--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The personal contact is a personal thing…" description: "\"The personal contact is a personal thing. The fact that some people don't know their neighbors, I don't think that technology is at fault. You don't lo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/john-warnock-47565_avenues_the-personal-contact-is-a-personal-thing_2569274.png" --- # The personal contact is a personal thing. The fact that… ![“The personal contact is a personal thing. The fact that some people don't know their neighbors, I don't think that technology is at fault. You don't lose anything with technology. You gain other avenues of understanding.” quote by John Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/john-warnock-47565_avenues_the-personal-contact-is-a-personal-thing_2569274.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/john-warnock-47565_avenues_the-personal-contact-is-a-personal-thing_2569274.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/john-warnock-47565_avenues_the-personal-contact-is-a-personal-thing_2569274.png) > “The personal contact is a personal thing. The fact that some people don't know their neighbors, I don't think that technology is at fault. You don't lose anything with technology. You gain other avenues of understanding.” [John Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warnock/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal relationships remain personal; technology isn’t to blame for neighborly disconnect, but it offers new ways to understand each other. **In simple terms:** Technology isn’t the cause of social isolation. Key Takeaway Use tech to enhance, not replace, personal connections. Themes technology society relationships Mood reflective balanced Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - community building - online networking - interpersonal skills Key Concepts social capital communication media digital mediation Questions to Reflect On - What balance should we strike between digital and face‑to‑face contact? - How can tech foster genuine community? A Different Perspective Technology can also create superficial interactions and privacy concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Avenues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avenues/) [Contact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contact/) [Contact Personal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contact-personal-1676585/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Faults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faults/) [Gains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gains/) [Know Neighbors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-neighbors-1676584/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Neighbors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbors/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Personal Contact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-contact-1292059/) [Personal thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-thing/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [Become familiar with your home, but know also about your neighbors. The young man who never went anywhere thinks his mother is the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/become-familiar-with-your-home-but-know-also-about-your-neighbors-the/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [I grew up in the Valley, and I didn't know any of our neighbors. I think when you grow up like that, there's always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sherman-palladino/i-grew-up-in-the-valley-and-i-didn-t-know-any-of-our-neighbors-i/) [Amy Sherman-Palladino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sherman-palladino/) > [To know one's self is wisdom, but not to know one's neighbors is genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minna-antrim/to-know-one-s-self-is-wisdom-but-not-to-know-one-s-neighbors-is-genius/) [Minna Antrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minna-antrim/) > [Once you get to know your neighbors, you are no longer free, you are all tangled up, you have to stop and speak when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/once-you-get-to-know-your-neighbors-you-are-no-longer-free-you-are/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [Let me put it this way, I lived in L.A. for 10 years and did not know my neighbors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryse-mizanin/let-me-put-it-this-way-i-lived-in-l-a-for-10-years-and-did-not-know/) [Maryse Mizanin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryse-mizanin/) > [And I always heard people in New York never get to know their neighbors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/and-i-always-heard-people-in-new-york-never-get-to-know-their/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [I'm from the Midwest. We like to know who our neighbors are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/i-m-from-the-midwest-we-like-to-know-who-our-neighbors-are/) [Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/) > [The most revolutionary thing you can do is get to know your neighbors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/the-most-revolutionary-thing-you-can-do-is-get-to-know-your-neighbors/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [We still have community, but we don't seem to have local community. Even in a small town where you know your neighbors and your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-still-have-community-but-we-don-t-seem-to-have-local-community/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [When I go home to Iowa, people assume I live in this very big anonymous place where no one knows each other or wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/when-i-go-home-to-iowa-people-assume-i-live-in-this-very-big/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [We know our neighbors - so far as we have the right to know them. We hear of their joys and their sorrows, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-e-richards/we-know-our-neighbors-so-far-as-we-have-the-right-to-know-them-we/) [Laura E. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-e-richards/) > [For me, Los Angeles, New York, where I don't know my neighbors, where people don't necessarily care if they know their neighbors, I'm missing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sela-ward/for-me-los-angeles-new-york-where-i-don-t-know-my-neighbors-where/) [Sela Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sela-ward/) > [Vast and fearsome as the human scene has become, personal contact of the right people, in the right places, at the right time, may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/vast-and-fearsome-as-the-human-scene-has-become-personal-contact-of/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [During our stay in London for the first time I was able to establish personal contact with some of the organic chemists, whose work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-andrew-olah/during-our-stay-in-london-for-the-first-time-i-was-able-to-establish/) [George Andrew Olah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-andrew-olah/) > [It is really really important that you deal with Trump either by letter or by personal contact. Trying to deal with him on telephones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kergin/it-is-really-really-important-that-you-deal-with-trump-either-by/) [Michael Kergin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kergin/) ## More by John Warnock > [We started the company out of frustration with the employer that we had because we were building great stuff and there was no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warnock/we-started-the-company-out-of-frustration-with-the-employer-that-we/) [John Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warnock/) > [What I try to do is factor in how people use computers, what people's problems are, and how these technologies can get applied to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warnock/what-i-try-to-do-is-factor-in-how-people-use-computers-what-people-s/) [John Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warnock/) > [I'm a pretty happy camper. Look a little more like Paul Newman, maybe. Haha.