Moving at digital speed

I will be ordering the two books by Sherry Turkle that are discussed in Jacob Weisberg's NYRB article, "We are Hopelessly Hooked." Turkle's books and the others discussed observe and analyze with the social ramifications caused by our incredibly sudden transformation to digital communicators. As the reviewer states:

"She presents a powerful case that a new communication revolution is degrading the quality of human relationships—with family and friends, as well as colleagues and romantic partners. The picture she paints is both familiar and heartbreaking: parents who are constantly distracted on the playground and at the dinner table; children who are frustrated that they can’t get their parents’ undivided attention; gatherings where friends who are present vie for attention with virtual friends; classrooms where professors gaze out at a sea of semiengaged multitaskers; and a dating culture in which infinite choice undermines the ability to make emotional commitments.

She also submits that, " because they aren’t learning how to be alone, she contends, young people are losing their ability to empathize. “It’s the capacity for solitude that allows you to reach out to others and see them as separate and independent,” Turkle writes. Without an ability to look inward, those locked into the virtual worlds of social media develop a sensibility of “I share, therefore I am,” crafting their identities for others.

Whether research or experience bears her out, the impact of this technology on our expectation of friendships, privacy, family relations, and empathy (let alone our expectations of students in school) have profound implications; especially for this young generation that has little experience of a world without a 24/7 device.