Hello! Today is the point in the month where we bridge theory with practice and I answer your Sociology of… Technology questions with some audio advice. Have a listen or read along with the transcript, and share your thoughts in the comments.
The first Sociology of… Technology question comes from Charlotte in Baltimore. She asks:
It seems like our societal increased loneliness directly correlates with our increased dependence on technology. I feel like we know this and we sort of talk about it, but what can we actually do about it?
Acknowledging there’s a problem is the first step… Listen for what I suggest should come next.
The second question comes from Jeremy in Pennsylvania. He says:
I’m intrigued by what you write about Baudrillard’s argument that modern life is essentially a simulation. Our lives are so “meta” now, and I agree that real fun cannot be a simulation. But isn’t it a sort of chicken/egg problem? To have more real world fun, you need to connect with people offline, but to connect with people offline, you need to use technology to engage and convince them to leave the screen and join you — which is no easy feat. So I think most of us just give up and amuse ourselves alone or in asynchronous social exchanges online instead, which, admittedly, isn’t as much fun. How do we escape that spiral?
I know this challenge all too well. There’s no perfect solution, but I share my personal approach for breaking out of this unsatisfying loop.
As a bonus, a third question came in after I’d already recorded this month’s audio, and since it’s such a good one, I’d like to offer it to the SoE community to weigh in in the comments (and I’ll also leave my response there). Ivan in Amsterdam asks:
Do you see big differences in how different cultures/countries approach technology/the internet, and could we learn from some of them?
What do you think? How do you see technology varying between cultures? Want to add to my audio advice? Post it all in the comments!
Tech-induced loneliness? Escaping the simulated life spiral?