Long, long ago I wrote a post about the possibility that we were becoming too connected to our gadgetry. Today the SF Chronicle has an article called “Why tlk whn u cn txt?“, which writes about how many people are avoiding talking to each other by using technology — such as text messaging or email — instead. What’s frightening is that the young people that have grown up with this technology feel that hiding behind it actually presents a “more authentic self”.
“Teenagers and early 20-somethings would tell me that things like face-to-face and telephone and even e-mail are a cold medium and you can’t trust them, but the way you can really be authentic is through texting and instant messaging,” said San Jose State University Anthropology Professor Jan English-Lueck, who with her colleague, Professor Chuck Darrah, is conducting the Silicon Valley Cultures Project. Source: SFGate
Speaking to my psychologist wife, this is extremely frightening. If you live in a cocoon where you just IM and text people, you will unable to interact in real-life. You will end up, according to my wife, with two classes of people, withdrawn or disorganized.
And, despite why the story says, interaction and communication between people is more than words. There’s a whole non-verbal realm, and a psychologist should know better. My wife as far as to say, since this person has a website for therapy, it’s kind of obvious what she would say, isn’t it?
Tags: Psychology, Cellular, Text Messaging
