People are texting, shopping and going on Facebook while in
business meetings, in classes, at family meals, while together with friends;
even while out on dates. We are using the technology not only to edit what we want
to participate in electronically, but through their use, to remove ourselves
from situations that make us uncomfortable; to avoid grief or intimacy.
We customize our lives because we can. As a result, people are
learning to fear conversation because we can’t script what we’re going to say; or
filter what we are going to hear and see. We attend meetings or classes, but
only for the bits that we are interested in.
As Turkle so brilliantly states: “Human relationships are rich, messy and demanding; so we want to clean
them up and edit out the uncomfortable bits. We sacrifice conversation for mere connection. We expect more from technology,
and less from each other. We’re lonely, but afraid of intimacy. We seek the
illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship.”
If we stay on this path, the world is going to be a very
lonely place. Let’s put the phones down, take off the stupid headsets; and show
the people we’re with that we really want to be with them. Who knows, we might remember why we’re here.
