adion
Junior Member
Posts: 80
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Post by adion on Jun 24, 2008 3:31:40 GMT -5
I don't actually believe this, but some, people think the increase in technology (email, the internet, fax machines, voice mail, chat rooms, text messaging etc.) is a contributing factor in the shyness of many people.
With the use of technology, fewer and fewer people are actually interacting with one another, which makes them shy when they actually interact with people face to face....
What do you think...is society as a whole getting shyer because of innovative technology?
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Post by madiocre on Jun 24, 2008 8:02:12 GMT -5
Well in my experience it is a tool that helps those who r already shy . Take thes forums for example the chat room s msn has sorta been a crutch of sorts in that i find comfort in the fact that i can hold conversations more fluently over this medium . i wonder often if its the whole introversion whereby i am technically alone in my own company so i hold my thoughts together better etc and can handle it better thus developing my conversational skills and building confidence. that said though social interaction in real life will always be a priority and its its important it stays that way that one doesnt use the internet as an excuse to reclude .
As for those who are not already shy i dont think the net would make them shy . I believe if you are not shy then well social interaction in person is very pleasurable and there would always being that human craving for it . and social skills are generally learnt in the early years so unless there are toddlers surfing the net i dont think its gonna make much difference. it can make ppl a lil more lazier in organising things but it doesnt actually cut into whether they are shy or not .
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gaia
New Member
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Post by gaia on Jun 24, 2008 9:11:58 GMT -5
I wouldn't say it's the "cause" of shyness, but I definately think it makes life easier for people who are shy. With all of the technology we have, there's less of an incentive for shy people to get out there and try to overcome their fear. Not just because of the contact you can make online, but also because there are so many more things to entertain/distract you.
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Post by HybridMoment on Jul 1, 2008 17:29:35 GMT -5
I was shy way before I had the internet.
I actually liked the internet back in the 90's better when there were less people online. I was one of the first kids at my school to have their own website, which I thought was the coolest thing at the time.
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Post by malcom72 on Jul 6, 2008 9:56:14 GMT -5
I don't really think that technology has anything to do with it. I know that in my case I believe that my shyness was caused in my early childhood. I was an only child with no father, siblings or much other family to speak of my mother worked long hours to make ends meat and so I spent a huge amount of time alone cut off from human contact. Things really got worse when I was moved out of my school to another city. I wasn't too shy up until that point when I was forced into a strange environment where I didn't know anyone. This is when I became extremely shy. The technological revolution did not occur until after all of this happened so maybe it has had some effect on certain people but I am fairly sure that I am not one of them.
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tylo
New Member
Posts: 36
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Post by tylo on Dec 5, 2009 16:41:41 GMT -5
I don't believe that computer related forms of communication is a contributing factor in shyness.
I think that the car is the largest contributing factor in shyness. Before the car people either had to walk or ride a horse to where ever they were going. So it was only natural to say hi to people in passing. Now that we have the car we drive around in glass bubbles cut off from everybody we pass. With no chance of meeting and getting to know the people we cross paths with every day.
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Post by GoldenRose82 on Dec 11, 2009 6:20:01 GMT -5
I was shy way before the internet came along. I think the cause of shyness for me was the way I was treated by my peers. In real life I was constantly picked on and treated like dirt. When people who weren't already my friends talked to me in school, it was usually only so they could run off and make fun of the stuff I said (I know this cause they were very bad actors, or sometimes they didn't even try to act at all). But when the internet came along, I was finally able to make some more friends. People I met online didn't know me or anything about the rumors that plagued me in real life, so it was like a fresh start and a way to interact with people who didn't already have a preconceived notion about me. Today, if it weren't for the internet I'd have no social life whatsoever.
So no, I don't think the internet leads to shyness. But, like others who have posted before me, I think the internet actually helps shy people have more of a social life than they would have if the internet didn't exist.
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Post by collegeshy on Dec 11, 2009 15:56:19 GMT -5
I am definitely more outgoing and feel more comfortable socializing online than I do offline. So technology hasn't made me more shy, but it hasn't made me less shy either. Offline and online communication are two different animals - I don't really think one causes shyness, or one increases/decreases shyness, etc.
