Alone/Together

Sherry Turkle, a clinical psychologist and the founder of MIT's Initiative on Technology and Self, is the author of a just published book called "Alone Together: Why we expect more from technology, and less of each other." The title highlights the paradox of the digital age brilliantly-- that as the frequency and methods of our digital connections advance, our personal connections grow more distant.

Her research looks at all the ways in which we engage technology to facilitate communication, and assesses the ways in which they are successful in facilitating connection, if at all. She highlights what we all know-- that these days, we are exponentially more in touch with each other before the days of the internet, social networking, and screens which allow us to access them all the time. With the increase in quantity of these connections, however, she contends that quality is reduced. About the internet, for example, she says: "...we are disinhibited from taking into full account that we are in the presence of another human being."

She points out that texting is one of many examples of communication technologies which diminishes the quality of personal connection even though it might increase its frequency. All can relate to the frustration of the lack of nuance and tone in texted communications-- Turkle contends that this is one feature about texting that may explain why (and how) it causes personal interactions diminish. She offers the anecdote of an individual who committed to having dinner at their grandparents' house. [Now, this is simplistic, yes, but gets the point across...] Something comes up, and Jonny texts grandma to say he can't make it. Were he to call instead, she might reply "but the table is set, the chicken is roasted... we would love to have you" with a tone of disappointment and longing to see him that would compel him to change his mind. Instead, Jonny sends a tone-less texts to which grandma responds a tone-less text and each party ends up dining alone.

Interesting.

http://www.npr.org/2012/10/18/163098594/in-constant-digital-contact-we-feel-alone-together