I have a large amount of updating to do, but I wanted to, needed to write about this before the shock wears off.
I have discovered--yet another--superbly interesting book at the library tonight (this would be book 3 in 2 days...I've checked the other two out and will probably check this one out too). It is called "Alone Together" by Sherry Turkle. I've only read a few pages of the introduction and the first chapter, but already, I am deeply chilled by what she has to say. She proposes in the introduction, and uses as her subtitle, "We expect more from technology and less from each other." (pg xii) She comments on watching her daughter grow up from age 6 to 19 with various technologies (social networking, texting, but also robots including Furbies and more advanced robotics), and the questions and comments she raises about the robots' lives and their use in place of animals at museums lead her to comment on how we understand the value and purpose of life, ie, 'why should we/other living thing do x when a robot could do it?' She references a book by David Levy called "Love and Sex with Robots." And here I find the most chilling comments: "Levy argues that robots will teach us to be better friends and lovers because we will be able to practice on them...[R]obots are..."other," but, in many ways, better. No cheating. No heartbreak."
My heart breaks because I know that statement is fundamentally wrong. My heart breaks because I know that statement is fundamentally wrong, but I also find a resonance with the enticement of no relational hardships.
I think the sheer number of articles, blogs, and books about our interactions with and potential addictions to technology are warning enough that something is happening, something devious, dangerous. What's chilling is what Turkle has to say in less than 10 pages of a 300+page book. What's chilling is that I see similar things, and have, though with much less eloquence and knowledge, written my own paper for a college English class about how we keep people at our fingertips--and no closer. What's chilling is that I notice a difference when I turn off my smartphone for a day. How I approach the day, what I think about throughout the day, and how I choose to handle problems when they come.
Those differences I notice of myself are enough for me to remember that having days free from technology are wise, but her comments in these ten pages are sending messages deep into my being that not only are they wise, but vastly important. I need to cut my cord with technology regularly so that I remember that hardships are part and parcel of life and of relationships. As uncertain as these are, learning to live into that tension is crucial for the development of vibrant life (both internal and external) and relationships. The vibrancy of life comes from taking risks to discover, the vibrancy of relationships comes from giving of yourself, of your heart to another, in full knowledge that they can choose to use and abuse them...and, hopefully, finding that they choose otherwise.
I have discovered--yet another--superbly interesting book at the library tonight (this would be book 3 in 2 days...I've checked the other two out and will probably check this one out too). It is called "Alone Together" by Sherry Turkle. I've only read a few pages of the introduction and the first chapter, but already, I am deeply chilled by what she has to say. She proposes in the introduction, and uses as her subtitle, "We expect more from technology and less from each other." (pg xii) She comments on watching her daughter grow up from age 6 to 19 with various technologies (social networking, texting, but also robots including Furbies and more advanced robotics), and the questions and comments she raises about the robots' lives and their use in place of animals at museums lead her to comment on how we understand the value and purpose of life, ie, 'why should we/other living thing do x when a robot could do it?' She references a book by David Levy called "Love and Sex with Robots." And here I find the most chilling comments: "Levy argues that robots will teach us to be better friends and lovers because we will be able to practice on them...[R]obots are..."other," but, in many ways, better. No cheating. No heartbreak."
My heart breaks because I know that statement is fundamentally wrong. My heart breaks because I know that statement is fundamentally wrong, but I also find a resonance with the enticement of no relational hardships.
I think the sheer number of articles, blogs, and books about our interactions with and potential addictions to technology are warning enough that something is happening, something devious, dangerous. What's chilling is what Turkle has to say in less than 10 pages of a 300+page book. What's chilling is that I see similar things, and have, though with much less eloquence and knowledge, written my own paper for a college English class about how we keep people at our fingertips--and no closer. What's chilling is that I notice a difference when I turn off my smartphone for a day. How I approach the day, what I think about throughout the day, and how I choose to handle problems when they come.
Those differences I notice of myself are enough for me to remember that having days free from technology are wise, but her comments in these ten pages are sending messages deep into my being that not only are they wise, but vastly important. I need to cut my cord with technology regularly so that I remember that hardships are part and parcel of life and of relationships. As uncertain as these are, learning to live into that tension is crucial for the development of vibrant life (both internal and external) and relationships. The vibrancy of life comes from taking risks to discover, the vibrancy of relationships comes from giving of yourself, of your heart to another, in full knowledge that they can choose to use and abuse them...and, hopefully, finding that they choose otherwise.
