The Internet
Isn’t There Any Mystery Left to Being Apart? The Obsession to Keeping in Touch With Those Out of Sight
Doris O'Brien writes: The whole world seems fixated on keeping in touch with everyone other than those who are with them. Yesterday I observed a couple seated at a table at a pleasant outdoor café, perhaps to enjoy an early dinner together. It could have been a time for hand-holding or sharing the details of one another’s day. Instead, both were staring into their own latest-technology iphones, their minds elsewhere rather than on each other. more »
As Facebook Raises a $Billion IPO, A Profile of Its 'Friends'
A Facebook user who uses the site multiple times per day is 43% more likely than other internet users and more than three times as likely as non-internet users to feel that most people can be trusted. more »
Making Your Phone Work: Just-in-time Information through Mobile Conections
We've observed an uptick in cell phone use for research purposes recently, including confirmation of the owner's accuracy in a conversation with friends. "Let me check that (on my phone)". They're also looking up times that events will start, nearby restaurants, objects on view at a musem, shopping nearby and so on. more »
The Multitasking Myth: You may think you’re being productive, but, get real, you're not
Rose Madeline Mula writes: "We see parents at dance recitals, soccer games, graduations — engrossed in texting, instead of focusing on their little darlings who are going to be grown and out of the nest almost before the next message pops up on mom’s or dad’s I-phone. Meanwhile, students in classrooms are surreptitiously texting, oblivious to the words of their professors ..." more »