Because the Dinner Table is so important in our lives, I wonder when we decided that it is socially acceptable to bring a cell phone to the table. I don’t remember a declaration that it was okay – it just happened. Think about it -- it’s like inviting someone to the table, but telling them that they don’t have to use their manners. The phone is allowed to distract and interrupt. It doesn’t have to say Excuse me, or wait its turn. It just interrupts at will. Who thought this was a good idea?!
I thought I was just being old-fashioned until I attended a class taught by Dr. Stephen Ruth (George Mason University) on Social Blogs and the Media. He showed us a clip from a PBS NewsHour interview with Sherry Turkle, author of Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age (and now I am reading her book.) She presents a strong argument that the very sight of the phone – even if it is turned off—will turn the conversation to trivial matters. It seems that the phone becomes a signal that either party may divert their attention, so it isn’t a good idea to talk from the heart.
Dr. Turkle was called in to help teachers with their students’ lack of empathy. Her study resulted in the conclusion that the prevalence of digital devices has crippled them in feeling empathy for others. The real connections that need to be formed through conversation are being short-circuited by the distraction of technology. The book is fascinating, although frightening. It has helped me to understand better what I see happening with the younger generation.
Technology has done so much to improve our ability to communicate, but it has to be managed. Simply knowing when and where to use your devices is something that has to be purposefully decided. Dr. Turkle recommends that we dedicate some places as sacred spaces – places where technology is not welcome. I would say that the dinner table and any place where meaningful conversation is taking place would fit the bill as a sacred space. Teens find that they are suffering from sleep deprivation because they are always listening for a call or text, so I would nominate all sleeping areas as sacred spaces. We need to be purposeful about letting our technology be useful, rather than allowing it to control us.
Here is the clip from the PBS Newshour:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/how-your-cellphone-is-silently-disrupting-your-social-life/
Blessings,
Barb
I thought I was just being old-fashioned until I attended a class taught by Dr. Stephen Ruth (George Mason University) on Social Blogs and the Media. He showed us a clip from a PBS NewsHour interview with Sherry Turkle, author of Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age (and now I am reading her book.) She presents a strong argument that the very sight of the phone – even if it is turned off—will turn the conversation to trivial matters. It seems that the phone becomes a signal that either party may divert their attention, so it isn’t a good idea to talk from the heart.
Dr. Turkle was called in to help teachers with their students’ lack of empathy. Her study resulted in the conclusion that the prevalence of digital devices has crippled them in feeling empathy for others. The real connections that need to be formed through conversation are being short-circuited by the distraction of technology. The book is fascinating, although frightening. It has helped me to understand better what I see happening with the younger generation.
Technology has done so much to improve our ability to communicate, but it has to be managed. Simply knowing when and where to use your devices is something that has to be purposefully decided. Dr. Turkle recommends that we dedicate some places as sacred spaces – places where technology is not welcome. I would say that the dinner table and any place where meaningful conversation is taking place would fit the bill as a sacred space. Teens find that they are suffering from sleep deprivation because they are always listening for a call or text, so I would nominate all sleeping areas as sacred spaces. We need to be purposeful about letting our technology be useful, rather than allowing it to control us.
Here is the clip from the PBS Newshour:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/how-your-cellphone-is-silently-disrupting-your-social-life/
Blessings,
Barb
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