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Nupur Gupta

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It is being said that we are starting to increase expectations from technology and less from people. Are we sure?

As a result of technology, we are more in contact with people, through phone calls, messaging systems, photo exchange, emails, social networks, etc. While I agree that we are spending more time on technological instruments, I feel that maybe the presence of technology is increasing our expectations from people. For example, after someone travels and arrives at his/her destination, earlier, we were okay to wait for a few hours before knowing whether the flight has landed. But now, we get quite upset at the traveller for not contacting us as soon as he/she lands! Even if it is by text. We have lost patience and our expectation has increased significantly from people. Same goes with partners where even if you do not have time to call, you are expected to send a message.

What do you think? Is technology lessening our expectations from people or increasing them?

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Topics: relationships technology
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    Heather White 10+

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    Apr 15 2012: Personality assessment seem to show increasing narcissism among the Generation Y population (c.1980 - 1996), compared to Generation X (c.1963 - 1979) and again compared to the earlier Baby Boomer generation (c.1945 - 1962).

    It’s too early to tell about Generation Z (c.1997 - 2012), but they seem to have increased behaviour issues with new issues such as ADHD and Autism Spectrum social difficulties.

    Each grew up with a major technology that became more and more absorbing and physically isolating -
    GX = TV / basic computers
    GY = computers / gaming
    GZ = www / mobiles

    I.T. is increasingly fast, efficient and convenient - other people aren't! Incivility is so common that it’s a major dividing factor between generations.
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    Jody Mak

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    Apr 15 2012: I listened to the video today. In short what I got out of it is that people are confusing convenience for necessity.

    I think that our expectations for people have increased in the sense that we have higher expectations for them to use their technology. It's like saying "How do you not have an iPhone?" "How do you not have a Facebook?" "You still fax papers?"

    However, I don't think people have lost their patience or have higher expectations otherwise though. That's all very personal and varied across relationships.
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    Ken brown 30+

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    Apr 14 2012: No,people are losing themselves to an unrealistic sense that they should be answered when they communicate via text.They take on another persons timetable or disregard whether that person is busy,it's very selfish,that persons universe is all that matters.

    IMHO in some people they without realizing it develop unrealistic expectations of people around them,I have been through this myself and have had it returned in kind.The phone gets switched off on the weekends but my machine stays on for the family.

  • arthur mitsias

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    Apr 13 2012: writing was the most wonder full way to connect to some one far away even if far away was only cross town then came the telegraph and people could send a message in a few short hours all the way across the country and then came the telephone and people could talk to anyone any where almost instantly so now instead of going over the river and through the woods to grandmothers house we can go on our i pad and see how the old girl is doing it seems with every tech advance we lose a little more of our humanity

  • arthur mitsias

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    Apr 13 2012: watson has proven that we are creating an intelligence that equals our own it took us millions of years to develop the intelligence to create in a few short years watson a side note every time i write watson with a small w the computer wants to correct me is that a sign of things to come?
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