Conversing in the Digital Age

The book I have been reading is about empathy. I want to relate that to something personal for me because I am very upset with the lack of empathy I am witnessing from many people across our nation. I truly believe we are losing our ability to empathize. Perhaps Sherry Turkle really has a point and one way to help fix it.  Last night was the opening season game for the Washington Nationals. I watched Dr. Fauci throw the first pitch. I watched as every player kneeled in solidarity for BLM during the Star Spangled Banner.  I watched them all stand for the National Anthem. And then I watched the game.  But..... What really struck me was the speech that was aired while all the players stood in unity holding a long black ribbon. It was Morgan Freeman's speech that struck a chord with me and it has everything to do with what our country is going through right now with social injustice. We need more people to show empathy.  Here is what he said:       In orde...

Mobile devices- we just can't live without them anymore. In a TIME Mobility Poll, 84% of the people surveyed said they could not go a single day without their mobile device. One in four people check their mobile device every 10 minutes.   What does this mean for humanity and the loss of empathy among us when we all start turning to our mobile devices for companionship? How many people turn to their phones when they are lonely? How many people talk to Siri, or Alexa, or Cortana?    Sherry Turkle, in her book "Reclaiming Conversation" explains that Artificial Intelligence could turn us into believing that robots have feelings and can really understand us and therefore, will be our friends. Movies such as "The Electric Grandma", and "Her" portray this exact scenario. In the movie 'Her", a recently divorced writer decides to open an operating system on his computer that will 'attend to his every need.' As the writer develops a virtual rela...

The author of Reclaiming Conversation, Sherry Turkle does not condemn the use of modern technology. In fact, the author is quite adamant that mobile devices have done much to improve the learning and connecting that we do now as a society. Currently with the pandemic, we all have had to adjust to communicating virtually more than we probably used to. Meetings with colleagues at work, celebrations with families, and many other occasions have required conversing using mobile devices. However, the heart of this book focuses on the real need to have face to face conversations. If we don't, we stand to lose the ability to empathize with each other.  Studies show that as a society, we are becoming addicted to our mobile devices. So, while we need to use our mobile devices, it is wise to keep our use in check and whenever possible,  have those important conversations when you can look your friends in the eyes and say what you need to say. https://www.psychalive.org/cell-phone-addicti...

     There is hope to getting back the art of conversation, but it will require thoughtful and intended purpose. Many young people do appreciate being gathered together with their friends in person, but they also tend to reach for their phones when they are bored or feel they are not required to add to the conversations at hand.      This book discusses studies that have shown that the ability to empathize is being lost when people do not  experience the repercussions of their texts in person and this is leading to a culture of people who do not appreciate the value of face to face conversations. Too often, texted conversations are those that have been thought out meticulously and maybe even often proof-read by a friend. How is this honest communication between two people?       The author interviews people between the ages of 18- 35, ( those who have grown up with cell phones), and discovers that mobile devices are definitely a too...

     The purpose of this Blog will be to discuss how the decline of face to face conversations,(using mobile devices) is negatively affecting our ability to empathize. Reclaiming Conversation by Sherry Turkle examines this very thought and through her interviews and research, she makes a good case. As an experienced educator, I have witnessed how students use their cell phones as a crutch and a way to avoid eye contact with those they are communicating with. Cyber bullying is at an all time high because people can simply type their mean thoughts and hit send and never have to witness the hurt on someone's face. This is a problem that schools (and social media platforms)  all over the world are dealing with on a daily basis.     I do feel that we are losing the art of communication due to our reliance on online media for information and the ability to converse with others by simply texting. But so much is lost when conversing with just text. We have all exp...