This post is in response to Sherry Turkle's TED Talk - Connected, but alone?
“I share therefore I am.” I’m not really sure how to respond to this video. I think we have definitely entered an era that could be described by her statement. I think students are actually getting good at decoding messages and information in a way we never intended. For some, it is like a cryptogram to decipher a group of messages between two teenagers. This has made a teacher’s job much more difficult, and much more important when it comes to language. The art of conversation is quickly disappearing among youth. When I listen to a group of young kids talking to each other, it in no way resembles the kind of conversations I had as a kid. Often, they talk like they are text messaging each other. They speak in acronyms and abbreviations. It’s no wonder when we ask them to organize and write an essay, they have anxiety attacks!
I am on my iPhone way too much, I’ll admit. I have a daily barrage of emails that I need to respond to and I like to read news articles. I have been guilty of pulling out the phone and being antisocial at the dinner table, or checking the news while on a hike. However, I still love to sit down and talk at length about almost anything with my friends.
Actually, until January, I didn’t have a Twitter account, I only used Facebook and Google + for my VIU Post-Bacc cohort communication, and didn’t have an account for many of the online tools we are using now. In fact, I purposely didn’t subscribe to any social media networks because I didn’t feel the need to share every moment of my life with the world. I felt people could get in touch with me by phone or in person if they had something to say. Now that I have all these accounts, I get emails and messages left right and center, often from people I don’t even know.
To make matters worse, as Chantelle mentioned, I started feeling isolated when people wouldn’t reply to a post or comment I made. I felt like I was talking to a wall more often than not.
I have noticed this lack of conversation much more since moving back to Canada a year and a half ago. While in Korea, I could call up my friends at any time of the night and they were probably out having a beer and something to eat. I could join them for a conversation and fun seemingly anytime I wanted, and they called me, too.
Settling back in Canada and creating a new circle of friends has been really tough. It is easy to “connect” with people I meet because they text or post online all the time. However, they rarely seem to be free to hang out in person and have a chat. Everything seems overly planned and structured. It is almost like they need a few days to think about what they are going to talk about when we meet! I especially hate that I have to set up play dates for my kids instead of letting them get out of the house and just walk over to their friend’s house to play. It’s like we live in a sheltered life of paranoia and control and this is very unfourtunate.
Anyways, end of my rant!
“I share therefore I am.” I’m not really sure how to respond to this video. I think we have definitely entered an era that could be described by her statement. I think students are actually getting good at decoding messages and information in a way we never intended. For some, it is like a cryptogram to decipher a group of messages between two teenagers. This has made a teacher’s job much more difficult, and much more important when it comes to language. The art of conversation is quickly disappearing among youth. When I listen to a group of young kids talking to each other, it in no way resembles the kind of conversations I had as a kid. Often, they talk like they are text messaging each other. They speak in acronyms and abbreviations. It’s no wonder when we ask them to organize and write an essay, they have anxiety attacks!
I am on my iPhone way too much, I’ll admit. I have a daily barrage of emails that I need to respond to and I like to read news articles. I have been guilty of pulling out the phone and being antisocial at the dinner table, or checking the news while on a hike. However, I still love to sit down and talk at length about almost anything with my friends.
Actually, until January, I didn’t have a Twitter account, I only used Facebook and Google + for my VIU Post-Bacc cohort communication, and didn’t have an account for many of the online tools we are using now. In fact, I purposely didn’t subscribe to any social media networks because I didn’t feel the need to share every moment of my life with the world. I felt people could get in touch with me by phone or in person if they had something to say. Now that I have all these accounts, I get emails and messages left right and center, often from people I don’t even know.
To make matters worse, as Chantelle mentioned, I started feeling isolated when people wouldn’t reply to a post or comment I made. I felt like I was talking to a wall more often than not.
I have noticed this lack of conversation much more since moving back to Canada a year and a half ago. While in Korea, I could call up my friends at any time of the night and they were probably out having a beer and something to eat. I could join them for a conversation and fun seemingly anytime I wanted, and they called me, too.
Settling back in Canada and creating a new circle of friends has been really tough. It is easy to “connect” with people I meet because they text or post online all the time. However, they rarely seem to be free to hang out in person and have a chat. Everything seems overly planned and structured. It is almost like they need a few days to think about what they are going to talk about when we meet! I especially hate that I have to set up play dates for my kids instead of letting them get out of the house and just walk over to their friend’s house to play. It’s like we live in a sheltered life of paranoia and control and this is very unfourtunate.
Anyways, end of my rant!