Detachment Between Conversers

Have you ever talked to a person whose demeanor practically screamed that he did not know how to talk and interact with another human being? Believe it or not, that social awkwardness is becoming the norm for the generation of individuals born between 1982 and 2004, dubbed as the “Millennials,” and beyond. Social technology is supposedly designed to make us “more social” is actually detaching us more than ever. Steve Baskin points this out in the TED talks video titled Unplugging Our Kids. Baskin makes an analogy in the video that people today are becoming more and more like Neil Armstrong on his lunar landing in 1969. He made the point that even though he was completely surrounded by the technology that allowed him to walk on the moon and connect to everyone through their television screens, Armstrong was “more isolated and alone than… any human being has ever been”(Baskin). Armstrong was literally alone on the moon with the exception of Buzz Aldrin, yet he was broadcasting what he was doing to the entire world. Similar to Neil Armstrong, people are enveloped in technology which they use to broadcast what they are doing to the world over the internet, yet are alone while they are using social media. 

Baskin also shares a story of one of his former camp counselors who was called to resolve an argument at the college he works at. He says that the two were posting grievances about each other over facebook, and when his former counselor walked in to break it up, neither of the two were talking to each other and were on their laptops. Can you imagine arguing on a website rather than confronting the person you have a beef with? They were in the same room yet they were arguing each other through a screen! Baskin ends his presentation by explaining how summer camps gave a high school teen the “ability to turn [technology] off and turn her personality on”(Baskin). With a little practice in the social skills that we lack, we no longer have to use technology as a crutch, and we learn to make real connections in face-to-face situations. According to Baskin, that connection can be achieved by a mere five-week break in a tech-free environment.