LOS ANGELES — Between work and play – many of us are on our smartphones and computers all day long. But could it actually be isolating us more than ever?
Between texts, emails and Facebook, it feels like we`re always in touch with friends. But new studies show all this constant communication might be more isolating than connecting. More and more tech is changing the way we communicate. We text before we call and converse in comments on social networks.
“We are spending too much time with our technology instead of with each other, “Dr. Sherry Turkle, who teaches psychology at MIT, said.
Turkle argues in her book, Alone Together, that we`re communicating more, but it`s happening online and it`s actually more isolating.
“We go on Facebook and only say the great things that happen to us during our day. We`re not sharing our lives. Texting, emailing, all of these things let us present the self as we want to be,” Turkle said.
Her TED talk on the topic has racked up nearly 2 million views…
“I call it being ‘alone together’. We`re at dinner with our families, but we`re each into our phones, looking at what`s on our phones,” Turkle said.
Her suggestion: take a ‘Tech Timeout’.
“Take a week, and for a week for an hour a day, no devices. Create sacred spaces, the kitchen, the dining room, the car. These are places where families should be talking to each other. Not everybody disappearing into their phones,” Turkle said.
That’s easier said than done but if you want to take the ‘Tech Timeout’ pledge, follow this link.
