Technology Intervention!

I am now into my second week of EDC3100 ICTs and Pedagogy, and starting to feel more confident about the new websites we have all been introduced to.
Surprisingly, I am finding blogging quite enjoyable and even though I feel as though the workload is insane for this course, compared to my other subjects, I am actually learning so much!
I now understand the importance of reflection. It is helping me to remember course material and create my own perspectives and understanding on what I read/view/watch.

This week in our week 2 learning path we were asked the question ‘Is technology making us antisocial?’

I answered yes, yes it is, although, the correct answer was actually ‘no’. This is the image we were shown to justify the answer.

 

This image was a large shock to me because it is actually so true! Instead of being on a cell phone, tablet or laptop, people would be reading a newspaper, or a book.
This image made me want to research what other people thought about technology (in particular cell phones) making people antisocial. I discovered an article written by Brian Harke in 2011 “Is Technology making us anti-social?” Even though this was written four years ago, I still believe it is very relevant.
Throughout Harke’s article he discusses an experience he had at a professional dinner party, where a member attending his dinner continued to engage with his cell phone, instead of the people who were ‘actually’ sitting at the table! Harke continues to discuss that the people at the table hinted that the person was being rude, although the person didn’t pick up on the hints because they were so involved in the phone. Due to his actions, he missed out on important conversations and he definitely did not make a ‘good’ first impression on the other guests at the dinner party. This full article can be read at 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-harke/is-social-media-making-us_1_b_875455.html

Time to reflect again…

I do agree with Harke that in this situation the man was rude and his behaviour was disrespectful to the guests present. Although, I think that if a cell phone was replaced with a newspaper this situation wouldn’t have occurred. My thoughts on technology are now a bit all over the place because this image has had such an impact on me. Even though I am now starting to think technology may not be the only reasons for people displaying antisocial behaviour, I do still strongly believe that it does play a part in distracting people from what is going on in the world around them at the present time, placing their attention within cyberspace.

Goodnight for now…

I am off to have dessert! ICE CREAM tonight, yum! I WISH MY ICE CREAM LOOKED LIKE THIS THOUGH!