The postings below were taken from an online forum on social isolation and digital technology, according to the american life studies.
Participant
Bob
Livingstone
Posting
Is the quality of the technological communication as rich or fulfilling as face to face discussion? Is there any discussion about the differences between the two? So, we’re left with the facts that social isolation has increased greatly in the last 20 years and that a huge drop in neighbor relations is perhaps the leading reason for this trend. In addition, people spend a great deal more time consuming digital technology than they did decades ago. We can let the researchers quibble over whether technology has caused the social isolation problem.
Participant
Michael
Wood-Lewis
Posting
Personally, I see current digital technologies as contributing to the death of our neighborhoods. Our children are growing up in neighborhoods that are far less socially active than they were decades ago. Neighbor relations are absolutely crucial for children, I would argue, because only in their neighborhoods might parents be willing to afford their children some measure of autonomy. If we agree that we should place special value on neighborhood relations, as opposed to social relations in general, the results from all these studies are quite troubling.
Participant
Po Bronson
Posting
Lots of my friends have social media networks or listservs for their immediate neighborhood. (I wish I did, will work on it.) Wouldn’t it help for social network technology to unite families in neighborhoods, to bring them together? Can you recommend sites that help to get a neighborhood talking again?
playborhood.com
Bob Livingstone is the first to post his opinion.
His comments aim at:
Teens, tech and tides of history: new gadgets can be hard to swallow
Humans seem to take very well to inventions that simply make everyday life easier and more convenient
– the light bulb, the flush toilet and sliced bread, for instance. However, inventions that alter the way
we communicate and entertain ourselves seem harder for our species to swallow gracefully.
“Radio is a medium of entertainment which permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the
[5] same time, and yet remain lonesome” - T.S. Eliot*, a student of alienation, declared in the early days
of the wireless. This impulse that new is worse, when combined with the eternal concern about “kids
today”, goes far in explaining why grown-ups worry so much about the weird things kids today do with
technological gadgets and gizmos.
As Eliot imagined that listening to songs and gags at home instead of in theaters, pubs and parks
[10] would be a sad, isolating escapade, I can’t see how a virtual community can be a real community;
how chatting with someone online is like hanging out with a neighbor, or how “IMing” is meaningful
communication. I can’t believe that reality television, video games or the search for the coolest ring
tone are proper substitutes for, well, anything.
In today’s society, teens are inundated with gadgets. Most teenagers would probably admit their days
[15] are filled with text messaging friends, talking on their cell phones, playing electronic games, listening
to MP3 players, blogging on MySpace, watching television, surfing the Internet or doing any number of
other activities involving media technology. Unfortunately, most of these electronic activities increase
teens’ individualistic behavior by lessening their opportunity to have face-to-face relationship building
time.
[20] Some parents feel they cannot limit their child’s use of electronic gadgets for many reasons. Perhaps
the electronic device is being used to keep track of a teen’s whereabouts, the item was a gift, the teen
bought the gadget himself or parents say they feel hypocritical because they are modeling the very
behavior they’re asking their kids to stop doing. Still, these technological concerns should not hinder
a parent from helping their child socialize and participate in outdoor activities when it comes to media
[25] madness.
I have a large measure of confidence that future archeologists and historians will conclude that
innovations such as a code-speak called “Instant Messaging”, or a music box called “iPod” or a makebelieve
room called “MySpace” inexorably set us on a path of alienation and individualism.
DICK MEYER www.cbsnews.com
The picture illustrates the impact of technological innovations in our days.
The statement that best conveys the meaning of this image is:
Teens, tech and tides of history: new gadgets can be hard to swallow
Humans seem to take very well to inventions that simply make everyday life easier and more convenient
– the light bulb, the flush toilet and sliced bread, for instance. However, inventions that alter the way
we communicate and entertain ourselves seem harder for our species to swallow gracefully.
