Technology's Attack on Relationships

     Mass media can bring relationship standards down to disappointing levels. Our relationship styles have evolved greatly since the 1960s. There are online websites to find a companion, or we have the usual find someone in a bar. Neither of these are usually what we would call stories to tell the kids and grandkids. The main aspect of relationships, though, is how they are perceived in the media and in the general public in our society.

Love at the press of a button

     Relationships used to be about compassion, commitment, and true love. Although we may still have that in today’s culture, we have a completely different style of going about it. Texting, facebook, and “sexting” are all the newest ways of forming and “keeping” a relationship. Technology has changed the meaning behind a relationship. The way the media portrays relationships are either way over the top, fantasy fairy tale love stories or there are the relationships where the man treats the woman like dirt or sleeps around and the woman is usually oblivious. If we compare that the show, “Leave it to Beaver”, it is very apparent that these are complete opposites. The husband and wife in “Leave it to Beaver” had a respectable, happy relationship, unlike how our culture portrays relationships.
     My grandparents were married 53 years before my grandfather passed away and they were the most loving, committed couple I have ever seen. My grandfather was always a chivalrous gentleman. There may be a select few men who do treat their ladies right today, but according to the media proper gentlemen are a minority.
     The style of our relationships today is very technology based. We have lost a lot of human interaction and have learned that is acceptable through television shows and movies. All of the previous examples show that our styles of relationships are easily influenced by what the media feeds us. Our relationships have the potential to last for a very long time, but it is a matter of getting over the hump of getting brainwashed by the media.

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