Initial thoughts........

     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 experienced misunderstood messages because we did not hear the tone of voice, see the facial expression, or pick up on body language. I am old enough to know how important all of these contexts are and see the differences because I did not have a cell phone until I was 33 years old. In the first few chapters of Reclaiming Conversation, the author conducts interviews with college students who explain how they navigate their social gatherings when everyone is on their phone. It is quite an interesting start to the book.