TheDisconnectWeGainFromBeingConnected

Film260Flipbook

TaylorVallier

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Beingahuman,borningenera/onZ,youwouldhavegrownupinaworldofconstantlygrowingdigitaltechnology,thedigitalage.Whilethisisnotnecessarilyabadthing,itcouldalsomeanthatsomekeyaspectsofcommunica/veabili/esthatthosewhowerebornbeforeuspossess,maynothaveeverbeeninthecardsforustolearn.JosephLuellenIIIwroteinhisblog,“Themoreconnectedwebecomethemoredisconnectedwebecome.”7

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Whenwesearchatopicingooglewehavethousandsofhitsinseconds,growingupinthedigitalgenera/onwehave

alwayshadthisaccesstoinforma/on…Wecravethisinstantaccessandweexpectit.Thefloodofinforma/onthatwereceiveonaday-to-daybasiscannotonlybeoverwhelmingtosortbutitalso“promisestopropagateendlessly,”says

DominicBasulto.1

InfiniteAccesstoConnection

Butwhatisthebigdeal?LaurenKleinsaysthatthedigitalagethatgenera/onZhasbeenraisedincreatedagroupthatisalwayswiredinandinturnhasa“reducedsocial

capital.”6ShequotesastudyconductedbyBarbaraFredricksonthatsuggestssmart

phonescouldinfactbe“takingatollonourbiologicalcapacitytoconnectwithpeople.”6

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Let’sTakeALook…(NotedAffectofConnectionforGenerations)

BabyBoomers*  Usingsocialnetworkshelps

themtobenefitfrombetterhealth,andreducechancesofcognitivedecline6

*  However,elderlyareoftenforcedtobeginusingsocialnetworking/digitaltechnologiesinordertostayintouchwithfamilyandtheworld

GenerationZ

*  Tendstobethegroupexperiencingnomophobia(“anxiousfeelingyougetwhenyourphonebatterydies”)

*  BrianFung,fromTheWashingtonPostsaid,“Americanissohardwiredtomobiledevicesthatnavigatingsocietywithoutonecanbeaseriouschallenge.”5

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Itisimportanttonotethat“weliveina/meofmul/communica/ng,wherenoonepersongetspersonalaNen/onforlong.It’stheins/tu/onaliza/onofrudenessandwiththehealthygrowthofsmartphoneusageinCanada–47percentownonenow,upfrom34percentin2012.”3

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Theissuewithlivinginasocietyfilledwithmul/communicatorsisthatwetendtoloseour

aNen/venessandalsoourabilitytocommunicate.Ourconnec/onsonlineare

essen/allydisconnec/ngusfromourhumanconnec/on.

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“Weliveinanextrospec/vesociety,onethatthinkshappinessisfoundintheoutsideworld,”saysMateoSol.8Theworldnow,figura/vely,movesataquickerpacethanitdidforourgrandparentsbeforeus.Wedonotslowdowntoexperiencelife,butwewanttorecord/share/

upload/andhaveeveryoneknowthatourlifeiswonderful…

Butattheendoftheday,didyoureallyevenexperiencewhathappenedtoyou?

TheLossOf(Human)Connection

Theimmensedesireoftheglobalcommunitytoneverbeoutoftouchwiththeirmobiles(nomophobia)isessen/ally

representa/veofthewaythatourdigitalinterac/onsaretakingawayandordiminishingourabilitytoeffec/velyinteractwith

otherhumans(ratherthanmachines).

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AstudyconductedatSanDiegoUniversityfoundthat“theaverageAmericanci/zenisbombardedwith100,500wordsanddigestsaround12hoursofinforma/onandmediaevery

singleday...”8

Withthesta/s/cstatedabovetheterm“informa/onoverload”iseasilymanipulatedintotheequa/onthatisourdisconnect

fromhumaninterac/on.

Theideathatonepersonisexpectedtokeepupwithinforma/onbothonlineandinthephysicalworldwiththeabundanceofconstantinforma/onwehavethrownatusis

ludicrous.

TheinformationoverloadthatgenerationZ,specifically,receivesona

dailybasiscouldpotentiallyhelptoexplainthetheoryofdisconnection

becauseofthedigitalage.“Ishare,thereforeIam,”isan

importantconcepttoanalyzewhenassessingthedesirethatpeoplehaveto“possess”proofofexperiencesand

notjusttoexperienceit.9

UrgetoDisconnect

Theconceptmosteasilyexaminedis“theselfie.”Theselfieisaninterruptionofexperiencesjusttodocumentit.SherryTurklearguesthat“technologydoesn’tjustdothingsforus,itdoesthingstous…Changingwhoweare.”9

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Thedesensitizationofsocietytopausingtheir

experiencesinlifetoget

documentation(aselfie)causesarippleeffectbecauseit

interruptsourprocessofdeep

reflection.

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Wheredoalloftheselfiesthathaveinterruptedourexperiencesgo?

