Great article. This is exactly how I feel. I am not anti-technology and I know and have seen the benefits of it, but by the same token I have also witnessed the negative impact it has had on society. Turkle points out that the skill and intimacy of face to face conversation no longer exists and that while people feel they are connected to their 100 friends on Facebook they really are not truly "connected" to one another. Being "connected" today has created companionship without the demands, and feelings of hurt, anger and frustration. But being "connected" has also eliminated the ability to trust, self-reflect, bond,feel compassion and empathy. We are quickly becoming a society that doesn't want or need human interaction. Some will become completely satisfied with a more interactive Siri-Apple Assistant or sociable robots therefore they do not have to be themselves but an altered version of who they would like to be.
Turkle speaks of a student saying that the greatest skill is to text while making eye contact at the same time. The student suggests its difficult, but can be done. The better skill to learn, which seems to be a lost art form, is to engage in meaningful conversation, with another human being, where you are exposed for who you really are, you are forced to make eye-contact and learn the skills of patience and dialogue. That should be class all college students must take; 3 credit course entitled The Art of Dialogue- Eye to Eye.
I still believe there is room in the classroom and workplace and society for both the Traditionalists and Progressives. We need a new revolution. We've had the technological revolution in this country no we need the "Back to Basics" revolution. We are forgetting our interpersonal skills as well as forgetting ourselves. Many get so engrossed or lost in their Tweets or Facebooking that they become very lonely and isolated. We need to stop hiding from one another behind a keyboard and come up for air every once in awhile.
Is the techno world the real world? I think not! People need to interact with eachother in real time face to face. I think these dating sites, (I have never been on one), must be a complete sham. People hide behind a facade of who they would like to be rather than who they really are. Just my take as I do not have a facebook account and no twitter acct. either. Back in the dark ages I guess and still managing to get by.
ReplyDeleteAs a first grade teacher, I really try to teaach my kids what active listening "looks like." It is important that a person can have a conversation without being distracted by the media device they hold in thier hands. I only hope that my students remember what it means to be an active listener.
ReplyDeleteI can see that this really resonated with you, Shannon. I wonder if it has to be either/or, though. Is it either back-to-basics or techie revolution (to borrow from Wesch) -- or is there something that allows us to embrace the tools without losing the the ability to look each other in the eye? Hmmmmmm.....
ReplyDeleteDo you suppose there is anything stereotypical going on here between the two authors? It seems like that argument could be made that Wesch emerges as and embodies the distracted, poor-listening, channel-flipping, instant-gratification male archetype, whereas Turkle wants to know that someone is really listening during conversation. I'm curious and interested in your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteSomething like this, I suppose:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLd4zOxAguM