Unplug And Re-Connect

How is technology affecting your relationship?

Are you distracted, impatient and more interested in your friends on Facebook or Twitter than your partner or family?

Attachment to our Blackberries, iPhones, Facebook, and Twitter are a source of hurt and frustration between couples.

I read an article in the New York Times by Tara Parker Pope,  An Ugly Toll of Technology: Impatience and Forgetfulness, which makes startling observations about the impact of technology on our lives and relationships.

Some experts are saying that excessive use of technology can have an effect on your personality, leading you to be more impatient, impulsive, forgetful and even more narcissistic.

These personality changes have huge implications for our relationships.

The Phone Was Dropped In The Toilet

Now that had an impact! Dramatic move but not a recommended conflict resolution strategy.

A couple came in last week still reeling from an argument that resulted in the woman throwing her husband’s Blackberry in the toilet. Both were stunned by the extent to which their relationship had deteriorated and the role of the phone and the Internet in the unraveling of their connection.

For this couple technology had become an escape, an exit from the relationship.

Attention is the Most Basic Form of Love

The way that we pay attention to our partner is the foundation of a successful relationship and the most basic expression of love. Technology causes distraction and fragments our attention.

Technology is interwoven into the fabric of our lives and we can be unconscious of the impact on our relationships.

Do you see elements of your relationship in this couples story? Time to think about how your use of technology is affecting your relationship. Try unplugging and see what difference it makes.

Tags: Behaviour, Change, Connection

This entry was posted on Monday, August 15th, 2011 at 8:00 AM and is filed under IMAGO and Relationships. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.