I know it's been said but I would say social interaction as a whole.
I was in college when Facebook came out and it was starting hit it's stride when I graduated. I can't imagine going to high school and college now with it. It's hard for me to explain. I wouldn't call it an invasion of privacy, but we know plenty about people due to the sharing and posting we can see on a daily basis. So when I see a "friend" out I haven't seen in a while, it's hard and awkward sometimes to have that "catch up" chat since I already know what's going on with them. Probably why high school reunions are going down.
Only helping fuel that is the smartphone. I am guilty just as anyone pulling my phone out and getting lost. There is a time and place for it though. I can't stand when I go out to eat and see a family out as well, but all the kids have their head in the phones or iPads and not talking to each other while the parents are chatting away.
As for real estate it's a catch 22. The advancements of Zillow and Trulia have made it much easier for buyers and sellers to get the information they need. However, our MLS gives way too much information to these sites, and more and more this information gets used by buyers and sellers, then they realize they only need us to get in a house. So the old days of real estate of getting in the car with the agent and them driving you around to see houses you might like are over. This is why there is an internal battle brewing between realtors, as well as realtors and sellers. The emergence of limited listings/flat fees has thrown a serious wrench in the cog. Pay a small fee to a brokerage and they will put your home on the MLS. What they don't say is that while you get that exposure, you are on your own for everything else (contracts, negotiating, inspections, ect). A handful of people are fine with that, but I have seen too many go this route and get taken advantage of by the other realtor. We have never had to show our value more in today's climate.
That and I was able to look at a lot of crime statistics before I bought my house. I also had a pretty good outlook on the average age of those living around my home too.... I was able to do a lot of research on my home about the neighborhood before I even considered taking the first step of financing it.
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