The Washington Post reports that the quick adoption and widespread use of the Internet and cell phones has actually brought American families closer together. Rather than flinging them apart, as skeptics have feared, the new forms of communications have helped people keep up with one another through their busy lives. Sixty percent of families reported not being affected by the new technologies, and 25% reported they are now closer together as a unit. We are, indeed, more connected.
Take heed. No matter what the product or technology or gimmick, we will keep being who we are: human individuals who want to relate to other human individuals, in families, in friendship circles, in communities. We tend to incorporate the new stuff into our lives and make it work for us. We have not become the machines we’re using, we make them, the tools, serve us, the users.
Our essential humanity is the reason why we as sustainable marketers must keep the communal individual in the forefront of our hearts and minds. Everything we do, the products we sell, the services we provide, should aim to help our customers cultivate their relationships, with our brand and with others like them. We are all connected.
Update: ReadWriteWeb offers a more in-depth and nuanced report on the Pew Internet and American Life Project study.
