Does Technology Keep Us 'Alone Together'?

The book Alone Together is a very interesting look at how technology affects relationships between people.
 

I found the most relatable chapters are the ones about the paradox of social media: Facebook is supposed to connect people who otherwise would have little to contact. In the days of yore, former classmates would only see each other at reunions once every decade, if at all. But now you can know what the girl who used to sit next to you in homeroom grew up to be, how many kids she has and how they celebrated their birthday.
 

But, as author points out, many people use social media as a substitute for real human contact. She interviews a middle-aged woman who says she used to call her friends when she wanted to catch up with them, but now because of all the hours she works she doesn't have the energy to talk on the phone and would rather trade texts or Facebook messages. Several people featured in the book said they worry that picking up the phone and calling someone seems intrusive, like you're interrupting their life.
 

The author also interviews several teenagers who send and receive thousands of texts each month and dread actually talking to friends, boyfriends and girlfriends on the phone.
 

Some of the most disturbing chapters of the book explore how "sociable robots" may someday be employed as a substitute for humans. The author describes experiments in which robots are used as substitutes for caretakers of children whose parents are overworked and the elderly whose children and grandchildren are too busy to visit them. Is this a glimpse of the not-too-distant future?