Put Down the Phone and Learn to Be Alone (And to Listen)

Liz Gannes, reporting on a TED talk by Sherry Turkle:

All this time spent communicating digitally gives us “the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship,” Turkle said. “If we’re not able to be alone, we’re going to be more lonely.”

Some interesting and challenging thoughts. I definitely think that technology and social networking can create the illusion of friendship, but I don’t think that’s a given. I know from first hand experience that technology, used well, can enrich and deepen true friendship.

But it is always worth reflecting on our use of technology to ensure that we are using it to truly enrich our lives rather than allowing it to start to take control and pull us away from true life and relationships.