Neil Postman recognized that the advent of new technologies brings forth new challenges. He entitled his presentation “Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change” and asserted that an understanding of these concepts would aid us in navigating the effects of technology on our lives.
The first critical point he presents is that every new technology entails trade-offs. While such technology may offer us certain advantages, it simultaneously detracts from other aspects. In our previous class discussion, we examined how technology influences human behavior, both positively and negatively. An illustrative example that springs to mind is that of my mother’s current living situation. My mother, who is now 92 years old, resides in a senior living facility. Throughout the pandemic, many residents of the facility refrained from interacting with one another due to concerns regarding illness. My mother hails from an era when face-to-face interaction was vital for fostering a healthy community. I recall her recounting how the family would bond over music played on the farm. She has shown little interest in acquiring contemporary technologies such as web conferencing, email, texting, and many others. Though the telephone proved to be somewhat useful, its utility was limited due to her hearing impairment, even with hearing aids. Furthermore, she did not possess a smartphone, and her poor eyesight made texting impractical as well. To alleviate the loneliness she both experienced and observed among her fellow residents during the pandemic, she began to play the piano in the entrance area. Quite quickly, residents gathered to sing along with her music, consistently maintaining social distancing and adhering to guidelines. My contention is that my mother effectively utilized the technology of her time—the piano—to mitigate the feelings of loneliness and isolation that residents were grappling with due to the pandemic. The technology available during her era had a profound impact on the well-being of the residents in the senior community. The residents’ health was directly correlated to the kind of technology employed in addressing their feelings of loneliness. To note, my mother iis still is playing the piano at 3 PM for the residents. They have adopted this practice as an important ritual to foster the value of togetherness.
This situation underscores the significance of Postman’s second point: technology does not benefit all individuals uniformly. There is no alternative superior to face-to-face interaction in combating isolation and loneliness. Observing our students in higher education or in the public school system it still reveals that many continue to feel the lingering effects of the pandemic. The younger generation is more interconnected than any prior generation. Nonetheless, numerous studies indicate that our students experience levels of isolation and loneliness similar to those of previous generations.
Technology cannot substitute for face-to-face interaction.
Conversely, younger generations confronted different challenges and responses during the same timeframe. The article titled “The Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health: A Comprehensive Review” offers a thorough analysis of how the COVID-19 pandemic has globally influenced mental health. It discusses a variety of factors contributing to mental health issues during the pandemic, such as social isolation, economic stress, and fears of contracting the virus. The review also highlights the heightened prevalence of anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders, emphasizing the critical need for mental health support and intervention during such crises.
Our students now have increased their access mental health support than they did prior to the pandemic. This should serve as a significant “canary in the coal mine” indicator that we must learn to utilize technology effectively to foster connections with one another. Simultaneously, we must nurture or students to acquire the social emotional skills, metacognition skills and values such as community if we want a society that is connected and thriving.
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Postman, N. (1998, March 28). In Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change
National Centre for Biotechnology Information. (2021, October 12). Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Self-Isolation on Students and Staff in Higher Education: A Qualitative Study. Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Self-Isolation on Students and Staff in Higher Education: A Qualitative Study. Retrieved September 22, 2024, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8535702/
Gerry, I appreciated reading about your mother’s story and how you connected her situation to our readings this week. I think that Postman’s second point, that technology does not benefit everyone equally, is especially apparent when talking about the elderly population. Some things such as services moving to online booking, make them less accessible to certain audiences.
Reading about your mother’s experience and her way of tackling the pandemic situation is appreciated. I am happy that she found a way to come out of her phase and it was perfectly her technological device that helped her.
To guide the students is the responsibility of a teacher. As an educator, I was aware of the audio-visual aids and I tried to make the appropriate use of them for my teaching-learning process.
Hello Gerald. I really enjoyed your post this week. Your story about how your mother adapted to the technology that was available to her was wonderful and right on point. As you mentioned, not every technology is available to everyone equally and your mothers use of the piano illustrates that to a tee. Thank you for sharing and I look forward to future posts.
Gerald, your analysis of the trade-offs associated with technology is quite insightful. The heartwarming example of how older, less sophisticated technology can still promote community in ways that more advanced digital tools often can’t is your mother’s use of the piano during the epidemic. You make a valid point when you say that in order to overcome isolation, social interaction is vital. This highlights that technology should enhance human connections rather than replacing it. We must support students in acquiring social-emotional competencies in addition to digital literacy, as you mentioned.
Hi Gerry,
I completely agree with you that technology is not a substitute for in-person interaction. I found the fact that you brought up your mother’s example very heart-warming, especially the fact that she regularly plays the piano for others to cheer them up. Truly, no technology can replace such precious human interaction experiences, which, as you fairly mentioned, COVID lockdown has clearly showed us. Let’s hope that technology will remain our helper but won’t deprive us of the beauty of real-life communication!