FACING HUMANITY WITH TECHNOLOGY.Byline: BARBARA CORREA Staff Writer Business traveler Michael Bruso doesn't usually mind chatting with people on a flight. But after a stressful two-week business trip to Europe was extended by a week, Bruso was in no mood for a gabfest on his trans-Atlantic flight home. So the software consultant from Houston did what more and more Americans are doing to ensure peaceful air travel. He e-mailed his passenger preference to AirTroductions, a Web-based networking site that allows airline passengers to choose their row mates in advance. "I ended up sitting next to someone also looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. someone to shut up and fly," Bruso said. The planet might be undergoing global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. , but human interaction is entering an ice age. While most Americans crave community, they want it on their own terms. And ironically, technology -- blamed for a lot of the isolation felt by many today -- is increasingly being used as the icebreaker icebreaker, ship of special hull design and wide beam, with relatively flat bottom, designed to force its way through ice. When the icebreaker charges into the ice at full speed, its sharply inclined bow, meeting the edge of the ice, rises upon it, and the weight of to bring people together, even if it is on their own terms. A study by University of Arizona (body, education) University of Arizona - The University was founded in 1885 as a Land Grant institution with a three-fold mission of teaching, research and public service. and Duke University academics published in the June issue of the American Sociological Review The American Sociological Review is the flagship journal of the American Sociological Association (ASA). The ASA founded this journal (often referred to simply as ASR) in 1936 with the mission to publish original works of interest to the sociology discipline in general, new found that fewer people have someone to talk to about important matters. "In 2004, an adult, non-institutionalized American is much more likely to be completely isolated from people with whom he or she could discuss important matters than in 1985," says the study, titled "Social Interaction in America." It found that the percentage of people who can count on a confidante con·fi·dante n. 1. A woman to whom secrets or private matters are disclosed. 2. A woman character in a drama or fiction, such as a trusted friend or servant, who serves as a device for revealing the inner thoughts or intentions in tough times fell from 75 percent in 1985 to 50 percent in 2004. Three possible reasons were given for the shift: Dramatic world events such as 9-11 have overshadowed personal problems; families are more geographically dispersed, have longer commutes and less time to interact; and more people define communication electronically via cell phones and the Internet, not up-close human contact. The Web: Curse and Cure The irony is that the technology acts as both the cause of and the cure for social isolation. "The purpose of all this (online activity) is to meet in reality," said Tonia T. McDonald, an urban futurist based at the Hubbard College of Administration and head of the L.A. chapter of the World Future Society. She said whether the purpose is business networking This article needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. , social interaction, or entertainment, the ultimate goal of online communication is often to meet in person. That's the idea behind MatchActivity.com, a sort of eBay meets eHarmony Web site with offices in mid-Wilshire that connects people for specific activities such as skydiving skydiving Sport of jumping from an airplane at a moderate altitude (e.g., 6,000 ft [1,800 m]) and executing various body maneuvers before pulling the rip cord of a parachute. Competitive events include jumping for style, landing with accuracy, and performing in teams (e.g. , hiking or drinking. Members post activities they need partners for and each activity has its own expiration date Expiration Date The day on which an options or futures contract is no longer valid and, therefore, ceases to exist. Notes: The expiration date for all listed stock options in the U.S. . Potential partners respond, essentially placing bids in the form of their own personal profile and photos and why they should be picked. Then the poster picks from a selection of bidders based on what they see. "The reason why people find it difficult to meet in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. is that unlike New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of or Chicago or Miami, you don't really bump into people," said Andre Lowe, co-founder of MatchActivity.com. "People go from their apartment to their underground parking garage to their office elevator to their cubicle and you're not interacting. L.A. is structured to isolate people." Rob Neiman, a twenty-something hedge fund hedge fund, in finance, a highly speculative, largely unregulated investment device. Originating in the 1950s, the funds "hedge" by offsetting "short" positions (borrowing a security and then selling it at a higher price before repaying the lender) against "long" manager living in the Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills, an unofficial designation of part of the City of Los Angeles, California, are part of the eastern section of the low transverse range of the Santa Monica Mountains, which extends from the Los Feliz District and Hollywood, on the south side of the Valley, to , said going out to do anything in Los Angeles is "a process," and sites such as MatchActivity help. "It's harder to meet someone face to face