Effects of Technology on Love Relationship - Essay Example

EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON LOVE/INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP Name Course Tutor University Date Introduction Modernization has played a major role in influencing the intimate and love relationship that the society experiences today. It is now very easy to acquire a lover. Several dating sites provide chances for getting a date. In addition to this, mobile phones, computer games, play stations amongst many other digital facilities are providing the younger generation with more relationship with technology rather than with humans. According to Daily Tomiuri, there are more than 300, 000 subscriptions for relationships via the virtual media. Most of the theorists conducting research on relationship assert that most young people are not interested in forming relationships with other people listing computer games as some of their reasons. A study conducted in US on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer clients in psychotherapy indicate that modernization in form of science and technology has a key role in elevating the number of such kind of relationships(Turkle, 2011). Due to rapid changes in information technology, most of the young people have resorted to using social media as their major means of communication. Social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Gtalk are currently flocked with millions of teenagers. It is also interesting to note that teenagers have also resorted to use social media as a means of sharing on their problem in form of counseling. Most of the teenager’s despise use of counseling facilities at the community level, school, and even in hospitals and have chosen online counseling due to time, privacy, and environmental factors. In a research conducted in Australia in 2004, it was found that most of the teenagers engaged in social interaction counseling due to various factors. In this research, a number of 39 teenage students were interviewed regarding the reason as to why they engaged in online counseling(R King et al, 2006). They pointed out peaceful environment, privacy, and time factors as to reason why the opted for online counseling rather than face-to-face or telephone calls. The research also found out the challenges facing online counseling. Amongst the complaints of the interviewees was that there were longer queues and lack of proper expression of feelings to and from their counselors. However, the research brought out positive conclusions as to why many teenagers opted for online counseling rather than telephone and face to face. Most adolescents are faced with serious challenges in life especially due to peer influence at this stage. For this purpose, most of these teenagers will need proper guiding and counseling in order for them to grow up in an upright manner. The current world is faced with so many competitions in terms of better living and survival. Most of the parents fail to provide guidance and counseling services to their children at home due to pressures from work and other demands in life. Interestingly, due to recent changes in IT young people have neglected the use of physical counseling facilities such as schools, hospitals, and community centers as their preferred counseling areas. Most of the teenagers engage in online counseling. According to a research conducted by Gomura and Smith, on “Kids Help Online” a 24-hour online counseling center, most of the teenagers opted for online counseling rather than face-to-face or through telephone calls. Some teenagers identified time as a factor. However, this mode of counseling is faced with the challenge of longer queues. Some participants interviewed in the research complained of longer waiting hours or even days before they are attended to. Online counseling is also facing a challenge of expression. It is very difficult for both parties to express their feelings, which is an important factor in counseling. A teenager may require a quick and immediate attention that may need to cool down tempers and this is not possible through the text. This is only possible through face to face and through telephone calls. This mode of counseling is insecure due to lack of privacy. Someone might read your chat messages in the computer or on the phone. Anonymity is a problem that is affecting online counseling. It is not possible to know if it is indeed, the right person is chatting. It is also not possible to identify the sincerity of the person attending to you while underdoing online counseling. However, texting may also be misunderstood especially with the poor language in the social media. Many counselors agree that language is a major barrier when it comes to online counseling(Young K, 2005). Cases of frustrations are also reported trough online counseling especially when counseling sessions ended prematurely due to time limits. The time limit is in my opinion is necessary in order to allow others to get attention. However, KHL provided very few hours of attention. According to the interviewees, KHL ended their services at 9 pm despite indicating that it is a 24-hour program. A similar study was conducted in US concerning the lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and queer clients in psychotherapy. It was evident from the study that the above-described type of sexuality is faced with a lot of discrimination and prejudice coming from the field of psychotherapy and the society at large. However, from a critical point of view it is argued by many analysts that the increasing number of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and queer clients in psychotherapy is due to modernization. There has been sharp critics concerning the abandoning of traditional culture and adopting western culture, which incorporates same sex marriages. According to Dominic Pettman, churches have been in the forefront to condemn such kind of marriages (Dominic Pettman, 2009). Rebecca who took his children to the Darwin exhibition in 2005 narrates a story. According to Rebecca, her seven-year-old daughter who suggested that she would rather stay with a robot rather a human being. Rebecca was stunned as she considered relationships as sacred. It is astonishing how robots are causing new advents of life thereby sidelining the need for humans as companions. This is seen both at work place and even through sexual satisfaction. Technology has seen the development of dummy’s and vibrators as sex partners. Levy in his book Sex with robots reiterates the increasing number of sexual activities with robots(Pettman, 2006). Levy suggest that the sexual acts between human and robots are in the verge of extending as robots are in a position of creating more sexual and love making positions that the world has ever come across. In addition to this, Levy in his book blames the internet and other forms of technology for this. He mentions the internet where one can easily download pornographic materials. The pornographic materials found all over in the world are responsible to the increasing number of human and robot sexual acts. Levy further suggests that since robots are reliable more active and stable than humans and do not cheat, they are more likely to substitute human beings as sexual partners. On the other hand feeling good out of robots is no golden rule(Pettman, 2006). This is because robots are machines, which have no feelings. Despite the fact that they offer guaranteed satisfaction and they are no cheats, they affect hugely young people’s self-esteem. This is because their social life is influenced by the robots in addition to feeling out of place in the society. It is evident that the current generation of young people needs guidance in terms of relationship. Anne, a graduate student interviewed by Wall Street reporter Boston, confided that she would be in a position to trade his boyfriend with a Japanese robot so long as it will guarantee her a caring behavior. Anne was reported saying that she feared loneliness and was therefore seeking a no risk relationship and a robot would therefore become handy (Dominic Pettman, 2009). When Anne was asked whether she was joking, she replied that she was very serious. A series of interviews conducted by Boston concerning sex with robots indicated that younger people especially of the female sex preferred robots to humans as sexual and intimate love partners. Modernization has affected relationships in the society to this extent. According to Sherry the author of Alone Together, robots do not have feelings and therefore do not have any senses(Turkle, 2011). Robots cannot offer any sympathy when one is sad and Sherry criticizes those who believe that robots become sensitive and can offer sympathy. In fact, Sherry suggests that such expressions are manifestations of what the robot owners feel. With her skills and experience in the field of psychology, Sherry argues that those who engage in robotic relationship end up more depressed and unsatisfied compared to human relationships. According to German theorist Niklas Luhmann, love is a not a product of emotional but it is a code of conduct that the society is supposed to use in order to aid their communication. For this reason, the code is only supposed to permit appropriate behavior and feelings. Niklas therefore disagrees with the youths who engage in other forms of relationships that are contrary to the society’s code of conduct. Conclusion This paper has been discussing the impact of modernization to sexual and intimate relationships. The paper has highlighted the impacts of electrical media, internet, and other forms of technology as key factors aggravating to same sex marriages. The paper has also analyzed the impact of robots as a substitute to humans as sexual partners. The paper has also analyzed a online counseling website which indicate the changing trends of younger people seeking counseling services from the internet rather than face to face. In the last stages of the paper, we have discussed the effects of robots as major sources leading to depressions and low self-esteem. The paper therefore conclude with a firm position that technology has played a major role in affecting the intimate love and relationships that human enjoy in addition to promoting same sex marriages. Bibliography Dominic Pettman. (2009). Love in the Time of Tamagotchi. Theory Culture Society, 26: 189-207. Pettman, D. (2006). Love and Other Technologies: Retrofitting Eros for the Information Age. New York: Fordham University Press. R King et al. (2006). Online Counseling and Psychotherapy Research. Journal of Psychotherapy Counseling, 6(3) 169-174. Turkle, S. (2011). Alone Together : Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. New York: Basic Books. Young K. (2005). An empirical examination of client attitudes towards online counseling. Cyberpsychology Behavior, 8 172-177. Read More

