Our Digital Culture
Gregory K. Moffatt, Ph.D.
If you are a regular reader of this column, you know that I've struggled to make sense of our rapidly changing, highly digital culture. iPhones, iTouch, cells, texting, Twitter, and Facebook are among the many media in which we invest our time. Way back when the Internet was relatively new, I was concerned about what I thought I saw coming - people who spent hours of their time staring at a computer screen and very little time in face-to-face contact.
Cultural change is inevitable and desirable. Who wants to go back to the days of rotary telephones? Not me. I love what our technology allows us to do. For instance, I travel all over the world. Communicating with my family at home used to cost me a fortune in phone bills, but now I can talk as long as I want on Skype for free from even the most remote parts of the world.
But all advances come with pitfalls. For example, in my early years as a college professor, anytime we had a break, my students would be in the hallway talking to each other discussing class, family, or life experiences. Today, as soon as I say, "Let's take a break," cell phones come out and every head goes down. Each person is completely oblivious to anyone else in the room.
I try to imagine what sociologists will be saying about us 50 years from now. Author Tim Keller provides some insight into this question. He argues that our digital culture has caused us to segment. We are not a group anymore. We are a collection of individuals. Keller notes that while "ancient people primarily thought of themselves as members of a 'clan' or family," we now see ourselves almost exclusively as individuals. He continues by saying, "…today we can't even think of ourselves as members of an audience," let alone a clan.
Individualism causes fragmentation in family. Family time comes second to Facebook, a text or a phone call. For example, my children have been frustrated with me for years because I ban cell phones from the dinner table, automobile, and family time. I've tried to explain that when they take a text or a call in my presence, they are telling me some mystery person behind a figurative door number one is more interesting or important than me. That is insulting, but it is more than an insult. It strengthens the walls of individualism and inhibits family interaction.
A second threat I see is an ever growing illusion that digital communication is meaningful communication. Facebook and texting give us ever-present, up to the minute information on people we "know." Yet most of these contacts are facsimiles of relationships. They aren't the real thing.
The clever use of the phrase "friending someone" on Facebook gives the illusion that your 300 "Friends" are really friends. How many of them would bail you out of jail or come to see you if you were in the hospital? A recent survey of texting (over 3,000 a month on average for teens) and Twitter showed that well over 90% of the information communicated was meaningless. "I'm at the mall," or "What's up?" are superficial conversations, not meaningful conversations. In short, through these digital media we talk a lot, but don't say anything.
So what do we do? Here are a few questions to ask that may indicate your responsible use of digital media.
Do you feel like you have to have your phone in your hand
all the time so you don't miss a call or text?
If you forget your phone at home, do you feel like the world is
passing you by?
Do you sleep with your phone, as an astounding 25% of teens reportedly
do, for fear you might miss something?
Do you feel like you are letting your friends down if you don't
update Facebook at least once a day?
Likewise, do you regularly substitute being with people or doing
things you enjoy because you need to update your Facebook page?
Do you feel like you are being rude if you don't answer a text
within seconds of receiving it?
Do you regularly interrupt face-to-face conversation to text or
answer a call?
If you answer "yes" to these questions, maybe
you have a problem. If not, maybe you have found a way to allow
technology to help you in life rather than living a life ruled
by technology.