Being together while not being together

“Being together while not being together”

 

 

 

No matter where we are we can be in contact with everyone anywhere. The influx and growth of mobile technology has changed our world. It has dramatically changed how we communicate and how we interact socially. Smartphones in particular have in many ways become a distraction. There are many situations where they tend to intrude or draw our attention away, such as work meetings, social gatherings, in university, school, actually anywhere really.

I have to in some ways agree with Sherry Turkle’s point that what we are experiencing is the phenomenon of being alone together. That we want to be together but also elsewhere, we want to stay connected to everything that’s going on outside whilst we are together.  Mobile devices are distracting us and intruding on our time together, having a large impact on our private lives.

On top of this phenomenon that sees people being in the same room together but not actually being together, a study found that people are increasingly texting and phoning family members within the same house from another room. I guess we could say this is very convenient, a good use of technology, or is it plain lazy? Are young people losing the communication skills we once took for granted? 

It seems we also are becoming so absorbed with our phones that on top of losing real connections with each other, our attention can get seriously lost and accidents that occur whilst being on a mobile phone are on the increase and this has created in some circumstances a very deadly preoccupation. 

We need balance, we need awareness! I have a clear need for my phone, it has become an essential device for me to carry out many daily activities. There are many positives to take from this growth in mobile technology, many opportunities, but we do need to be wary that where there are positives there will always be negatives. We need to become aware that yes communicating is a vital aspect to human existence and advancements that connect us are vital to everyone, but we need to also be sure not to lose our ability to connect face to face, to truly feel what it is to be human, to feel emotion and be together.
 

Many questions get raised when we look at this issue surrounding mobile phone use. Are we really listening to each other? How can we be listening when our attention is spread much more thinly? Are the next generations destined to losing the fundamental communication skills? What has happened to just talking and conversing? What does this say about our future?  I look forward to reading your ideas and comments related to the implications of mobile devices in our lives and how you feel this affects us moving forward...

References: 

Bingham, J 2013, Mobile phones destroying people's private lives, The Telegraph, 27 September, viewed 27 November 2013, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/10336750/Mobile-phones-destroying-peoples-private-lives.html>

Duudeabides2, 2012, Man distracted by phone, falls onto train tracks, Youtube, viewed 28 November 2013, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMiZYNt3UCE>

Geser, H 2006, Is the Cell Phone Undermining the Social Order?: Understanding Mobile Technology from a Sociological Perspective, Knowledge, Technology, & Policy, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 8–18. 

Kaye, J 2013, Cell Phone Absorption: A Deadly Preoccupation, The Picket, 29 October, viewed 28 November 2013, <http://supicket.com/commentary/2013/10/29/cell-phone-absorption-a-deadly-preoccupation/>

The Times of India 2013, Study finds people increasingly phoning and texting family members in the same house, The Times of India, 21 February, viewed 27 November 2013, <http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-21/edit-page/37201042_1_text-messages-communication-face-to-face-conversation>

Turkle, S 2012, Sherry Turkle: connected but alone? TED, viewed 27 November 2013, <http://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together.html>

Turkle, S 2013, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sherry Turkle, viewed 27 November 2013, <http://www.mit.edu/~sturkle/>