Mostselfiesaresharedtofacebook/instagram/tumblr,butwhy?Selfimageisimportant.Chris/neErickson

definesaselfie’simportanceasbeingbecause:“It'showwedefineourselves,andpresentforothersto

see.Werelyonothers'perceptions,judgmentsandappraisalstodevelopoursocialself.”4

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Whileitisimportanttodevelopasenseofsocialself,howcanwerelysoheavilyontheopinionsofpeoplewhowemayhavenevermettoplaceanegativecloud

overourselfworth?

Ericksonsays“studieshaveshownthatthecommentsonyourFacebookprofilepicturestronglyaffectyoulevelofperceivedphysical,social,andprofessional

attractiveness.”4

Couldthisessentiallybewhywechoosedigitalconnectionoverface-to-faceconversation?

Someoftheloneliestpeopleintheworldarethosewhoareconstantlysurroundedbypeople,yetstill,theyfeel

alone.Whyisthis?Asimpleanswer(digitallyspeaking),wouldbethattheyaresoimmersedintheirmobileconnectionsthatthey

neglectthehumaninteractionavailabletothem.

“Wecan'tgetenoughofoneanotherifwecanusetechnologytokeeponeanotheratdistanceswecan

control:nottooclose,nottoofar,justright.IthinkofitasaGoldilockseffect.”10

Disconnecting:FearofConnection

Thedigitalapproachtofriendshipsismucheasiertonavigate…Youcankeepthematadistancewhereyouaren’ttoovulnerable:onlydisplaywhatyouwantotherstosee(both

physicallyandmentally),andifthingsgowrong:thedeletebuttonisonlya

clickaway.

Ouraccesstotechnologyhastakenawaybothourabilityandourdriveto

makehumanconnections.

Wenowexpectmorefromtechnologyintermsofcompanionshipthanwedo

fromotherhumans.10

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Sinceitisapparentthattherewillnotbeanyworldwideboycottingofthedigitalworld,MeghanBiroofForbesmagazinewroteanimportantarticleabouthowtostayhumaninthedigitalageandmadesomecriticalpointsintermsofbeingprofessionalinthedigitalprofessionalworld(refertofollowingslide).2

Itisimportanttorecognizethatjustbecausewecannotridtheworldofdigitaltechnologiesthatareimpactinghumaninteraction,itdoesnotmeanthatwecan’tlookforsimplesolutionsforcertainsituationsonline.

HowDoYouHumanizeTheDigitalWorld?

1.BeDiligent:Doyourresearchanddonotblindlyspeaktosomeone(onaprofessionallevel),itshowslackofinterest.2.Beonafirstnamebasis.3.Alwaysrespond:Ifsearchingforanewemployee,sendaquickresponse,eventothosenotsuitedfortheposition.4.Beefficientinyourresponses:Evenifyoudonothavetimetoanswerfully,sendaresponsetoensureyouwillgetbacktothem.5.Showempathy.Beprofessionalyetacknowledgebothyourselfandotherpeople’semotions.6.InviteDialogue:Besuretobuildaconnectionthroughmeaningfulconversation.2

Itisimportanttorecognizethateverygenerationhashadtheirfaults,andgenerationZ’sjusthappenstobea

disconnectionduetobeingconnected.

Aslongastheglobaldigitalcommunityisawarethatthereisanissuewithbeingconstantlyconnected,therewillalwaysbeasolution.Peopleneedtoremembertopracticedistancefromtechnologyinordertomaintaintheirabilityanddriveto

makehumanconnections.

References1.Basulto,Dominic.“InformationOverload?ThereHasAlwaysBeenTooMuchToKnow.”BigThink.Web.10May2016.2.Biro,MeghanM."Handshake3.0:StayingHumanInTheDigitalAge."Forbes.ForbesMagazine,12Apr.2015.Web.3.Eichler,Leah."SorrytoBeRude,butMySmartphoneNeedsMyAttention."TheGlobeandMail.4Oct.2013.Web.4.Erickson,Christine."TheSocialPsychologyoftheSelfie."Mashable.13Feb.2013.Web.5.Fung,Brian."WhyYouShouldn’tConfuse‘nomophobia’withanActualAddictiontoSmartphones."TheWashingtonPost.TheSwitch,19May2015.Web.6.Klein,Lauren."DoesTechnologyCutUsOffFromOtherPeople?"GreaterGoodTheScienceofMeaningfulLife.TheGreaterGoodScienceCenter,UniversityofCalifornia,12Mar.2014.Web.7.Luellen,Joseph."TheMoreConnectedWeAre,theMoreDisconnectedWeBecome."60SecondsofMotivationalMojo.JosephLuellenIII,23July2012.Web.8.Sol,Mateo."EternallyConnected:HowTechnologyDisconnectsYouFromYourselfLonerWolf."LonerWolf.2013.Web.9.Turkle,Sherry."TheDocumentedLife."NewYorkTimes16Dec.2013:A25(L).AcademicOneFile.Web.4June2016.10.Turkle,Sherry."Theflightfromconversation."NewYorkTimes22Apr.2012:1(L).AcademicOneFile.Web.4June2016.

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