Yesterday, I was walking down my block in SE Tabor neighborhood and I ran into my neighbor Dan. Dan is a personal coach. He asked what I had been up to lately and I mentioned I was studying social media and it's implications on our society. He mentioned a book he was reading called "Alone Together" by Sherry Turkle, an MIT professor who in the 1990's celebrated technology and was optimistic that the internet was the answer to many of our global dilemmas.
"In Turkle’s latest book, “Alone Together,” this optimism is long gone. If the Internet of 1995 was a postmodern playhouse, allowing individuals to engage in unbridled expression, Turkle describes it today as a corporate trap, a ball and chain that keeps us tethered to the tiny screens of our cellphones, tapping out trite messages to stay in touch. She summarizes her new view of things with typical eloquence: “We expect more from technology and less from each other.” (NYtimes Book Review)
To watch a video where she discusses her evolution in her her thinking check tis out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AeMSQdUUEM
I find myself both intrigued by the power of social media and curious what it will look like in five, ten years. How it will it impact the life of my four year old son? Will be better off as a global society or will be so virtual that personal contact will be a rare occurrence. So many questions about the future!
Will the good outweigh the potential dangers?
Do we need to unplug for awhile and get back to reading a book under a tree. Or is social media a snowball rolling downhill and uncontrollable?
Mykel
Mykel,
ReplyDeleteThese are excellent questions that each of us must ponder. It also makes me wonder if every parent down through time has wondered about the new findings of the day: "What will the new wheel mean for our kids?"
I'm not making light of the question, but is it possible that any thing new always has us wondering and guessing, and afraid?
That said, it is important that we look at the implications of new technology. It seems to me there is a lot of good that can be created, and there is a dark side too.
And, on a completely different note, your link was not clickable on the blog. Do you know that you need to click the little icon that looks like a link and then put the address in the window that pops up?
Thank you for your post. It gives all of us a lot to think about.
Joanne