In this essay, I shall say why I believe technology has had largely negative effects on the way people interact with each other.

The main technology that people use to create relationships nowadays is the Internet. This can be used in a variety of ways, notably by joining social networking sites or dating sites. It often seems that such websites encourage people to form friendships based on little information and on information which may not be true. For example, a website might recommend that two people become friends on the basis of the fact that they both like a particular film. The suggestion is that the people both like this film, therefore they both like the same films generally and/ or have the same interests. If the information provided by website users is false (for example gender or age), a face-to-face friendship is very unlikely and the ‘friendship’ is likely to remain online only.

I think that television has also affected the types of relationships people make, by dramatising certain types of relationships (for example on soap operas), and suggesting that these are the ones that are important in the real world and/or that these are the relationships people should copy. Some people seem to think that they must make their lives as dramatic as those depicted on television, otherwise their lives will be dull. The constant need for drama can certainly have an effect on a person’s relationships with others.

To conclude, I think that technology has provided people with new ways to form relationships, but that the results have usually been negative, particularly compared to face-to-face communication and relationship creation.

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