technology vs. society

On the very chilly walk to school this morning, I passed a neighbor who was outside shoveling. I've chatted briefly, mostly about the weather, maybe a half a dozen times in the past several years. Honestly, if I were to see her out in the world and not in front of her house, I probably wouldn't recognize her.

This morning she told me that she had a dream about me last night. She proceeded to tell me the elaborate dream, and we shared a laugh about it. We wished each other a happy day, and away we went.

This exchange reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend who came to our house to plaster a room for us last week. He had just watched an episode of Nightline, I think it was, about how today's technology is changing society, and not necessarily for the better. We play video games, text, google, facebook -- sometimes all while doing something else also. Our multitasking, high technology society was freaking him out. What are we losing with all of this impersonal communication? Are we going to hole up in our houses, never to leave, and do all of our transactions -- personal and otherwise -- via the computer?

I said I wasn't too worried about it. Now, truly, I do enjoy some of the social pieces of this modern age. I would lie if I didn't admit to (wasting) spending some time many days on facebook, email, and, of course, this blog. But that's not going to replace the need for real, person-to-person contact. We need to interact with others, just as we need to exercise and drink and eat. We are a social species, complete with opposable digits (which come in handy when typing!).

And today's interaction with the neighbor illustrates this perfectly, I think. From little interactions like that to the bigger ones, we need to have relationships with others. At the end of life, that's what matters most.

What do you think, dear readers? Is all of this technology ruining us as a social species, or is it just adding another way to interact?