Gadgets or Human Interaction?

"At the beginning of life, symbiosis is of prime, positive importance to both sexes.  It begins as a growth process, freeing the infant of the fear of being vulnerable and alone, giving her the courage to develop.  If we get enough symbiosis in the beginning, we will later remember its pleasures and be able to look for it in others; to accept and immerse ourselves in it when we find it, and move out of it again when we are sated, knowing that we will always be able to re-establish it.  We will trust and enjoy love, take it as part of life's feast - not feel we must devour every crumb because it may never come again."

                                                                                                                             My Mother/Myself
                                                                                                                             by Nancy Friday

I often re-read this when I feel like just having my own space or on the other side of the spectrum, become too dependent on another's company for my own pleasure.  The search for a real and true relationship is a struggle.  In this day and age, conversations at the dinner table, or conversations with friends have been exchanged for entertainment that could be had with technological gadgets.

Facebook, the iPads, the Android phones, and tablets etc. are good to use for a time.  But it could get addicting.  I am guilty of this and so I know how it feels.  I am worried that our younger generation grow up with a world of their own.  Their friends are avatars or icons on their gadgets and they miss out on a lot of the human interaction, the need to socialize, the need to talk, the need to commune.  It's a scary thought.

Sometimes, I feel  a bit paranoid just thinking ahead to what could possibly be our future. There's a good side to technology and there are definitely cons to it.  The absence of the warmth of a friend's voice or the feeling of safety and security that comes with a  hug is altogether missing nowadays. There is no telling what would happen with the sudden absence of these gadgets - would all be as it should be? It's a possibility but then as the latter part of the quote indicates, it could also turn into a situation where too much of what we want is also a bad thing.