Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Week 2
Does virtual life change "real" life? My opinion is, absolutely! In an age when break down in the family unit is already a huge issue, all of our technology gadgets and media are just adding to the disconnection. Through social media we have become a people who have turned the attention to "me;" for example, Instagram, Facebook, blogs, Twitter and other avenues keep us inside our own perspective. Yes, people can leave a comment, but that's not the same as immediate, audible feedback. And sometimes those comments can be misinterpreted. With spoken conversation we have the advantage of facial expressions and voice inflection, and we can read the other person's face to know for sure that they understand our intentions. Our social skills, spelling and grammar skills, and etiquette skills are suffering. With all of our advances it is easier to become bored, awkward, lazy and impatient with both people and life. If we are bored with a conversation we can disengage and pick up our gadget or click the "x" button and shut down the computer. Sitting face-to-face with another individual and carrying on a conversation is quickly becoming a lost art. And, what a shame! The Lord made us to have relationships- with others and most importantly, with Him. Other cultures, for instance those in Africa, value relationships. Short, straight-to-the-point speech would be offensive. Therefore, our ability to have cross-cultural relationships are impaired. When I asked my 13 year-old daughter her thoughts on this topic, one response she had was that it is so much easier to Google for information, such as the spelling or definition of a word, rather than consulting a dictionary. Therefore, research skills are suffering. We all know that patience is something we have to work at and grow in, so if we are accustomed to having everything at our fingertips and something goes wrong, it is so easy to become frustrated. I think back to when we were so thankful to have dial-up internet, but now that would be so aggravating! While I do know that our advancements in technology have accomplished and enhanced MANY things, such as medicine, education, communication, but with all of our advancements something must suffer. I believe we have sacrificed one of the most precious things God has given us- personal, meaningful relationships. Is it worth it?
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Wow! That hit hard. I must say that I agree 100% with this post. I have never really given it much thought but I suppose our "real" life is suffering. And I am guilty of the instant research, and I will get impatient if I don't recieve an instant answer. I have noticed that since we have gotten DVR on our television my kids don't even have the paitence to wait through commericials when they are watching live television. My mother-in-law teaches highschool p.e. and she recently said that this current generation struggles to carry on conversations because they are such a technology geared generation. She can really see a difference in social skills with the kids she has taught in the last several years. Although technology can be a great thing, we must carefully guard ourselves that it doesn't become our "life" and our only means of communication. And we must be persistent to make sure that we are teaching kids those basic communication skills that most of us take for granted!
ReplyDeleteAlicia,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved reading your post and could not agree more! Many of my students have no social akills because they would rather text than pick up the phone. Social skills and being able to communicate with people verbally and emotionally are life skills! My 9th grade students have a hard time shifting from text lingo to proper grammar! I find myself writing on their writings "this is not a text". Your point about students googling everything was key to me. If we go to the computer lab and students are to research to answer questions, I find them going to answers.com and simply typing in the answers. This kind of links to my blog for the week of how we must teach students to not rely on one source. There is this commercial that comically discusses how we as a society beleive EVERYTHING on the internet. We have to find some type of balance soon!
Alicia - I totally agree with your post. Virtual life definitely has overtaken real life. My daughter (age 13) would rather text than talk! While I am lucky in the fact that we are close and she sits down to dinner every night, she still is constantly connected to her friends. I try to explain to her and her friends that some aspects of our lives need to be remain private. Facebook and Twitter doesn't need to know that we are on vacation. I teach third grade and many of my students are following one another on Instangram or have a Facebook page. I think it is important as parents that we teach our kids the importance of a social versus virtual life.
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