Are we too obsessed with our phones? Studies suggest they may make us less empathetic and prevent substantive conversation. Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont talk about how to maintain a smart balance with your smart phone.
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Show Notes
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Anyone interested in how technology effects us, our quality of life, focus, ability to empathize, etc., as I do, should check out the Note To Self podcast from WNYC. This is exactly what they cover every show. They’ve done croud-sourced challenges where you disconnect in different ways to see how being away from a part of your normal online life will effect you.
(I posted this in the YouTube comments but thought I paste it here as well – not sure where you read most of the commentary)
funny – but this technology decreasing empathy seems to be a white privileged idea … I want you to ask Native and African Americans if technology has decreased our empathy … we need to come to terms with our primate natures – not our technology use – we are territorial/tribal/fearful animals … there is a very good reason that we can go back and read the same messages regarding something new in our culture that sound exactly like the same messages we hear now
maybe if we didn’t throw parents in jail and take their children away for letting them play outside by themselves and with each other without constant adult supervision – children would do more ‘interacting’ … it isn’t technology that’s causing the issue but how our society is atomizing children into their little cocoons of supervised and restricted interactions what we need to teach in school is critical thinking … empathy was probably part of civics class which some groups cut because it was seen as a waste of money … we used to have plenty of courses that would include caring in some way – home-ec … extra-curricular activities – all the things we’ve cut out of education in favor of becoming profit driven little machines …
it’s not technology that is fueling our lack ‘lack of empathy’ – we’ve had very very little empathy for anyone we saw as ‘other’ or ‘the enemy’ since we could throw stones at each other … no – what we lack is the critical thinking skills to see the real issues and the problem solving skills and resolve to do something about it
(this pasted as one glob of text – I have put in spaces between paragraphs but not sure if that will remain when it posts – if not … I am sorry for the big glob of verbiage that results ;-/
oops – missed the spacing between ‘interactions’ and ‘what we need’
sigh
Did the children with cellphone’s story bring back thoughts of a young Spock going at school and dealing with bullies?
https://youtu.be/U0BfZz8JVEE?t=47s