Even in a cyber-world, face to face interactions still very much matter.

There’s a great deal of conversation about the impact of social media on relationships. There certainly are generational differences in how youth, young adults and mid-life/later-life people use social media, and also how we perceive it. Frequently, I hear disparaging remarks of youths’ relationship to their technology and it’s role in their social lives. Though the full impact of our advancing technology is never easy to understand without the benefit of some hindsight,  it’s my impression that its challenges are offset by many gains. Human interaction takes many forms, and not surprisingly, our face to face interactions continue to be an important aspect of both friendships and relationships.

Here, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) researchers Boleslaw Szymanski, director of SCNARC and the Claire and Roland Schmitt Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Rensselaer, discuss what technology shows us about whom we choose as friends. I find it particularly interesting that sophisticated mathematics and computer science demonstrates the resilience of our relationships in a tech-driven world, and also how mathematic models can help us launch social programs, create change, respond to crises and even foster new friendships.