Thursday, November 19, 2009
P.S. Your shortcomings only include your inability to climb walls.
And so, with a post-script to a Facebook note, my closest relationship yet — with my best friend since I was 15 — came to a close.
My now-ex-boyfriend and I, in a string of messages back and forth, came to the conclusion that, though we deeply cared for each other, our distance meant we could no longer be friends. We ended things amicably, he by sending me one final playful tease of my short-limbed awkwardness.
It was only fitting, given our history, that our “end” was delivered via Facebook. We were, in many ways, a product of a globalized, web-based, technology-fueled world. We met when I was living in England and continued our relationship after I returned to the U.S. to attend the University. Ours was a relationship laced with technology — while spending months of the year apart, we kept each other up-to-date with our everyday lives through daily internet-phone, video and e-mail conversations. Thousands of miles away from each other, these easily-taken-for-granted pieces of technology served as a glue keeping us together — it was a facilitator to our relationship, without which we would not have been able to stay so close for so long.
My experience with the convergence of technology and relationships was overall a good one. But, as Mia’s story on text-message breakups on page 11 shows, there is a dark side to these outcomes of the digital age — when technology is used to avoid face-to-face interactions and to commit an increasingly common relationship faux pas.
Check out Mia’s story for more information on what not to do as a 21st-century dater. Perhaps you’ve been the victim of a text-message break up or been tempted to become a cellular offender. Either way, as technology becomes more and more entrenched in our lives, we’ll have to learn how to effectively incorporate it into our relationships.
Hudson: Technology connects globally, distances locally
Convenience of electronic communication makes real life contact more difficult
Mangiaracina: The dumbing down of America: Part ...
Facebook drama
Why we act and interact online.
Status update
Facebook changes the relationship dynamic.
Your brain on the Book
The psychological appeal and effect of Facebook
DISCONNECTED: A day without media
Could you survive it?
Pushing the button
Breaking up through text messaging may be the easy way out, but ...
Matney: Technology enchances complications in dating
With multiple modes of communication, lines are of relationships are easily blurred.
How We Met
Sadie Johnson & Josh Weltha
Malicious Intimacy
Four students' experiences with domestic violence.
[thedatebook?]
Bitch and moan
What’s the difference between dating someone and seeing someone, and what are ...
Malicious Intimacy: Chloe and Luke
Violent Suppression: artist re-emerges after half a decade of abuse
Matney: Facebook distorts relationships
Social networking distorts relationship boundaries.
Sibling support
How my relationship with my brothers reminds me that everything will be ...
NCAA concerned about Facebook
NCAA is making efforts to limit Facebook groups’ influence on recruits’ decisions.
Editor's note
The year comes to a close.
Bond: Relationship with God should determine decision ...
Religious leaders have their opinions about premarital sex and so can you.
Study shows decline in empathy among ‘Generation ...
Univerisity of Michigan researchers find a correlation between technology and the way ...
Editor's note
A message from associate editor Jessica Sain-Baird
Matney: Social networking cheapens connections
Friendships are made more shallow by Facebook.
Administrators focus on campus safety instead of ...
The Northern Illinois University shooting hasn't affected KU's policy.
Home is Where the Fight Is
Going home can be a struggle, but it doesn’t have to be ...
How we met: Mackenzie Masterson and Kieran ...
All great relationships had to start somewhere.
Keith: Keeping true to yourself during a ...
Rachel Keith discusses the dangers of losing your identity in a relationship.
Anti-Obama Facebook status messages abound
Former University of Texas backup lineman Buck Burnette was among those who ...
Breaking up: like breaking an addiction
New research suggests romantic rejection creates brain activity similar to withdrawal symptoms.
Be back soon
Ho: People drift apart as world connects
Technology leads to pitfalls in life.
Facebook + family = DISASTER?
What to do when you get a friend request from your mom.
Minor decision, major impact
One choice shattered my relationship with my dad, but gave me the ...
iPod iSolation
Is our campus becoming more anti-social because of our iPods? Do we ...
New classes talk politics
A variety of departments on campus have launched some courses that focus ...
Site offers relationship gossip
Students can find information about others’ love lives on the newly launched ...
Senate coalitions face off on technology platform
KUnited and RenewKU state their position and promises for improving technology aspects ...
Legalizing Love: the state of same-sex marriage ...
A look at the battle for marriage equality.
Facebook offers comfort after loss
Facebook has become one way people grieve after the loss of a ...
Social media obsession
Do we need a little less Facebook and a little more face ...
Buser: Facebook and GPA staying connected
Whether Facebook helps or dooms your grades is largely up to you.
Long-distance romances require certain skills
Relationships that span great distances demand more trust and communication.
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
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Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
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Armed robbers continue to threaten.
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Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
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KUnited presidential candidate Libby Johnson and vice presidential ...
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