The Death of Social Interaction

A Eulogy By: Iván Grullón

We’re gathered here today to mourn the loss of a great aspect of generations past. An element of culture we thought would never die. We’re here together to put to eternal rest a seemingly vital part of society known as social interaction… Now, there’s no need to panic, you can rest assured that facebook and twitter will still be there when you check your laptops or when you get on your cell phones. But, what’s no longer with us on this heartbreaking day is the very function of social interaction in the form of personal interaction. Along with the goods of the technological age has come the destruction of any REAL concept of interaction. Gone are the days of conversing to pass the time, and here are the days where we need not go further than our computer desks for so-called “social networking.” Present are the times where our social lives truly don’t exist outside of cell phone or a computer screen.
Yes, we can be assured that social interaction is indeed dead and far from revival. And, sadly, those of us here today share the misfortune of being our victim’s assassin. We all must admit, we have some blame in its execution; for example, turning to the TV instead of to a one on one conversation, turning to video games rather than talking with our parents and loved ones, getting on facebook rather than visiting a friend. Some of us have reached the point that we text so we don’t have to use the energy it takes to have a conversation. And with very text message, twitter tweet, facebook comment & MySpace bulletin that takes the place of personal interaction, social interaction dies continuously.
But on rare occasions we CAN see the ghost of social interaction rise in situations like these when we are forced to interact with actual human beings and not through technology. And we remember those long conversations we’ve had with friends and family, when we recall the time we’ve spent talking with our grandparents, cousins, and aunts and uncles at family events. At these times we can almost touch and feel social interaction as if it was alive and well, as if we’d seen a ghost. But, during those times, the ghost is quickly exorcized abruptly by the next “important” text message that grabs away our attention. So it is with great sadness and grief that we lay to rest the practice of personal interaction, social interaction is dead and we, you and I, have killed it.