Continued Thoughts on What It Means to Be Social in a Technological Society

In a blog post two weeks ago, I reflected upon the ways in which social networks are re-defining what it means to be "social." I talked about how I, myself a somewhat anti-social individual, has found an easy and fun way to be "social" without leaving home, essentially. But are social networks, and indeed technology in general, making more and more people anti social, or at least less social? Let's consider cell phones, which are now used far less for actual phone calls. Technology has advanced to an extent where phones can do just about anything the user wishes, especially when considering the cornucopia of web applications available for instant use. Recently I was people-watching at the local shopping mall on my lunch hour. At one moment, I observed four individuals using smart phones, but only one of them was actually using it as a phone. The others were texting or surfing the web. Caller ID came about years ago, enabling people to screen calls, mostly to avoid telemarketers. Now it seems that we are using this feature to ignore calls from close friends, even if we're available to talk. Why? This is a very good question, one for which I do not have a succinct answer. But it is a very curious phenomenon nonetheless.
The larger implication here seems to be that technology is allowing us to (very easily) avoid any sort of confrontation, both good and bad. This would be especially useful when conflict is involved. Discussing the popularity of text messaging, Kenichi Ishii, in "Implications of Mobility: The Uses of Personal Communication Media in Everyday Life" (2006), states "Japanese youth increasingly seek to avoid conflict and friendships with deep involvement." Also, these same youth display anxiety toward direct communication which prompts them to prefer text messaging over calling on the phone. "The asynchronous communication of text messaging means that both parties are not required to be present for contact to occur" (p. 349).
In addition to these phones (the term mobile device may be more appropriate today) reshaping our definition of social in a virtual sense, they are also at the center of reshaping social norms in a physical sense as well. I think just about everybody has, at one time or another, experienced someone using their mobile device to have a very personal discussion in a very public forum. Are these folks oblivious to their making others feel like boundaries are being crossed, or are they simply redefining social  norms? In the United States, it almost seems commonplace to see this sort of behavior, and indeed, many of us think little of it. But then again maybe this is because everyone today is more focused on their own lives and think little of what strangers are doing. Naomi Baron in her book "Always On" (2008) mentions how the Japanese have all but banned cell phones (keitai) on their public transportation (Ishii also addresses this same issue) because they felt that their use constituted a violation of personal space. Ishii notes that this is not a recent phenomenon: "[t]he widespread use of Walkman portable cassette players in trains also attracted strong criticism in Japan" (p. 348). Now I have the image in my head of a teenager bopping down the sidewalk with a loud boombox affixed to his shoulder!
So is technology inducing a sort of social avoidance within our society? Just by considering one's own observations and personal behavior, one could certainly argue that this is the case. I often wonder why I let certain calls go to voicemail when I have no reason not to talk to them. I even know someone who is trying to get a friend to join Facebook so they can keep in touch this way instead of over the phone. As technology continues to advance, it will be very interesting to see how this trend develops.