A Conversation about Conversation with Sherry Turkle
An interview I did with Sherry Turkle for the Boston Globe, about the demise of conversation in the digital age:
Turkle, 67, professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a prolific author, wants to have a conversation. About conversation — and why so few people seem interested in having, or are able to have, that face-to-face anymore.
The crisis of conversation is at the heart of Turkle’s new book, “Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age.” With it, she hopes to spark a discussion about what we lose when we settle for fleeting texts, sound bites, and status updates, instead of pursuing meaningful, nuanced human connection.
“I had a question. All these people were saying, I’d rather text than talk,” says Turkle. “What happens if in business, in education, in romance, and child-rearing, you text rather than talk?”
Why Facebook's Proposed "Dislike" Button Is a Bad Idea
Facebook may finally be getting a button that lets you quickly express something beyond a “like.” In this commentary for WBUR's Cognoscneti, I say "Thumbs Down On Facebook’s ‘Dislike’ Button," and propose something else entirely.