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warnock/i-m-a-pretty-happy-camper-look-a-little-more-like-paul-newman-maybe/) [John Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warnock/) > [Without television and mass communication, that knowledge wouldn't exist. So I think it actually has the possibility of turning people into more understanding and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warnock/without-television-and-mass-communication-that-knowledge-wouldn-t/) [John Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warnock/) > [I would never speculate on the limit. Every time you speculate, you're way too conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warnock/i-would-never-speculate-on-the-limit-every-time-you-speculate-you-re/) [John Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warnock/) > [I have seen that technology has contributed to improved communication, that it's contributed to better health care, that it's contributed to better food supplies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warnock/i-have-seen-that-technology-has-contributed-to-improved-communication/) [John Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warnock/) > [I believe good software is written by small teams of two, three, or four people interacting with each other at a very high, dense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warnock/i-believe-good-software-is-written-by-small-teams-of-two-three-or/) [John Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warnock/) [Explore all 8 John Warnock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warnock/) ## More Avenues quotes > [Faith is the avenue to salvation. Not intellectual understanding. Not money. Not your works. Just simple faith. How much faith? The faith of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/faith-is-the-avenue-to-salvation-not-intellectual-understanding-not/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [I don't look at money as success. I look at it as an avenue to freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scooter-braun/i-don-t-look-at-money-as-success-i-look-at-it-as-an-avenue-to-freedom/) [Scooter Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scooter-braun/) > [Extemporaneous speaking should be practised and cultivated. It is the lawyer's avenue to the public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/extemporaneous-speaking-should-be-practised-and-cultivated-it-is-the/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [In times of totalitarian or autocratic rule, music (indeed culture in general) is often the only avenue of independent thought. It is the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-barenboim/in-times-of-totalitarian-or-autocratic-rule-music-indeed-culture-in/) [Daniel Barenboim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-barenboim/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Some writers are writing one great, big book and just taking all these different avenues towards it. They might seem on the outside to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/some-writers-are-writing-one-great-big-book-and-just-taking-all-these/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [Once upon a time I was riding on the top of a First Avenue bus, when I heard a mythical housewife say to another,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/once-upon-a-time-i-was-riding-on-the-top-of-a-first-avenue-bus-when-i/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Nearly all literature, in one sense, is made up of guide-books. Old ones tell us the ways our fathers went, through the thoroughfares and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/nearly-all-literature-in-one-sense-is-made-up-of-guide-books-old-ones/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [It is best to lay our plans widely in youth, for then land is cheap, and it is but too easy to contract our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-is-best-to-lay-our-plans-widely-in-youth-for-then-land-is-cheap/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I have had a hard time settling on one medium and feel like a dilettante at times, taking up one medium and then wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-johnson/i-have-had-a-hard-time-settling-on-one-medium-and-feel-like-a/) [Nancy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-johnson/) > [The philosophy that I have worked under most of my life is that the serious study of natural history is an activity which has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-tory-peterson/the-philosophy-that-i-have-worked-under-most-of-my-life-is-that-the/) [Roger Tory Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-tory-peterson/) > [There are certainly numberless women of fashion who consider it perfectly natural to go miles down Fifth Avenue, or Madison Avenue, yet for whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-romains/there-are-certainly-numberless-women-of-fashion-who-consider-it/) [Jules Romains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-romains/) > [Donald Trump is not stupid. He knows exactly what he's saying. And he's just saying out there - I mean, forget about Muslims. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/donald-trump-is-not-stupid-he-knows-exactly-what-he-s-saying-and-he-s/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [Just as important, we need a new dedication to opening avenues for employee participation and motivation through profit-sharing and innovative programs of job enrichment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-h-percy/just-as-important-we-need-a-new-dedication-to-opening-avenues-for/) [Charles H. Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-h-percy/) > [The older I get, the more and more I notice I'm like my father. It's funny, because when I was younger I tried to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apolo-ohno/the-older-i-get-the-more-and-more-i-notice-i-m-like-my-father-it-s/) [Apolo Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apolo-ohno/) [Browse all 335 Avenues quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avenues/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The personal contact is a personal thing. The fact that some people don't know their neighbors, I don't think that technology is at fault. You don't lose anything with technology. You gain other avenues of understanding.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Warnock" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warnock/the-personal-contact-is-a-personal-thing-the-fact-that-some-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Avenues" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warnock/the-personal-contact-is-a-personal-thing-the-fact-that-some-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/john-warnock-47565_avenues_the-personal-contact-is-a-personal-thing_2569274.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/john-warnock-47565_avenues_the-personal-contact-is-a-personal-thing_2569274.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/john-warnock-47565_avenues_the-personal-contact-is-a-personal-thing_2569274.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The personal contact is a personal thing. The fact that some people don't know their neighbors, I don't…” — John Warnock", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Warnock", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warnock/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The personal contact is a personal...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warnock/the-personal-contact-is-a-personal-thing-the-fact-that-some-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warnock/the-personal-contact-is-a-personal-thing-the-fact-that-some-people/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```