Could Technology Be Causing Social Isolation?

By: Kyla Lang Hart

The advance of technology is unleashing unexpected social changes that marketers must come to grips with. From isolating and accelerating technologies to new biological, pharmacological and genetic procedures, we are liivng in "ineresting times" without a roadmap. Kyla Lang Hart, principal of product and brand development firm Toniq, would be pleased to be your guide:

When you are hooked to your iPod, are you plugged in or unplugged? Are you part of something bigger than yourself or is your world myopic? Essentially, both. You are plugged into something specific to your identity yet also part of a collective. As tribal beings, we need to be part of a community, yet technology continues to drive us into new kinds of isolation where we connect only on our own terms. Are we building "iTribes" or feeding a new kind of Tribal Isolation?

With the pressure to do more and to be more, we've become hyper time sensitive. Therefore, we've become more particular about who we spend time with and how we spend that time. Are we narrowcasting our lives? Are we courting new experiences? Are we going backward or forward? Are things actually differentk, or are they just more clearly delineated? This trend is being manifested in every aspect of our lifestyles, from communication, housing, entertainment, to travel, education and parenting. Gaming epitomizes this phenomenon, driving the young, particularly boys, to interact via a screen with avatars versus an actual physical experience.

A whole generation is growing up with an entirely different set of social skills. It's not bad to be focused, and disconnected from the broader world, but parents are surprised and relieved when their kids actually go outdoors to play. How will this drive consumer wants and needs in the future?

About the Author:
Kyla Lang Hart founded Toniq, a strategic, visual brand management firm dedicated to Brand Effervescence, with Cheryl Swanson in 1999. Kyla has focused her marketing career on developing evocative brand programs. She has directed research and positioning studies, image campaigns, name generation and comprehensive design programs to define and express the essence of a brand.

Key to her successes has been respect for consumers' rational and emotional motivations and the application of creativity to a brand's advantage. Her expertise has been used to launch new brands and to reinvigorate brands in a range of industries, including consumer packaged goods, retail and professional services for Philip Morris, Campbell's Soup, Gillette, Kodak, Cadbury Schweppes, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sears, Godiva, and Ethan Allen.