Is it worse or is it simply different?

So the next time you see a friend, or a child, spending too much of their day facing a screen, extend a hand and invite him back to the world of real social encounters. You’ll not only build up his health and empathic skills, but yours as well. Friends don’t let friends lose their capacity for humanity. -  Your phone vs your heart (NYT, March 23), Barbara Fredrickson

Vivian, a reader of Jeff Utecht's Thinking Stick blog, left a long and thoughtful comment in response to a bit of back and forth Jeff and I had over social media a few months ago. In the comment, she describes a large gap in both the perception and use of social media between generations. She writes:

It seems every time the topic of “technology” comes up, the skeptical ones bring up the differences between face2face and social media: “Yes, I see the differences too. Yes, I agree that social media can’t compare to face2face, in many ways. YES, I am TERRIFIED at how the world is changing because all the kids are stuck to their screens.”

I’m a Mom of 4! I feel like I’m always trying to get my kids to balance themselves between “on-screen” and “off-screen”. But, I feel it’s like trying to hold back ocean waves. The waves keep on coming. Closer and closer. Louder and louder. I can’t keep up with trying to stem the tide.

and

The kids feel that their online friends and relationships are just as important as their off-line friends.” (Often their off-line friends become their on-line friends and vice-versa.) So, the discussion is rather MOOT, don’t you think? At the end of the day, we can have our academic discussions and rants, but what does it matter? What matters is what the kids don’t see the difference and I’m not too sure there IS a difference for them. So, let’s deal with that reality instead of wishing that our old reality was still with us. (The Old Reality being when friends were people we interacted with face2face) [Interesting comparison to Fredrickson's concerns in opening quote. - Doug]

I hear you, Vivian.

My grandsons' world is far different from my own in many respects. While I bemoan the lack of time kids today spend outdoors, I am stunned by the rich learning experiences they have online. While I am appalled by the testing and political correctness of today's educational system, I am also in awe of some of learning experiences today's students have and am glad that corporal punishment is gone and that special needs students are not simply being warehoused. Many of today's television shows, movies and even YA books offend me with their shallow and course treatment of human beings, but I also recognize that the best stuff is far better than what I had access to as a kid.

So here are a few things I try to keep in mind...

1. Just because it is different, doesn't make it worse. I don't think anyone really knows how technology will impact the human race in the long run. We may be those obese creatures mindless slurping soft drinks in floating arm chairs as seen in WALL-E or a new race liberated from daily work who can enjoy a utopia free of need and violence. My bet is on some middle ground.
2. I have very limited control over societal and technical forces. As much as I may be fearful or resistant to change, some things are just plain out of my control. How I adapt to such things is more realistic than how hard I fight against them. (See These Horse Are Out of the Barn.)
3. Teaching good values is more important than ever. Regardless of the technologies we use to communicate and create, the ethical considerations made don't really change. The respect we show to others, to property and privacy, and to ourselves, seems little different to me whether in chat or in person.
4. The most successful children will be those who are challenged to use the tools of today, not be protected from them. More than anytime in the history of the world, learning, adaptation, reflection, and creativity are important to not just success, but to survival. We are handicapping children by not giving them opportunities to learn, to make "safe mistakes," and to develop technology-enhanced skill sets.
5. From my grandchildren's point of view, this is the best world ever. We chronologically-gifted folks do not do our children or grandchildren any favors by making them feel the world today is worse than the one we grew up in. I hope they take joy in being alive today. That this is the best of all possible times to be alive (and in many, many ways it is.) That while we should identify and work to solve today's problems, we should also recognize and rejoice in all the social and technological miracles we enjoy. 

I remember hearing Jennifer James, a social anthropologist, speak at a conference many years ago. She said that there is a reason that many older people often complain that "the world is going to hell in a hand basket." It's simply because that for most of us at some point recognize our own mortality, that we accept our time on earth is finite. When that happens, it is more psychologically acceptable to be leaving a world that is getting worse than one that is getting better.

 Next time something new comes along, ask yourself, "Is it worse - or simply different?" 

Image source

Words of wisdom from Mike Eisenberg

... the library is everywhere, not just in that room with books and shelves and computers and tables - Mike Eisenberg 

Posted to LM_Net on March 23, 2013 and republished here with permission:

Greetings LM_Netters!

It's been a while since I've posted, but I do continue to lurk.  But I HAD to post about this development and opportunity.

The school library field continues to experience a slow and painful decline in many states and communities. I won't go into the reasons, rather let's focus on some solutions.

1. focus on the core mission: to ensure that students are effective uses and producers of ideas and information.
2. focus on the 3 major roles: information literacy instruction, information management, reading advocacy.
3. think digital, electronic, and technology.  Yes, certainly we should continue to develop and promote print collections for fiction, stories, easy books, biography - anything that would be read cover to cover. But, the action is digital-electronic-online. We are central to that.
4. engage other faculty and administrators in decision-making about priorities for the program. I'm not talking about collection development or purchases; I'm talking about prioritization in terms of the 3 functions and what the library information and technology program should be emphasizing.
5. stop running around after the "fad of the month" - focus on our core - information literacy, information management, reading advocacy.