“Radio is a medium of entertainment which permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the
[5] same time, and yet remain lonesome” - T.S. Eliot*, a student of alienation, declared in the early days
of the wireless. This impulse that new is worse, when combined with the eternal concern about “kids
today”, goes far in explaining why grown-ups worry so much about the weird things kids today do with
technological gadgets and gizmos.
As Eliot imagined that listening to songs and gags at home instead of in theaters, pubs and parks
[10] would be a sad, isolating escapade, I can’t see how a virtual community can be a real community;
how chatting with someone online is like hanging out with a neighbor, or how “IMing” is meaningful
communication. I can’t believe that reality television, video games or the search for the coolest ring
tone are proper substitutes for, well, anything.
In today’s society, teens are inundated with gadgets. Most teenagers would probably admit their days
[15] are filled with text messaging friends, talking on their cell phones, playing electronic games, listening
to MP3 players, blogging on MySpace, watching television, surfing the Internet or doing any number of
other activities involving media technology. Unfortunately, most of these electronic activities increase
teens’ individualistic behavior by lessening their opportunity to have face-to-face relationship building
time.
[20] Some parents feel they cannot limit their child’s use of electronic gadgets for many reasons. Perhaps
the electronic device is being used to keep track of a teen’s whereabouts, the item was a gift, the teen
bought the gadget himself or parents say they feel hypocritical because they are modeling the very
behavior they’re asking their kids to stop doing. Still, these technological concerns should not hinder
a parent from helping their child socialize and participate in outdoor activities when it comes to media
[25] madness.
I have a large measure of confidence that future archeologists and historians will conclude that
innovations such as a code-speak called “Instant Messaging”, or a music box called “iPod” or a makebelieve
room called “MySpace” inexorably set us on a path of alienation and individualism.
DICK MEYER www.cbsnews.com
The author mentions the feeling of hypocrisy experienced by parents towards their kids under
some circumstances.
Such a feeling derives from:
Teens, tech and tides of history: new gadgets can be hard to swallow
Humans seem to take very well to inventions that simply make everyday life easier and more convenient
– the light bulb, the flush toilet and sliced bread, for instance. However, inventions that alter the way
we communicate and entertain ourselves seem harder for our species to swallow gracefully.
“Radio is a medium of entertainment which permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the
[5] same time, and yet remain lonesome” - T.S. Eliot*, a student of alienation, declared in the early days
of the wireless. This impulse that new is worse, when combined with the eternal concern about “kids
today”, goes far in explaining why grown-ups worry so much about the weird things kids today do with
technological gadgets and gizmos.
As Eliot imagined that listening to songs and gags at home instead of in theaters, pubs and parks
[10] would be a sad, isolating escapade, I can’t see how a virtual community can be a real community;
how chatting with someone online is like hanging out with a neighbor, or how “IMing” is meaningful
communication. I can’t believe that reality television, video games or the search for the coolest ring
tone are proper substitutes for, well, anything.
In today’s society, teens are inundated with gadgets. Most teenagers would probably admit their days
[15] are filled with text messaging friends, talking on their cell phones, playing electronic games, listening
to MP3 players, blogging on MySpace, watching television, surfing the Internet or doing any number of
other activities involving media technology. Unfortunately, most of these electronic activities increase
teens’ individualistic behavior by lessening their opportunity to have face-to-face relationship building
time.
[20] Some parents feel they cannot limit their child’s use of electronic gadgets for many reasons. Perhaps
the electronic device is being used to keep track of a teen’s whereabouts, the item was a gift, the teen
bought the gadget himself or parents say they feel hypocritical because they are modeling the very
behavior they’re asking their kids to stop doing. Still, these technological concerns should not hinder
a parent from helping their child socialize and participate in outdoor activities when it comes to media
[25] madness.
I have a large measure of confidence that future archeologists and historians will conclude that
innovations such as a code-speak called “Instant Messaging”, or a music box called “iPod” or a makebelieve
room called “MySpace” inexorably set us on a path of alienation and individualism.
