Peter A. Coclanis's column in this past weekend's News and Observer reminded me of the compelling argument that Nicholas Carr made a few years back in his book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing To Our Brains.No Luddite am I, but I do share Carr's and Coclanis's concerns for the effects of digital communication on our live, in-person, and in-public conversations, particularly when we engage in conversations that are difficult, gray, and gritty. I hope that Woods is a place where we can be "counter-cultural" by engaging in conversations that have real depth and where we maintain civility and respect even when we, perhaps, disagree passionately.
Here are a few excerpts from Coclanis's column that have stayed in my mind:
“Not to
romanticize pre-digital times, but people today get bored easily, are afraid to
be alone and are uncomfortable with the spontaneity and messiness involved in
unedited human communications and civil, sober public dialogue and debate.
Hence, part of the reason that we do face-to-face increasingly badly.”
"Without regular face-to-face conversations, we
increasingly lose the ability to empathize with others, much less to engage
their views. Indeed, we seem to be detaching from people even when we’re
ostensibly with them."
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