try to work out exactly how slow the bus is moving in the stop/start traffic. I don’t buy into this illusion that we were all more friendly and outgoing before portable technology. That people are more subdued and introverted nowadays is less to do with social eat working and far more to do with the emotional effects of the current social climate. Technology offers options to communicate or to avoid communication. People choose the options they wish to follow…

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    Mute Shanti Om
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    Mar 19th 2012, 4:14 PM

    Oh no.. You’re not one of my bus stalkers are you? ;)

    It’s fair enough being sociable and polite, but there’s the opposite end of the spectrum too. I listen to my iPod on the bus because I’m using music to influence my mood on the way to work – get me in the right headspace if you will.
    But there’s one day a week on a specific bus, this woman gets on and if she spots me – even if I pretend to be asleep, she sits by me and tugs in my arm to get my attention so she can talk AT me (because lets face it, a conversation implies an exchange, whereas this woman just wants to tell me too much detail about her kids marital situations)..
    I don’t want to be rude, I’m sure she is a lovely person and she seems harmless – but I’m going to work, and I’m trying to be in a good mood when I get in there – she’s really wrecking my buzz!! How to you tell someone who didn’t take the normal social cue of “I might be asleep” to F off nicely?

    There’s striking up a conversation with a willing partner and then there’s just pestering people. If we are to start striking up conversations on the bus – perhaps we should all learn a bit about respecting people’s personal space too..

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    Mute John Conniffe
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    Mar 19th 2012, 4:20 PM

    True. I have to admit that there’s been times in my life that I’ve been wearing headphones without listening to music just to avoid having to interact with certain people. I know it’s anti-social but I think technology has generally made us live in a more socially active way rather than less, and sometimes it gets too much. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be left alone now and again.

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    Mute Deirdre O Keeffe
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    Mar 19th 2012, 5:42 PM

    Funny how we’re using technology to discuss this poll!

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    Mute Todo
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    Mar 19th 2012, 4:51 PM

    We were discussing this very subject at the dinner table tje other night . I must admit I was surprised at the difference between me, my wife and two kids regarding the subject! Things were getting very hot when the wifi suddenly went down and we had to abandon the discussion, put away the phones and watch tv instead.

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    Mute Francis Stokes
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    Mar 19th 2012, 3:10 PM

    I am trying to say that technology has really affected the way we interact today.

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    Mute Francis Stokes
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    Mar 19th 2012, 3:34 PM

    I agree that Technology offers options to communicate.They are great for learning Languages listening to music but not for shutting one self away from other people.Everything has it place.They can be dangerous when crossing the road or when cycling a bike in that scenario I think they should not be uses as you have to have your full attention on the road.

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    Mute Unitedpeople Ireland
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    Mar 19th 2012, 12:22 PM

    Its made it haRd to have ‘relations’ with the wife on top of the PC for sure!

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    Mute Dónal Keane
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    Mar 19th 2012, 5:53 PM

    Good for keeping in touch with friends and family abroad via Skype etc. Bad for sitting at a computer to socialise with friends instead of going out to meet them in person.

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    Mute Sandra Murphy
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    Mar 19th 2012, 3:09 PM

    Haha great analogy! sad but probably an iota of truth in there.

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    Mute j p collins
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    Mar 20th 2012, 9:57 AM

    I saw a girl on the bus in front of me texting with her head down and long hair meant that on a half hour journey,she was so absorbed in it that I never even saw her face once-sad.

    1
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