Social Interaction According to Brym

Social interaction according to Brym and Lie (2009) "involves people communicating face-to-face or via computer, acting and reacting in relation to other people" (p.87). In its most basic form therefore, social interaction could be seen as the relation between two or more individuals. In the past, social interaction was largely based on close face-to-face interpersonal relationships. However, thanks to the impact technology has had on human relations, social interaction as we know it is fast changing.

With that in mind, the most prominent question that should be answered in this case is; how will social interaction look like in ten years time? One of the casualties of enhanced technology as far as social interaction is concerned has been face-to-face communication. Individuals today interact face-to-face less often than they did ten years ago. In the recent past, the society has become more and more dependent on modern communication gadgets including but not limited to mobile phones, PCs, etc.

Further, the advent of social media has made it easier for people to interact without having to organize for face-to-face meetings. Video conferencing has also made it possible for organizations to organize for human interaction devoid of face-to-face interactions. What this means is that in a few years time, most individuals will deem it more convenient and appropriate to make use of modern communication gadgets and the social media to communicate and relate with one another.

Already, youngsters from across the world are increasingly using social media platforms like the Facebook and Twitter to communicate with their peers from across the world. Ten years from now, close face-to-face interpersonal relationships will be rare and less frequent. As a result, social interaction as we know it could end up being less meaningful than it has been in the past. In ten years time, social interaction and hence interpersonal relationships could also end up being severely short-lived.

Unlike was the case with traditional interpersonal relationships which were largely founded on close (and intimate) interactions, technology has allowed people to interact casually. For instance, thanks to the social media, many people are "meeting" and establishing friendships on the internet. This way, it has become increasingly difficult to interrogate the characters of individuals one relates with.

Indeed, in the words of Treadway and Smith (2012), "…it is very easy for people to set up a Facebook profile with any persona they would like." This creates fertile grounds for instances of dishonesty and deception which could end up straining interpersonal relations thus making them short-lived. Some of the approaches we make use of to interact at a social level will also inevitably become phased out.

For instance, according to Dalton, Hoyle, and Watts (2010), people are increasingly giving up voicemail which is in their opinion too time-consuming in this age of instant communication. For this reason, it is highly likely that going forward, some of the common forms of communication utilized in social interaction today will be eliminated to usher in other more convenient and efficient forms of communication. Towards that end, social interaction as we know it today could end up assuming an entirely different form.

In the final analysis, as I have already predicted elsewhere in this text, ten years from now, close interpersonal relationships will be less frequent, short-lived, and less meaningful. In conclusion, it should be noted that although.