However, this mode of counseling is faced with the challenge of longer queues. Some participants interviewed in the research complained of longer waiting hours or even days before they are attended to. Online counseling is also facing a challenge of expression. It is very difficult for both parties to express their feelings, which is an important factor in counseling. A teenager may require a quick and immediate attention that may need to cool down tempers and this is not possible through the text.

This is only possible through face to face and through telephone calls. This mode of counseling is insecure due to lack of privacy. Someone might read your chat messages in the computer or on the phone. Anonymity is a problem that is affecting online counseling. It is not possible to know if it is indeed, the right person is chatting. It is also not possible to identify the sincerity of the person attending to you while underdoing online counseling. However, texting may also be misunderstood especially with the poor language in the social media.

Many counselors agree that language is a major barrier when it comes to online counseling(Young K, 2005). Cases of frustrations are also reported trough online counseling especially when counseling sessions ended prematurely due to time limits. The time limit is in my opinion is necessary in order to allow others to get attention. However, KHL provided very few hours of attention. According to the interviewees, KHL ended their services at 9 pm despite indicating that it is a 24-hour program. A similar study was conducted in US concerning the lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and queer clients in psychotherapy.

It was evident from the study that the above-described type of sexuality is faced with a lot of discrimination and prejudice coming from the field of psychotherapy and the society at large. However, from a critical point of view it is argued by many analysts that the increasing number of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and queer clients in psychotherapy is due to modernization. There has been sharp critics concerning the abandoning of traditional culture and adopting western culture, which incorporates same sex marriages.

According to Dominic Pettman, churches have been in the forefront to condemn such kind of marriages (Dominic Pettman, 2009). Rebecca who took his children to the Darwin exhibition in 2005 narrates a story. According to Rebecca, her seven-year-old daughter who suggested that she would rather stay with a robot rather a human being. Rebecca was stunned as she considered relationships as sacred. It is astonishing how robots are causing new advents of life thereby sidelining the need for humans as companions.

This is seen both at work place and even through sexual satisfaction. Technology has seen the development of dummy’s and vibrators as sex partners. Levy in his book Sex with robots reiterates the increasing number of sexual activities with robots(Pettman, 2006). Levy suggest that the sexual acts between human and robots are in the verge of extending as robots are in a position of creating more sexual and love making positions that the world has ever come across. In addition to this, Levy in his book blames the internet and other forms of technology for this.

He mentions the internet where one can easily download pornographic materials. The pornographic materials found all over in the world are responsible to the increasing number of human and robot sexual acts. Levy further suggests that since robots are reliable more active and stable than humans and do not cheat, they are more likely to substitute human beings as sexual partners. On the other hand feeling good out of robots is no golden rule(Pettman, 2006). This is because robots are machines, which have no feelings.

Despite the fact that they offer guaranteed satisfaction and they are no cheats, they affect hugely young people’s self-esteem. This is because their social life is influenced by the robots in addition to feeling out of place in the society.

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