DICK MEYER www.cbsnews.com
“Radio is a medium of entertainment which permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the same time, and yet remain lonesome” (ℓ. 4-5)
The above citation by T.S. Eliot reinforces the author’s opinion regarding the consequences of technological advances in the process of socialization.
This opinion is most clearly expressed in the following fragment:
Teens, tech and tides of history: new gadgets can be hard to swallow
Humans seem to take very well to inventions that simply make everyday life easier and more convenient
– the light bulb, the flush toilet and sliced bread, for instance. However, inventions that alter the way
we communicate and entertain ourselves seem harder for our species to swallow gracefully.
“Radio is a medium of entertainment which permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the
[5] same time, and yet remain lonesome” - T.S. Eliot*, a student of alienation, declared in the early days
of the wireless. This impulse that new is worse, when combined with the eternal concern about “kids
today”, goes far in explaining why grown-ups worry so much about the weird things kids today do with
technological gadgets and gizmos.
As Eliot imagined that listening to songs and gags at home instead of in theaters, pubs and parks
[10] would be a sad, isolating escapade, I can’t see how a virtual community can be a real community;
how chatting with someone online is like hanging out with a neighbor, or how “IMing” is meaningful
communication. I can’t believe that reality television, video games or the search for the coolest ring
tone are proper substitutes for, well, anything.
In today’s society, teens are inundated with gadgets. Most teenagers would probably admit their days
[15] are filled with text messaging friends, talking on their cell phones, playing electronic games, listening
to MP3 players, blogging on MySpace, watching television, surfing the Internet or doing any number of
other activities involving media technology. Unfortunately, most of these electronic activities increase
teens’ individualistic behavior by lessening their opportunity to have face-to-face relationship building
time.
[20] Some parents feel they cannot limit their child’s use of electronic gadgets for many reasons. Perhaps
the electronic device is being used to keep track of a teen’s whereabouts, the item was a gift, the teen
bought the gadget himself or parents say they feel hypocritical because they are modeling the very
behavior they’re asking their kids to stop doing. Still, these technological concerns should not hinder
a parent from helping their child socialize and participate in outdoor activities when it comes to media
[25] madness.
I have a large measure of confidence that future archeologists and historians will conclude that
innovations such as a code-speak called “Instant Messaging”, or a music box called “iPod” or a makebelieve
room called “MySpace” inexorably set us on a path of alienation and individualism.
DICK MEYER www.cbsnews.com
I have a large measure of confidence that future archeologists and historians will conclude that innovations such as a code-speak called “Instant Messaging”, or a music box called “iPod” or a makebelieve room called “MySpace” inexorably set us on a path of alienation and individualism. (ℓ. 26-28)
The underlined segment has the function of:
The postings below were taken from an online forum on social isolation and digital technology, according to the american life studies.
Participant
Bob
Livingstone
Posting
Is the quality of the technological communication as rich or fulfilling as face to face discussion? Is there any discussion about the differences between the two? So, we’re left with the facts that social isolation has increased greatly in the last 20 years and that a huge drop in neighbor relations is perhaps the leading reason for this trend. In addition, people spend a great deal more time consuming digital technology than they did decades ago. We can let the researchers quibble over whether technology has caused the social isolation problem.
Participant
Michael
Wood-Lewis
Posting
Personally, I see current digital technologies as contributing to the death of our neighborhoods. Our children are growing up in neighborhoods that are far less socially active than they were decades ago. Neighbor relations are absolutely crucial for children, I would argue, because only in their neighborhoods might parents be willing to afford their children some measure of autonomy. If we agree that we should place special value on neighborhood relations, as opposed to social relations in general, the results from all these studies are quite troubling.
Participant
Po Bronson
Posting
Lots of my friends have social media networks or listservs for their immediate neighborhood. (I wish I did, will work on it.) Wouldn’t it help for social network technology to unite families in neighborhoods, to bring them together? Can you recommend sites that help to get a neighborhood talking again?
playborhood.com
In his posting, Po Bronson asks forum participants for help.
This help consists of: