{"id":169,"date":"2018-09-17T11:30:57","date_gmt":"2018-09-17T11:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commtech.nyuad.im\/homework\/?p=169"},"modified":"2018-09-17T11:31:25","modified_gmt":"2018-09-17T11:31:25","slug":"digital-detox-keith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/commtech.nyuad.im\/homework\/2018\/09\/17\/digital-detox-keith\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Detox – Keith"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReclaiming\nConversation\u201d is a very thought-provoking reading, putting to context several issues\nrelated to communication technology. In many ways, technology has made us more\nconnected to the world around us \u2013 we can easily talk to anyone anytime\nanywhere. Then, why is there the problem \u2013 \u201cflight from conversation?\u201d Aren\u2019t\nexchanges on text considered conversation as well? The author makes a\nsignificant effort to define the word conversation, only allowing it in the\ncontext of real-life interactions. As technology has become more prominent, it\nhas displaced conversations in real-life, causing people to be less emphatic, less\ncreative, less fulfilled, and ironically less connected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within\nthe frame of \u201cflight from conversation,\u201d the author introduces several new\nissues brought up by the influence of communication technology. Whether it is\nthe \u201csilent phone\u201d effect, the power of the \u201ctiny god\u201d, or the myriad of other\nissues, I will use this space to address two main problems \u2013 1. Our fear of the\n\u201cFirst Chair\u201d, and 2. The Goldilocks effect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thoreau\u2019s \u201cThree Chairs\u201d gives a unique take on human interaction and the kinds of proper conversation that has been omitted by technology. Perhaps the most fundamental one is the \u201cFirst Chair\u201d \u2013 Solitude. Nowadays, being alone is often seen as a problem that needs to be fixed through technology. Personally, I felt the full effect of this during my 8-hour digital detox, fearing the thought of no one to connect to. We, as humans, are failing to sit down and reflect on our self, leading to the constant search of fulfillment through digital means. For example, can you really say you enjoyed an event if it is not broadcasted on social media and approved by your followers? Perhaps the rise of meditation might be a solution to our lack of solitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next issue is elaborated through the \u201cGoldilocks effect\u201d \u2013 the idea that we are moving away from conversation to mere connection. If you think about it, when is the last time you approached someone through a phone-call or physical contact? The trend towards texting has transformed the nature our daily interactions. This effect is further epitomized through the short story \u2013 \u201cMachine Stop\u201d by E.M. Foster. As much as it is fictional, it gives a very realistic prediction to what our world has become. Written in 1909, it gives a strangely accurate description of how we are starting to fear human contact and real-life interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rather than inventing new technologies to solve these existing problems, it might be better to look within ourselves to find the solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cReclaiming Conversation\u201d is a very thought-provoking reading, putting to context several issues related to communication technology. In many ways, technology has made us more connected to the world around us \u2013 we can easily talk to anyone anytime anywhere. Then, why is there the problem \u2013 \u201cflight from conversation?\u201d Aren\u2019t exchanges on text considered conversation …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/commtech.nyuad.im\/homework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/commtech.nyuad.im\/homework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/commtech.nyuad.im\/homework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commtech.nyuad.im\/homework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commtech.nyuad.im\/homework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/commtech.nyuad.im\/homework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":173,"href":"http:\/\/commtech.nyuad.im\/homework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions\/173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/commtech.nyuad.im\/homework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commtech.nyuad.im\/homework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commtech.nyuad.im\/homework\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}