Are we growing closer or further apart?

     One article I found called "Alone in the Crowd" by Michael Price, had some interesting things to say regarding the question at hand.  Michael interviews Sherry Turkle PhD. who wrote a book based on meta-analyses of individual and family studies as well as her own research through interviewing 300 kids and 150 adults. Two particular points: first, “How has social networking through technology changed society the most?” and second, “Does social technology isolate people from the real world, or augment our personal relationships?” I found of high interest.

     In her take on the first question she believes that the most dramatic change that technology has had on the society is the ability it gives individuals to “exit” reality vs. learning how to deal with awkward situations; it provides a retreat. One example would be people retreating to facebook when things get uncomfortable or another example is youth’s preference to text vs. having a conversation. She found that youth liked the “control” of texting vs. having a “live” conversation.

     In her response to the second question, she believes that social technology both isolate people from the real world and augments our personal relationships. She claims that while some people use social networks to keep real friends up-to-date, she also found that people are more likely to engage others via social media that they would have otherwise never interacted with. Sounds like a good thing, right? But what she points out is that these social media interactions never go beyond that. These people stay as followers, fans, or friends and while giving the feeling of companionship it never turns into anything that would result in companionship of a true friendship.

     I agree with Mrs. Turkle even though I did not grow up in a time where cell phones and computers were so popular like nowadays. For example, one of the reasons I took this class online was because I knew it would be easier for me because I would not have to deal with embarrassing times like speaking in front of the class or people listening to my accent. I’m sure technology is “convenient” but at what point is this no longer a good thing for me?   Likewise, my husband notices this at his work. He is a manager and deals with young employees that almost refuse to call customers and prefer to send them e-mails. They lack the ability to think on their feet and deal with people in conversations and prefer to write things out. This is hard is his line of work because the person responding can choose when they’d like to respond, vs. getting an answer right away in person or over the phone.

     This is not a problem that only some people should be concerned about, but this is a problem that many Americans are facing. The Pew Research Center posted statistics for 2014 that show:

• 64% of American adults own a smart phone
• 90% of American adults own a cell phone
• 32% of American adults own an e-reader
• 42% of American adults own a tablet computer

After discovering this information I asked myself: What are the consequences for ourselves and our kids if we continue with this behavior? How do we live with technology wisely? and What do we need to know as parents regarding all of this?