Though I see what people are saying about a reduction in face-to-face interaction - that does, in a way, keep shy people like me from actually having to go out and socialize. And, as a result, I may not be able to... I don't know... "practice" socializing with others as much.
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gals
Full Member
Posts: 113
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Post by gals on Mar 23, 2011 7:28:59 GMT -5
I don't actually believe this, but some, people think the increase in technology (email, the internet, fax machines, voice mail, chat rooms, text messaging etc.) is a contributing factor in the shyness of many people. With the use of technology, fewer and fewer people are actually interacting with one another, which makes them shy when they actually interact with people face to face.... What do you think...is society as a whole getting shyer because of innovative technology? really? I don't think that there's a strong connection with that. If ever, this new technology even enables people (shy) to open up more in a subtle, less invasive way. Quiite on the contrary actually.
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Post by Sweet Pea on Mar 23, 2011 9:27:41 GMT -5
I don't actually believe this, but some, people think the increase in technology (email, the internet, fax machines, voice mail, chat rooms, text messaging etc.) is a contributing factor in the shyness of many people. With the use of technology, fewer and fewer people are actually interacting with one another, which makes them shy when they actually interact with people face to face.... What do you think...is society as a whole getting shyer because of innovative technology? really? I don't think that there's a strong connection with that. If ever, this new technology even enables people (shy) to open up more in a subtle, less invasive way. Quiite on the contrary actually. i think the idea is you can get your human connection fix without ever having to really open up to another human being irl. so in that sense, it's enabling.
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Post by Karen on Mar 23, 2011 11:46:51 GMT -5
really? I don't think that there's a strong connection with that. If ever, this new technology even enables people (shy) to open up more in a subtle, less invasive way. Quiite on the contrary actually. I agree, for people who would not be meeting others irl anyway, technology gives people like that a chance to socialize in ways they are comfortable with and capable of. Plus alot of people who have a difficult time meeting love interests now have the chance to meet people online and get to know them before having to go out with them irl, which in my opinion alleviates alot of the stress of "dating".
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Post by Grayback on Mar 23, 2011 12:36:22 GMT -5
I think that technology has been a gift for us shy people. Without it, I think a number of us ( including myself ) might have almost no contact at all with other people. Of course, there is a risk that you become too reliant on it...
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Post by geekguy on Mar 24, 2011 13:41:42 GMT -5
Without technology, the only people I would interact with reliably on a daily basis would be my parents. I would almost never get to interact with my friends.
I should also add that I was super shy as a kid to anyone outside my family (to the point where one of the kindergarten teachers recommended to my parents they take me to see a speech therapist, they did and the therapist said I was fine and just needed time to warm to others), long before the point where I had technology I used very frequently (my first video game consoles, the SNES and Nintendo 64 <3 ).
While I didn't get too much less shy during primary school, my shyness did decrease quite a bit during high school and I still spent most of my time on the computer and playing video games. I still consider myself quite shy (and indeed, girl/love-shyness is as bad as ever for me really), but even with all the technology enabling me to hide away in my room my social skills did see improvements. Just my perspective.
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Post by skyhint on Apr 7, 2011 20:14:54 GMT -5
I think that the fact that people can put on their headphones or text on their smart phone means that they are less likely to start a conversation with a stranger when they are bored. Us shy people probably would not start convos but if someone else started one we would probably have no option but to join in. And that kind of small talk would be beneficial to us.
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Post by CharlotteGirl on Feb 14, 2013 16:57:45 GMT -5
I think that technology has been a gift for us shy people. Without it, I think a number of us ( including myself ) might have almost no contact at all with other people. Of course, there is a risk that you become too reliant on it... Well yes, I don`t really buy this often-heard argument about technology making people in general more isolated and/or shyer, whether or not they actually have social phobia. Of course socialising online is a totally thing to doing it in person, as someone else said. I did always used to really feel more comfortable online than with people, though the difference may actually be less now. Also, forum meets are not for everyone. Though most shy people end up having the courage attend one eventually, a few NEVER do for whatever reasons. Socialising online however usually leads fairly naturally to meeting up as well. With some rare exceptions when they go all wrong, meets are usually a good experience for everyone. Thereafter people may become friends or even form relationships, in some cases.
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