Closer Together, Further Apart
The Effect of Technology and the Internet on Parenting, Work, and Relationships
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
In less than a single generation digital technology has dramatically and permanently altered the ways in which humans connect and communicate with each other. Conversations and information transfers that once either weren't possible or took days to complete now occur in an instant. Technological advances are profoundly affecting humankind forcing us to change on multiple levels.
Today's generation gap is totally different from previous generation gaps because of digital technology. While baby boomers may be looking to confirm their theory that indeed this younger generation is going "to hell in a handbasket" just like their parents claimed that "sex, drugs, and rock & roll" was ruining them, readers of both generations will make a surprising discovery. Join the authors as they guide readers on an enlightening exploration of how digital technology and the Internet have changed the way we communicate, relate, work, parent, and mate.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Psychotherapist Weiss and physician Schneider (co-authors of the forthcoming Always Turned On: Facing Sex Addiction in the Digital Age) play to their strengths in a brief work that is by turns laudatory and cautionary regarding the Internet and related technologies. Although "parenting" and "work" appear in the subtitle, those subjects get relatively short shrift, while digital relationships and various online perils are addressed more thoroughly. The authors raise questions about the effects of early use of digital media or smartphone use in social settings but, frustratingly, their most common reply is "we simply don't know." A reader might wish for more effort by the authors in interpreting what research does exist, though later chapters, such as "Tech, Sex, Love" and "Online Vulnerability: The Dark Side of the Force," provide more specifics. Throughout, the authors caution digital immigrants not to be judgmental of digital natives. For Weiss and Schneider, "fake is the new real" in terms of relationships, and, they contend, that might be okay. Younger readers may rejoice in this validation of their lives while older readers may yearn for more substance.
Customer Reviews
Jackson- concerned parent
Now this book was an eye-opener. I thought that seeing the movie HER would set me up to understand the world of my kids and their friends. But I think I needed to read this in order to get a greater perspective on what is actually happening and where we are headed as a culture. Great read!
Closer Together, Further Apart
This book was a revelation to me. I didn’t realize how behind my thinking was regarding the use of social media and the Internet in the lives of our young people. If I learned one thing from this book -it’s to stop complaining about “those kids and their devices” and to more fully engage in a digital world that will keep me engaged, in-touch and connected to the evolution of our world