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Interpersonal void
New book by Michael Bugeja looks at how technology has eroded real
communities.
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Right up front Michael Bugeja wants people to know that he isn't anti-technology.
That couldn't be further from the truth.
What Bugeja, professor and director of the Greenlee School of Journalism
and Communication, would like is for individuals to have a better understanding
of what technology is intended for.
"I use technology all the time so I'm not advocating less use of
technology," Bugeja said. "However, I want to teach our students
how to use these important tools correctly. That means they might not
want to use a computer only for games or talk on the cell phone when they
have idle thoughts."
In his new book, Interpersonal Divide: The Search for Community in
a Technological Age, Bugeja says that modern technology has driven
civilization away from real communities.
He argues that electronic technologies such as e-mail and cell phones
have created an "interpersonal divide" - a void that develops
between people when they spend too much time in virtual rather than in
real communities.
"The book looks at all aspects of technology that have an impact
on community," Bugeja says. "There is a growing inability of
people to use face-to-face communication to solve problems. I believe
the more we can value each other face-to-face the better we can develop
a sense of community."
That means going down the hall and talking to a faculty member about an
issue rather than sending an e-mail. Or in Bugeja's profession, interviewing
a subject in person rather than over the phone or through e-mail.
"Technology has made it easier for reporters never to leave their
offices to get a story," he said. "The more reporters are taken
out of the communication process the less accurately they can report the
news."
Bugeja feels that this "interpersonal divide" can occur both
on the job and in individuals' home lives.
In fact he says that we all observe misuse of new technology on a day-to-day
basis.
"We're dealing with a new generation that meets, dates and breaks
up with each other in a chat room," Bugeja said. "I have heard
of stories of couples walking hand-in-hand on a city street both talking
to others on a cell phone.
"In the business world, ombudsman cases have spiked in recent years
and a majority of those cases are related to e-mails," he continued.
"No doors have been slammed. Instead people have become angry over
the use of typewritten words in a place, cyberspace, that does not even
exist."
Interpersonal Divide traces media history to show how other generations
coped with similar problems during great technological change. Bugeja
also suggests ways to use media and technology wisely so that they enhance
rather than replace community.
Bugeja's book also:
* Shows how each medium changes the message, resulting in misinterpretation
of motives, causing deep rifts in personal and professional relationships.
* Discusses content from an applied ethics perspective, rather than from
a self-help or theoretical one.
* Focuses on the importance of community in our lifelong quest for acceptance.
Interpersonal Divide, which is published by Oxford University
Press, is Bugeja's 18th book.
Around LAS
September 20 to October 3, 2004
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