Intimacy For The Avoidant Essay

Technology is an amazing thing. People are able to check email, video chat, broadcast live video, or order a pizza all from the their phone. The ability to make a phone call from a smartwatch was only something James Bond was able to do, but now anyone can purchase a smartwatch and be just like James Bond. The ability to ask for directions, a phone number, or even the weather forecast, is just the press of a button away. With the amount of tasks that be performed right from a person’s mobile phone, people are more connected today than ever before. However, all this technology has the ability to make people more socially awkward because people no longer have to communicate in person if they choose not to. People are losing the ability to function face-to-face, and sacrificing personal human relationships for ones on Facebook and other social network sites. In his commentary, “Intimacy for the Avoidant,” David Brooks of The New York Times makes a case for how society is becoming completely consumed by social media. Mr. Brooks points out that “Over the past generation there seems to have been a decline in the number of high-quality friendships.” …show more content…
Too much time surfing social media not only takes away from intimate personal relationships, it also does not provide time for the mind to reflect on the events of the day or things happing in the local community. David Brooks points out that, “at saturation level, social media reduces the amount of time people spend in uninterrupted solitude, the time when people can excavate and process their internal states.” Reflecting on self is an important process of finding ways to improve on one’s self and become a better person. It also does not give the brain time to de-stress and