DUMBING OURSELVES DOWN WITH TECHNOLOGY

Relationships & Learning

Photo: mnmal

By: Maddie Wright

THE PROLIFERATION OF TECHNOLOGY

A GENERATIIONAL SHIIFT

Photo: Eliza Adam

HAS BROUGHT ABOUT

PEOPLE NOW DEMAND SIMPLER WAYS OF COMMUNICATING AND AQUIRING KNOWLEDGE…

Photo: Dustin Gaffke

… AS EVIDENCED IN OUR APPROACH TO RELATIONSHIPS AND LEARNING

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TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED THE WAY PEOPLE THINK ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS

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TEXTS, EMAILS, ETC. HAVE BECOME THE PREFERRED METHOD OF COMMUNICATION (SHERRY TURKLE)

Photo: R Reeves

“NEW TECHNOLOGIES ALLOW US TO “DIAL DOWN” HUMAN

CONTACT, TO TITRATE ITS NATURE AND EXTENT.” - SHERRY TURKLE

Photo: splityarn

SHERRY TURKLE CALLS THIS THE GOLDILOCKS EFFECT:

BUT JUST THE RIGHT DISTANCE FROM EACH OTHER

TEXTING PUTS US NOT TOO CLOSE, NOT TOO FAR Photo: Linda

OUR THOUGHTS & INTERACTIONS

WE COMMUNICATE IN SHORT CONTROLLED BURSTS,NOT LONG MESSY CONVERSATIONS

HAVE ADAPTED TO TECHNOLOGY,Photo: Pen Waggener

(SHERRY TURKLE)

WHICH COULD EXPLAIN THE POPULARITY OF SOCIAL MEDIA SITES SUCH AS

TWITTER AND INSTAGRAMPhoto: Doug88888

WITH MULTIPLE AND COMPLICATED NETWORKS.

YOUTH, IIN PARTIICULAR ARE TRYIING OUT SIIMIPLER

IiN FACT, RESEARCH SHOWS, “PEOPLE FEEL BOGGED

“INSTANT GRATIFICATION” OPTIONS” -CARYS MILLSPhoto: Scott Beale

BUT WHAT DO THESE NEW MEDIUMS

(TECHNOLOGIES) DO TO THE MESSAGE (COMMUNICATION) ?

Photo: Florian Seroussi

*-MARSHALL MCLUHAN

IIF “THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE” * WHAT DOES OUR NEW

SAY ABOUT US AND OUR SOCIIETY ?

FOUND LOVE FOR TECHNO COMMUNICATION

Photo: Oberazzi

BECAUSE AFTER ALL, “WE ARE SHAPED BY OUR TOOLS.” - SHERRY TURKLE

Photo: Noel Hankamer

WHICH IS DISTURBING CONSIDERING, “IN EVERY TOOL WE CREATE, AN IDEA IS EMBEDDED THAT GOES BEYOND THE FUNCTION OF THE THING ITSELF.”- Neil Postman 

Photo:Jason Comely

TECHNOLOGY GIVES US ACCESS AND CONTROL. BUT IT ALSO MAKES US SACRIFICE CONVERSATION FOR MERE CONNECTION

Photo: Pekka Nikrus

(SHERRY TURKLE)

IIF WE GET BY WITH LESS AND SETTLE FOR LESS, WE DON'T STRIVE TO KNOW OR TRULY UNDERSTAND EACH

OTHER AND BY EXTENSION, OURSELVES. (SHERRY TURKLE)

Photo:Allen Skyy

SIIIMILARIILY, THERE HAS BEEN A GENERATIIONALSHIIIFT IIN LEARNIIING STYLES (N. .KATHERINE HAYLES)

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We have moved away from “deep”

attention to “hyper”attention

(N. Katherine Hayles)

