My very own Director of Curiosity, Tom Calderbank has had a lot of jobs. He was part of the crew that brought the giant spider La Machine to the streets of Liverpool during Capital of Culture year; he cleaned the toilets at The Belvedere Youth Club under the grand title of ‘Project Manager'; and in the days before broadband was everywhere, he drove an IT bus to take technology to the parts that BT couldn't reach.
The IT bus, stocked with computers was a place where young people could access the internet and do all of those useful things that the World Wide Web was created for. Tom recall's one day looking over the shoulder of one young man and asking, "What's that you're doing there lar"? Without removing his gaze from the screen the young man answered, "It's instant messaging innit".
Marveling at this innovative use of technology Tom said, "That's brilliant. Who are you instant messaging"? The young lad still gazing at the screen hitched his thumb over his shoulder and said simply "Him behind me".
Two lads less than two feet apart using technology to talk to each other. The obvious question is why didn't they just turn around and talk to each other? But if it's so obvious, then why don't we all make more of an effort to communicate using more traditional methods?
In his book Tyranny of Email John Freeman argues that as we have become Facebooked, Twittered, emailed, Blackberried and IM'd our efficiency has declined and the tools that were meant to connect us are actually driving us further apart. We are becoming what the French philosopher Guy Debord termed "the lonely crowd".
We now spend so much time checking our devices and communication channels that our attention spans are seriously diminishing. Researchers have found that a typical office worker works for an average of three minutes before an interruption occurs and its takes an average of 64 seconds to recover your train of thought afterwards. Believe it or not it's possible to lose 8.5 hours a week in this way.
Then of course there is the effect on our literary and interpersonal skills. Emails can be terse, use abbreviated language and offer no visual cues in the way of body language or eye contact, so misunderstandings and blunt replies are not uncommon. A third of girls aged 16-19 and 50% of boys in a 2005 study had never written a letter.
That doesn't mean that we can grumble at the younger generation. When did I last write a letter by hand? When did I last switch my phone off? When did I last see a Facebook friend face to face?
As I glare at the screen I can answer all three questions in three grunt-like sounds, which if you are a fan of the Simpsons you will know have a meaning broadly approximating to "I don't know".
So I'm going to write myself a prescription to be taken regularly without the aid of technology. You too might care to join me...
1. Write a hand written letter in ink once a week for four weeks and post it in a red letterbox
2. Switch everything off for at least one hour every day...nobody will care
3. Speak orally to a Facebook friend who you haven't spoken to for some time...it may be slower and long-winded but it will help to put your attention span back together.
Addicted?
The average user spends 55 minutes on Facebook and has 130 friends
18 million people use Twitter
70...the average number of emails received each day
I in 5 people have more than one mobile phone
The IT bus, stocked with computers was a place where young people could access the internet and do all of those useful things that the World Wide Web was created for. Tom recall's one day looking over the shoulder of one young man and asking, "What's that you're doing there lar"? Without removing his gaze from the screen the young man answered, "It's instant messaging innit".
Marveling at this innovative use of technology Tom said, "That's brilliant. Who are you instant messaging"? The young lad still gazing at the screen hitched his thumb over his shoulder and said simply "Him behind me".
Two lads less than two feet apart using technology to talk to each other. The obvious question is why didn't they just turn around and talk to each other? But if it's so obvious, then why don't we all make more of an effort to communicate using more traditional methods?
In his book Tyranny of Email John Freeman argues that as we have become Facebooked, Twittered, emailed, Blackberried and IM'd our efficiency has declined and the tools that were meant to connect us are actually driving us further apart. We are becoming what the French philosopher Guy Debord termed "the lonely crowd".
We now spend so much time checking our devices and communication channels that our attention spans are seriously diminishing. Researchers have found that a typical office worker works for an average of three minutes before an interruption occurs and its takes an average of 64 seconds to recover your train of thought afterwards. Believe it or not it's possible to lose 8.5 hours a week in this way.
Then of course there is the effect on our literary and interpersonal skills. Emails can be terse, use abbreviated language and offer no visual cues in the way of body language or eye contact, so misunderstandings and blunt replies are not uncommon. A third of girls aged 16-19 and 50% of boys in a 2005 study had never written a letter.
That doesn't mean that we can grumble at the younger generation. When did I last write a letter by hand? When did I last switch my phone off? When did I last see a Facebook friend face to face?
As I glare at the screen I can answer all three questions in three grunt-like sounds, which if you are a fan of the Simpsons you will know have a meaning broadly approximating to "I don't know".
So I'm going to write myself a prescription to be taken regularly without the aid of technology. You too might care to join me...
1. Write a hand written letter in ink once a week for four weeks and post it in a red letterbox
2. Switch everything off for at least one hour every day...nobody will care
3. Speak orally to a Facebook friend who you haven't spoken to for some time...it may be slower and long-winded but it will help to put your attention span back together.
Addicted?
The average user spends 55 minutes on Facebook and has 130 friends
18 million people use Twitter
70...the average number of emails received each day
I in 5 people have more than one mobile phone
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