Sherry Turkle, professor at MIT observes that, “These days, insecure in our relationships and anxious about intimacy, we look to technology for ways to be in relationships and protect ourselves from them at the same time.”
I kinda think this is a good thing, a really good thing. Now, it’s certainly not all good I realize. We are slowly losing our ability to verbally converse (a big deal) and have this constant need to have all of our statuses updated on our devices. But, think about the intertwining of relationships and technology in the future sense, as if what is happening today is just the beginning, just a pre-cursor to something amazing. Yes, our sci-fi imaginations run wild with all the beaming and stuff.
What I’m really talking about however, is how technology can actually create new and powerful relationships and appears destined to do so more and more in the future. And that’s good news. How about deaf/mute people being able to communicate effectively and efficiently in society due to new technologies? How about quadriplegics being able to work and contribute to the world via advanced communication technologies? Can’t we get there one day via technology? Or, think about students in developing countries being able to immersively experience university-level education from their native countries. Not just online classes, but all the collaboration, thinking, and problem-solving that is fundamental to a true university education. Then, there’s also the currently unknown and unlimited potential for technology to connect us more deeply, more meaningfully as humans doing life together -- moms and kids, clients and service provider, city and city, country and country – new relationships and community experiences yet to be defined and shaped.
Today, we often feel sheepish or even a form of social judgment when we think people see us on our phones “too much.” I think that rather than being or feeling judged, implicitly or explicitly, we should embrace. Because it’s just the beginning. And so much good can come from the connecting of technology and relationships if we evolve our thinking culturally, if we embrace that today’s world of texting and status updates is just the first phase of something that could actually evolve relationships. The more we embrace this mindset, the more likely we are to move forward. The more likely we are to move technology to do good, to do something deep, connective, and meaningful.