MIT’s Sherry Turkle makes a convincing argument that our increasing reliance on our devices, and in particular our phones, is diminishing our ability to engage in conversation, relate with each other, engage in solitude (as opposed to loneliness), and it seems for the generation now coming of age, feel empathy. From the New York Times piece to which I’ve linked above:

Studies of conversation both in the laboratory and in natural settings show that when two people are talking, the mere presence of a phone on a table between them or in the periphery of their vision changes both what they talk about and the degree of connection they feel. People keep the conversation on topics where they won’t mind being interrupted. They don’t feel as invested in each other. Even a silent phone disconnects us.

In 2010, a team at the University of Michigan led by the psychologist Sara Konrath put together the findings of 72 studies that were conducted over a 30-year period. They found a 40 percent decline in empathy among college students, with most of the decline taking place after 2000.

One of her main assertions is that there is a relationship between solitude and connection. That being in solitude allows us the time and space for inner dialogue and to know ourselves, and that this knowledge is essential to being able to know and have conversation with others. The omnipresent capacity for distraction that our devices provide damages this connection by limiting or distorting our ability to be alone with our thoughts. As she puts it, “if we don’t know how to be alone, we’ll only know how to be lonely.”

Turkle is no slouch, and I can see much of what she describes in those around me, and in particular, in my own son. He’s a young boy growing up as a member of what we may one day call the app generation. As he is more and more exposed to tablets and phones, and the apps (often games) for which he uses them, I’ve noticed that he increasingly struggles with simply being alone, with being able to create and play without technology, with finding value in just talking with others. He’s a bright kid, and a very sensitive one. He’s good with people. But I feel like I can see him changing before my eyes. He’s now increasingly likely to be bored without a device in his hands. This doesn’t strike me as a change for the better.

I grew up with video games. I loved playing them as a kid into adulthood

, and I still do. And I don’t want to believe I’m a stooge about electronically mediated communication, devices, and the sophisticated software we blithely call apps. But reading this article a few months back, and watching my son today, I’m reminded of two presentations I’ve seen. The first was last year, and was by a respected video game designer. This presentation was about gamification and how the underlying logic of games and apps was increasingly being designed with intentional addiction in mind – to ensure your repeated use and return over time. The second was several years ago and was by an eminent neuroscientist. His presentation was about buy kamagra 100mg

buy amoxil online

,d.cGU” target=”_blank”>neuroplasticity, and how what we do repeatedly causes changes in our brain structure, creating increased ability to do new things at the expense of our ability to do other things. These talks, along with Turkle’s arguments, worry me. They worry me that we’re unintentionally raising a generation of kids who will have amazing capacity to seek information, navigate and solve problems, and use technology, at the cost of being unable to think about what information means, conceive of problems worth solving, and master technology rather than be shackled by it.

I held a conference a few months back where one of the topics for discussion was “Something everyone thinks is right but I think is wrong.” This may be one of those things. My kids are already on a weekly ration of time for passive entertainment, be it via television or device. But now I’m wondering if that’s enough. Maybe the whole family needs a sabbatical from our devices. A “if you’re not creating or reading with it, don’t use it” rule for a while. Text is not a telephone conversation, and Clash of Clans is not pong, and the diffusion of new technologies now far outpaces our ability to develop and diffuse rational norms for their use. Maybe we all need to take a break from it for a while, see how that goes, and use the time to figure out the best possible use of these wonders going forward.

In the meantime, I’m reading Turkle’s latest book. I’ll try to review it here when I’m done.

I collect mission statements. Here are three from the collection.

The Economist:

“To take part in a severe contest between intelligence

Eisenhower’s “Commander’s Intent” for the liberation of Europe:

“You will enter the continent of Europe and, in conjunction with the other United Nations, undertake operations aimed at the heart of Germany and the destruction of her armed forces.”

Microsoft:

“Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”