An interpersonal relationship involves a reciprocal interaction.
An interpersonal relationship is a reciprocal interaction between two or more people. These are social relations that, as such, are regulated by the laws and institutions of social interaction.
Communication intervenes in every interpersonal relationship, which is the ability of people to obtain information about their environment and share it with other people. The communicative process is formed by the emission of signals (sounds, gestures, signs) with the aim of making a message known.
The importance of communication
Successful communication requires a receiver with the skills that allow him or her to decode the message and interpret it. If something goes wrong in this process, the chances of establishing a functional relationship decrease.
It is important to keep in mind that communication has changed considerably in recent decades, mainly due to the possibilities offered by the Internet . Simply taking into account its impact on interpersonal relationships, there has been an increasing abandonment of face-to-face contact in favor of virtual meetings. In the 90s and early 2000s, chat applications were the most used means of achieving this goal, and in many ways they were more practical than the telephone, especially for long and frequently interrupted conversations.
Interpersonal relationships and technology
Today, most people live according to the "always connected" model, which consists of transparent access to communication and information services, without the need to run programs, and with a very high level of compatibility between devices. different types of data, to minimize work on the part of the user. A smartphone is capable of staying permanently connected to a contact list, of decoding a text message to find phone numbers and offering the possibility of automatically scheduling them or Internet addresses so that they can be accessed by just touching them, and of making calls with video, among many other benefits.
Technology has changed interpersonal relationships.
These functions not only represent technological advances unimaginable for consumers just twenty years ago, but have opened the doors to a very sophisticated level of communication. Without a doubt, this has its positive and negative consequences , depending on how it is used. With respect to the first group, today more than ever it is possible to share knowledge of all kinds with other people, whether we are talking about art and sending links to photographs of the works of a certain author, or about geography and using the interactive maps for reference, or languages and make use of the countless study tools present on the Internet, such as dictionaries and consultation forums.
There are many more positive aspects, such as the possibility of seeing a loved one through a monitor and being able to talk to them at any time, feeling that physical distances are shortened . The negative ones, on the other hand, revolve around excessive use of technology and with the mere objective of passing time , wasting the resources it offers and leaving aside contact with other living beings.
Objectives and purposes
It must be taken into account that interpersonal relationships allow us to achieve certain objectives necessary for our development in a society, and most of these goals are implicit when establishing ties with other people. However, it is also possible to use them as a means to obtain certain benefits, such as a job; Even in those cases, there are more reasons than mere material interest, although they are usually ignored on a conscious level.
For this reason, psychologists insist that emotional education is essential to facilitate positive attitudes towards life, which allow the development of social skills , stimulate empathy and promote attitudes to face conflicts, failures and frustrations. The intention is to promote social well-being.