I’ve just read an interesting article: Disconnect online to reconnect in life which questions whether we’re becoming so wedded to technology that we are unable to step away from it. Essentially it’s ruining our work/life balance.

It’s an interesting article and it got me thinking about whether technology is helping or hindering us socially.

On Sunday I ‘interfaced’ with friends I hadn’t seen in a few months (read – we had lunch); the weekend before it was a bit of a BCM reunion, and the night before that was dinner with friends from a previous life.

People used to send hard copy invitations or, at the most ‘impersonal’ level, use a landline to invite friends to social occasions. Now with mobiles and the internet – particularly social media sites like Facebook, I would argue that it is easier than ever for people to get together and they are doing so more frequently than ever.

Sure, having a day-off from work is trickier than before – I’m sure you’ve all had the “sorry to bother you on your day-off” call and if you have internet at home (or an iPhone) it’s inevitable you’ll check a few work emails. But if it wasn’t for technology and a last-minute invitation via Facebook, I would have spent Sunday afternoon in front of the fan complaining about the heat instead of enjoying a glass of vino in the company of friends.

Now if we can only get people to stop texting, sending tweets, updating their status or checking their emails while we are actually talking with them, I’d say technology is a good thing for our social lives.

What do you think?

Sarah Ferguson is an Account Director at BCM Brisbane

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