than it is through the Internet," said Neiman, who moved south from San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden last spring. "You can walk down the street and people won't say hello to you, but you can get on the Internet and get people to date you." Image control Electronically, people can craft their words and images carefully, versus the spontaneity inherent in random face-to-face meetings. That sense of control seems to be one of the most appealing aspects of using technology as a social lubricant. In addition, getting acquainted online before meeting offers a layer of protection for people who may be leery, and it also allows for a greater measure of control over how people present themselves, said John Styn of HugNation, one of the more interesting manifestations of physical isolation online. Every Tuesday at 1 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, Styn, a video blogger in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , and his grandfather Caleb, a former Baptist minister, broadcast a "World-Wide Virtual Group Hug group hug is a website that publishes anonymous confessions. Readers of the site are encouraged to "confess" using a simple form. All confessions go through a lengthy public screening process before appearing on the main page. " from Caleb's dorm room in a San Diego retirement home. HugNation participants are encouraged to hug a spouse or co-worker, or if there's no one else around, "squeeze yourself in your car or in the supermarket," the Web site urges. "Technology has isolated us -- people have four TVs in four different rooms in their house," said Styn. "We try to use technology to cure what it has created. A lot of people use these Internet connections as a steppingstone step·ping·stone n. 1. A stone that provides a place to step, as in crossing a stream. 2. An advantageous position for advancement toward a goal. to real connections." They aren't necessarily love connections, either. Social networking See social networking site. social networking - social network is increasingly living up to its original definition, that is, hooking up with like-minded individuals who have a common goal. Let's make a deal Let's Make a Deal is a television game show which originated in the United States and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The show was based around deals offered to members of the audience by the host. Peter Shankman, the frequent business traveler who launched AirTroductions, had business networking in mind when he came up with the idea for the Web site that lets travelers pick their row mates before they ever board a flight. Members enter their information and personal profiles and flight itineraries. Michael Bruso, the consultant who used the service to find a quiet row mate, has also used AirTroductions to do business. "I use it to make business contacts. I got one deal out of it and a second one is coming." barbara.correa@dailynews.com (818) 713-3662 Airtroductions: www.airtroductions.com Lets airline passengers choose row mates. MatchActivity: www.matchactivity.com Connects like-minded people through one-on-one activities. Post an activity, respond and meet. HugNation: www.hugnation.com A worldwide virtual group hug. Cuddle Party: www.cuddleparty.com/index.cfm A "boundary-appropriate" workshop and social event for exploring touch, affection and communication. Shy? Single? Throw a cuddle party As interesting as online models of interaction can be, they don't do much for people who may live alone and crave a little hug once in a while. So people such as Andrea Bell, a single psychotherapist psy·cho·ther·a·pist n. An individual, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric nurse, or psychiatric social worker, who practices psychotherapy. in Long Beach, are forking over $30 to spoon with perfect strangers at nonsexual, and highly monitored, cuddle parties. Cuddlers sit in a welcome circle with strangers, talk, joke and, eventually, cuddle. Cuddle lifeguards ensure that there's no hanky-panky happening and that everyone feels safe. "By the time you leave, everybody is glowing, myself included," said Bell. Andrew Schwartz, a cuddle-party facilitator in Los Angeles, said the practice mixes old and new forms of affection to help singles achieve intimacy without a relationship. "We're taking the freedom we got from the free love movement and combining it with ideas of personal responsibility," Schwartz said. "In this culture, if you are single, you're not getting any touching at all. A study showed friends touched each other 200 times an hour in Puerto Rico. In the U.S. it was two times. People in warm countries don't need cuddle parties." Admittedly, Southern California is warm. But the culture apparently isn't, according to Schwartz, a transplant from New York. "With the entertainment business being such a big part of the culture, that could cause people to be oriented on a more superficial level. I sometimes wonder if it has to do with the inability to form connections easily because we're all spread out. We're not as physically close together as people in other cities." Bell says that for herself, the cuddle party is not a substitute for a relationship, but it is that for a lot of the single people who attend. "I'm not isolated and lonely, but I've spent a lot of effort creating a community. When I was in my 20s, I did feel isolated. ... I think a lot of people go because they are single." CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) no caption (person holding up laptop while covering face) Photo illustration by T. Gapen Box: Shy? Single? Throw a cuddle party (see text) |
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