Photo: ywel from sxchu

“DEEP” ATTENTION CONCENTRATES ON ONE OBJECT AT GREAT LENGTH, INVOLVES A SINGLE INFORMATION STREAM AND IGNORES OUTSIDE STIMULIi

(N. .KATHERINE HAYLES)

Photo: Mariana Gonzalez

“HYPER ATTENTION INVOLVES SWITCHING FOCUS RAPIDLY AMONG

DIFFERENT TASKS.…

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-N.. KATHERINE HAYLES

“

… USING MULTIPLE INFORMATION STREAMS, LOTS OF STIMULATION AND A LOW TOLERANCE FOR BOREDOM”

Photo: Robert S.Donovan

-N. KATHERINE HAYLES

THE TENDENCY HAS BEEN MOST THOROUGHLY DOCUMENTED WITH THE YOUNGER GENERATION

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WHIIILE THE ADULT POPULATION IS ALSO AFFECTED (IIIFTO A LESSER DEGREE),

-N. KATHERINE HAYLES

SUNCE STUDENTS READ LESS PRINT AND MORE

DIGITAL MEDIA LIKE BLOGS, FACEBOOK ETC …

Photo: Serge Kij

WHETHER HYPER ATTENTION IS BETTER OR WORSE THAN DEEP ATTENTION CANNOT BE

ANSWERED IN THE ABSTRACT

…BETTER FOR WHAT?(N. KATHERINE HAYLES)Photo: wgdavis

A CASE COULD BE MADE THAT HYPER ATTENTION IS MORE THAN DEEP ATTENTION -N. KATHERINE HAYLES

Photo:m4tik

“

”

Photo: Maria Elena

-N. Katherine Hayles

HOWEVER, WITH THE SHIFT, SERIOUS INCOMPATIBILITIES ARISE

BETWEEN THE EXPECTATIONS OF EDUCATORS… …AND THE PREFFERED COGNITIVE MODE OF YOUNG PEOPLE

“

”

WITH THIIIS SHIIIFT, KNOWLEDGE IS WIDE AND THIIIN

RATHER THAN NARROW

WE KNOW SOUNDBITES OF IINFORMATION RATHER THAN IIN DEPTH ANALYSIS ON SUBJECTSPhoto: Serge Kij

AND FOCUSED RATHER THAN NARROW

DOES OUR ALWAYS-CONNECTED STATE AFFECT OUR ABIILITY TO THIIINK, TO BE CREATIVE

AND TO IINNOVATE? (SHERRY TURKLE)

Photo: Shafi

WE'RE SO ENTHRALLED WITH WHAT WE'VE GAINED

WE DON'T REALIZE WHAT WE MAY HAVE LOST;

THE ABILITY TO THIIINK OR FEEL DEEPLY

Photo: 246-You

“PEOPLE WILL COME TO LOVE THEIR OPPRESSION, TO ADORE THE TECHNOLOGIES THAT UNDO THEIR

CAPACITIES TO THINK” -NEIIIL POSTMAN

Photo: Dave Johnson

PHOTO CREDITSAll images are licensed

under the Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike 3.0 agreement, and sourced

from flickr.

Photo: Jonas Tana

WRITTEN CREDITS➢ Hayles, N. Katherine. “Hyper and Deep Attention: The Generational Divide in Cognitive Modes.” Profession.

13. (2007): 187- 199. Web. 28 March 2014. ➢ Mills, Carys. “‘Facebook fatigue’ and the aging social network”. The Star. 5 April 2013. Web. 30 March 2014. ➢ McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. Cambridge: The MIT Press: 1994. Print. ➢ Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death. London: Penguin Books: 2005. Print. ➢ “Sherry Turkle- Alone Together”. Ted Talks. Youtube. March 25th, 2011. Web. 28 March 2014. ➢ Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together. York: Basic Books, 2012. Print.➢ Turkle, Sherry. “The Flight From Conversation.” The New York Times. 21 April 2012. Web. 28 March 2014.

Photo: Pedro Moura Pinheiro