Industrial Revolution - Loss of Human Reciprocity?

Reciprocity (N.) 

Machines and appliances are undoubtedly a large part of your life as they are in mine. Cell Phones, Computers, and Ipods; these devices are the descendants of innovations during the Industrial Revolution. In the late 18th century Europe bore witness to the mechanization of production. People who previously worked with their hands to produce specialized commodities gradually migrated to factories where the machines they operated churned out products at an exponentially faster rate. Humans began to rely on machines in a new way. Although machines and appliances have existed for millennia, the Industrial Revolution introduced devices, which could replace human labor almost entirely. One topic that is sometimes overlooked is the loss of human exchange that occurred during the Industrial Revolution and remains a significant issue today. When machines take the place of humans and when products of manual labor become luxuries a loss of reciprocity has occurred. When humans rely on machines more than other people they tend to isolate themselves. The famous social scientist Karl Marx oftentimes alluded to this in speeches along with his political theory. He recognized the dangers of mechanization and during a speech in 1868 concluded with, "To conclude for the present, machinery leads on one hand to associated organised labour, on the other to the disintegration of all formerly existing social and family relations." After writing my French Revolution paper on the Sans-Culottes in Paris, it's clear to me that the value placed on manual labor and individual artisanship deteriorated during the Industrial Revolution and perhaps relationships in general. Mass production and department stores quickly reduced the ancient tradition of craftsmanship into a much smaller luxury market. Along with producing isolation, mechanization oftentimes decreased the quality of life of workers before it improved it, as we have witnessed in numerous primary sources and accounts.  On the other hand, public health and life expectancy vastly increased during the Industrial Revolution due to advancements brought about by mechanization. The profound effects of the Industrial Revolution on Europe are innumerable, but for now let’s consider the modern world on the basis of reciprocity. In today’s world it’s practically a rarity to encounter a handcrafted item. Essentially everything necessary for human life comes into contact with a powered device. Relationship standards and dynamics have certainly undergone tremendous changes since the Industrial Revolution. Is it possible that humans in the modern age are relatively isolated as compared to their pre Industrial Revolution counterparts? Has our reliance on machinery, which we oftentimes seem to take for granted, resulted in a great loss of reciprocity? Yes and no (in my opinion). Appliances dominate our lives and as a result we tend to interact with other people more out of pleasure than necessity. At the same time, globalization and social networking counteract this process, creating and supporting a whole new definition of relationship that didn’t exist during the Industrial Revolution. But now I leave it to you, when my mom calls me on my cell phone to come downstairs for dinner has reciprocity been lost or gained?