Then - when we see a development that is in our "sweet spot" - we should grab it!  For a few years, I've been talking about helping to ease the home-to-school technology connection. We should inventory what technologies the students have at home, what they might bring to school if we allowed them, and what operating environments are common (including gaming devices). Then, as part of our information management role, we can work to integrate the various systems so that classroom teachers are able to build instruction around them. I'm not saying this is easy - but that's the good news!  As a field, we can seek solutions and share information about how to integrate (cloud services, web-based functions, even using smart phones) - and help to create a common baseline in our schools, districts, and states. And, then we can work on the digital divide issues - providing access and devices to students who do not have them at home.

This is finally hitting the popular press - http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/technology/in-some-schools-students-bring-their-own-technology.html?pagewanted=all - but there are problems. Again, that's great news for us - for teacher-librarians and our programs. If we can lead in providing solutions and overall information management of the systems, we have a very powerful and important role to play.  It's not a new role - information management of library collections and access to materials has always been part of the role of the library program.  But, we have often limited our scope to the "library" and not assumed responsibility for other learning resources (e.g., textbooks) or locations (e.g., classrooms).  Now is the time to expand our horizons - the library is everywhere, not just in that room with books and shelves and computers and tables, etc.  Teacher-librarians can and should facilitate use of information systems throughout the school.  Others do this now?  IT staff?  Great - work with them, but don't under-estimate your possible contribution as seeing the big picture in terms of needs, connections, and solutions.

We can rise to the challenge - but we must be willing to downplay some traditional functions that are no longer mission-critical to the school (yes, like non-fiction print collections) and focus on functions that are - like having every student to have usable devices to access the world of information and knowledge.

Thanks for listening,

Mike Eisenberg
Dean Emeritus and Professor
The Information School of the University of Washington

I could not agree more. (My thoughts on BYOT (BYOD) and libraries appeared in a Head for the Edge column last fall.)

I was particularly struck by Mike's advice not to keep running after the "fad of the month." Yes, it's a balancing act between staying current and living in fear of falling behind. (How much time and energy do I invest in that new social networking tool, search engine, nifty little device...?) 

BYOT, however, is going to be with us for a very, very long time. Figure out your library's role in it.

Thanks, Mike. 

My backlist

Your history of work is as important as the work you'll do tomorrow.
                                                                                                 - Seth Godin

In a post from last Thursday, marketing guru Seth Godin talked about backlists: the body of work once reserved for authors and musicians that now everyone builds when publishing to the Internet. It's what we in education have come to call one's "digital footprint" - a term usually accompanied by stern admonitions for students to be conscious of the footprints they are leaving.

While a negative online reputation can be damaging to one's career, I don't think we stress with students or teachers the benefits of a positive online reputation. Godin predicts:

Two things are going to change as you develop a backlist:

• You’re going to become a lot more aware of the posterity of the work you do. It’s all on tape, all left behind. Just as you’re less likely to litter in your own backyard, the person aware of his backlist becomes more careful and civic minded.
• You’re going to want people to pay attention to your backlist... in my case, the free videos, various ebooks and printed things I've done over the years. In your case, maybe it's your blog, or the projects you've built or the reputation you've earned.

This is a strange weekend for me with no columns due, no book chapters to proof, no presentations looming, and no grandchildren to help babysit. The weather doesn't permit much outdoor activity. Sort of scary to have all this open time in my schedule.

So, at Godin's suggestion, I thought I'd look at my "backlist." To date, I have:

• Published nine books (two of which are second editions)
• Published 126 articles, editorials, and book chapters
• Published 236 columns in eight different publications
• Posted 1,983 blog posts on the Blue Skunk
• Given around 600 presentations, keynotes, and workshops for around 200 schools and organizations.

When I first started publishing on a regular basis, back in the early 1990s, I created what I jokingly referred to as my "vanity" file - a copy of every magazine and book in which something I wrote was published.

Here's what that looks like now:

Already filed. I need more storage boxes.

Yet to be filed.

The old saying "Avenge yourself: live long enough to be a problem to your children" comes to mind when I look at this stuff. I hope when die, my children have absolutely no problem heading to the recycling bin with all these magazines - and can find a use for the nice storage containers.

The other question that popped into my head is "Can writing be a form of mental illness?" Would a rational person have authored this much stuff? I have published roughly 4,000 pages of professional commentary - roughly 200 pages a year for the past 20 years. (It doesn't sound as bad when one realizes that's only 4 pages a week.) Is hitting a small white ball with a long stick in hopes of getting it in a tiny hole a long distance away more sane? Watching heavy steroid users bash into each other over the possession of a pigskin ovoid for hours and hours? Raising zucchinis each year that will rot or become a nuisance to the neighbors? Pasting things in a scrapbook?

Ah, well. The subject of another post - or column or book...