Who can't relate to the seeking behavior described in Emily Yoffe's article? At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, I have had days where I blow hours of my life on the internet, checking with glee my round of things I like to look at and finishing with a sort of empty feeling like, What have I really done here? What have I really accomplished? Why do I get so excited to check my email or see if so-and-so has updated their blog?
I remember the same feeling when I finished high school and traveled for a year around the U.S. and Europe--we'd have mail days where mail (as in, actual letters and packages and things) were forwarded to our group wherever we were and I remember relishing them and looking excitedly in my mail box to see if there was anything there. But I feel like that's different. Why? Maybe simply because checking my (real, physical) mailbox to see if I'd gotten mail wasn't something I could do repeatedly, constantly, or which could turn into other activities like googling for hours on end. And even if I did, I would at least get exercise walking to the post!
A couple other personal observations: if I am on the internet before bed, even if I'm exhausted, I get this weird little second wind and wind up staying up too late. I have heard that the internet (and TV, too--but we don't have TV) really stimulate the brain and so you shouldn't go online before bed. I have made it a rule not to bring my laptop into my bed! On the other hand, I *have* to read before I go to bed. It relaxes me! On the one hand it seems like, well, why should the two be so different--aren't I "reading" online, too? But we do really interact differently with books than with the internet. My attention span online is much less than it is with a book (god, even with a book sometimes I find my attention span is not what it used to be! Especially after spending a lot of time online!) But online sometimes I'll read like a few words of an article and start kind of itching to read something else! Much has been said and written about this, I know, so I mention it just to say that, yeah, my personal experience bears it out.
In terms of the Klapperstuck article, I appreciated the acknowledgment that the attributes of Generation M mentioned in the article are generalizations--they are not shared by all supposed members of that generation, and they *are* shared by people outside of that generation. I have already mentioned ways in which my patience and attention span have been reduced since actively using technology and I'm not a member of this generation.
Yet this is (again, generally) the first *whole generation* to be connected the way Generation M is, and that is worth examining. My daughter, who is four, says to me sometimes, "Mommy, I want to watch baby tigers on your computer." And I marvel that for her, seeing whatever she wants whenever she wants is just a given ("When I was her age! Blah blah blah ten feet of snow blah blah blah Dewey Decimal System blah blah blah"!) (Ah--the internet also makes being a parent easier, though!--when my daughter asks me "Mommy, why do leaves changes colors?" I can say, "Um, I'll tell you in a minute" *google: p-h-o-t-o-s-y-n-t-h-e-s-i-s*)
I read a book years ago called Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, and have read a bit from an emerging field of psychology that looks at the same problem, and I really think people need to be invested in things other than technology. I really believe there is something to be said for the connection that people form to their environment when they are NOT distracted from it and NOT multitasking and are just there, in nature. Don't we have a responsibility as educators and citizens to encourage students to develop this connection? To experience life "disconnected" from technology in order to connect to other things that technology (I suspect) prevents them from connecting with.
I really enjoyed your post, Diane. In addition to some amusing observations about being a parent in the modern age, you raise some deep and important questions about classroom environment. I would encourage you to consider the potential here for creating an intentional community in Ms. A's classroom. What will this space be like? How will we define a learning-conducive, respectful environment and how (from your perspective) can as much responsibility as is practical for putting our shared understanding into practice rest with the students? In addition to all of that, your tastes need to be factored in, and your modeling will be significant. If it's important to you to be in a place where there are no outside/electronic intrusions, give them a taste of that. You'll find a way, and they'll be the better for it.
ReplyDeleteHave a restful vacation...
I get the same second wind after before-bed internet time! And I hadn't thought about it before, but I guess I do read differently on the computer than when I have a book in my hands. I wonder where Kindles fall on the spectrum.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your vacation!