Communication

Communication is singular. It is all encompassing. It is everything. It is constant. It is continuous. It is pervasive. It is everlasting.

Hyper-connected Hermits

Sounds like the name for a blog if I've ever heard one. I suppose turning 50 in the digital age isn't such big deal, but it does give one a certain introspective perspective. As I prepare for upcoming conferences and classes I'm teaching on New/Social media, I came across this article in the March/April edition of AARP Magazine. For those under 50 you can read it here.

I speak and study about "digital natives" and "digital immigrants" and feel much like a "digital undocumented worker." I remember when "social networking" meant a visit to the bar down the street and a couple of adult beverages. I am acutely aware of changes that have taken place in the way we converse. Technology has opened up many powerful avenues for conversation we cannot ignore; but we should take the time to remember our "humanness," and find places to meet people, sit, and talk to keep from becoming what David Dudley describes as "a nation of hyperconnected hermits, thumbs furiously working our BlackBerrys, each of us a master of an ever-smaller personal universe." Quite a fitting description from what I observe.