"All this technology is making us antisocial." pic.twitter.com/b2u9xhVmDA
— History In Pictures (@HistoryInPics) October 27, 2014
What do you think? Is it really all that different than this one?
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| Image by Susan Sermoneta [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] |
I'm not saying there isn't a time to put the devices away...that would be like saying there was never a time to put the newspapers down, which is obviously ridiculous.
But I think we are quick to demonize the influence of digital technologies, and somehow think more idyllic thoughts of yesteryear without them.
Yes, we (I) need to be mindful of being "present" and putting the phone down. But is technology really making us antisocial? Or is it just more socially-acceptable to be "antisocial" today because we carry phones (which are really pocket-sized computers!) everywhere we go?
You end with two questions. I'm not sure there's any difference between the two.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to comment. I see what you are getting at, but I do think they are two different questions. The first puts the blame on the technology, that the technology is at fault for making people behave antisocially. The second puts the blame on us (corporately) for allowing--and perhaps even encouraging?--antisocial behavior because of the technology so easily at hand.
DeletePerhaps the end result is the same, but I think there is a difference. I tend to think it's more a case of the second, but this is just my tentative-though-pretty-sure contemplation at the moment.
Thanks for reading!
Dave
Dave, I tend to think it is more that it is just acceptable to be on a device a lot, but it does drive me nuts when people should make the effort to be truly "present". (ie. When Grandma buys the grandchildren lunch, so she can visit with them, and they are locked in on the phones instead!
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa,
DeleteThanks for taking the time to comment! You and are on the same page here, for sure. When the dinging notifications and little red icons indicating new messages are pulling my attention away from the people I'm interacting with face-to-face, it's time to put the phone away.
Having a computer in your pocket has pros and cons, for sure!
Dave
An ironic photo, for sure. True story - I saw a principal read a legitimate newspaper through the entirety of a staff "professional development" meeting awhile back. And it's rude to be on a phone or a computer?
ReplyDeleteRudeness is rudeness. Presence is presence.
-Erica (@MrsLeaIowa) saw your tweet on #iaedchat :-)
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, Erica! Totally agree--it's a different medium, but I'm not convinced it's a different level of rudeness.
Delete