“Among family and
friends, among colleagues and lovers, we turn to our phones instead of each
other. We readily admit we would rather send an electronic message or mail than
commit to a face-to-face meeting or a telephone call. This new mediated life
has gotten us into trouble. Face-to-face conversation is the most human—and
humanizing—thing we do. Fully present to one another, we learn to listen. It’s
where we develop the capacity for empathy. It’s where we experience the joy of
being heard, of being understood. And conversation advances self-reflection,
the conversations with ourselves that are the cornerstone of early development
and continue throughout life. But these days we find ways around conversation.
“We hide from each other
even as we’re constantly connected to each other. For on our screens, we are
tempted to present ourselves as we would like to be.”— American
sociologist Sherry Turkle, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age (2015)
The image accompanying this post of Sherry Turkle was taken Mar. 12, 2009, by jeanbaptisteparis.
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