Martha's comments on Alone Together....

I have just about finished the “Alone Together” book.

I have two main thoughts about having read this book.
1. I think that she (possibly) unjustly blames recent technology for isolation which we may or may not be feeling in our current culture. While I agree that we are feeling isolated, I don’t think that she gives solid evidence either that we are feeling more isolated now than we have in the past, or that recent technology is to blame. I would suggest that other technologies and changes might be more to blame (if, in fact, we are feeling more isolated than we have in the past). For example, Americans now live in over 3x the space (not quite 300 sq ft vs 1000 sq ft) than we did (on average) 50 years ago, not to mention that “living alone” is now our most common “family unit.” Also, such technologies as cars and televisions probably also contribute to our feelings of isolation. She doesn’t address any of these issues.
2. Assuming that she is correct in all of her hypotheses, the fact is that we have the technology and it is here to stay. We could also argue that the printing press was an isolating invention since it allowed people on a grand scale to learn from something other than another human being. So smart phones, etc. are our current reality. What are we going to do about it? How are we going to utilize it to maximize our effectiveness as teachers and our students’ effectiveness as members of society? Just because we may not like books doesn’t mean that ignoring them will make them go away.