Vito Acconci Reaction: Electronic Relationships

An Electronic Relationship

In the text by Vito Acconci, specifically in paragraph 14 of his writing "Public Space, Private Time," the subject of relationships in regard to public space and technology surfaces.  I found this passage particularly interesting because I strongly agree with Acconci's view.  He writes,"There's no time to talk; there's no need for talk, since you already have all the information you need on the radio you carry with you.  There's no need for person-to-person relationship, since you already have multiple relationships with voices on your radio, with images of persons in store windows and on billboards."  As I get older and witness the changing mediums used for social interactions, I am heartily ashamed of what I see.  I see teens and young adults who when set in front of their peers cannot adequately express themselves. They use improper social cues and language and are, in general, boring to listen to.  Growing up without internet, without a cell phone, and without cable forced me to interact with others on a first-person basis, and I am comfortable having that five minute dialogue with my peers instead of a ten second chat.  Nowadays, one simply searches the number and quickly types their conversation with another, instead of calling the person or actually opening their mouth and using body language to communicate within three feet of the other person.  This lack of intimate and straight-forward communication leads to confusion in a dialogue, with misinterpretations from a lack of tonality or visual cues, and a void in the relationship formed when people spend a long amount of time conversing.  The time commitment and investment that each person of a dialogue is forced to donate forms a unique bond between speaker and audience.  Technology that is supposed to augment our social nature is the very thing causing us to lose our social intimacy and the thing that fulfills our social yearnings most efficiently: person-to-person interaction.