OUR LESS THAN PERSONAL WORLD:PART II

I hope you enjoyed some "face time" with other people this weekend.

Certainly, the world of work has been dramatically affected by the internet. In the old days, resumes were hand carried or mailed whereas now thay are emailed. There was always a letter responding to a resume even if it was a polite, "not suited to the job..." reply. Interviews were always face to face whereas now the first few are by phone for reasons I don't fully understand since the interviewer time is the same whether it is a phone or in person visit.

Training and orientation were always classroom based, whereas now the internet and DVD's dominate. In addition, computer literacy was not a prerequisite for any job whereas now it is hard to think of one where that is not required. Communications were in the form of memos, phone contacts and meetings whereas now the internet and intranet dominate. Finally, presentations were handlettered on "flip charts" and done face to face, whereas now there is Power Point and the possibility of cyber meetings--some with video conferencing-- engaging people who can literally be sitting all over the world.

From an efficiency point of view it is all a many splendid thing. From a humanistic point of view it all seems to lose something as we go from face to face to seclusion. Just ask anyone who works from home in their boxers or nighgown. It can be the best of worlds as well as the worst. The lesson we learn is that for everything positive there is a cost and a consequence. That is the ying and yang of our lives. The question that remains is how far will all this go and how remote and secluded will people feel in the year 2025 and beyond? I guess by then there will be virtual therapists readily available to salve your wounded minds in a matter of minutes.

More on this tommorow.

Bye For Now,

Bill

www.williampenzerphd.com

954 475 1371 x 1
561 361 1898 x 1

check 3/17 blog to know our goals

OUR LESS THAN PERSONAL WORLD: PART I

Thinking about my park experiences last week let me to focus on how different our world is from the one in which I grew up. The 50' thru the 80's were highly personal and people based. Interaction dominated our culture in every way. Person to person contact was essential.

The virtual society that has been created lessens those contacts in almost every way. Richard Corliss, Time Magazine movie reviewer, speaking about Netflix,but quickly generalizing to our world recently said, " ....the lack of human interaction is the big problem with Netflix and its ciber-ilk. Thanks to the internet,we can now do nearly everything--working, shopping,movie-going,social networking,having sex--on one machine at home. We're becoming a society of shut-ins. We deprive ourselves of exercise...And we deny ourselves the random epiphanies of human contact." (8/10/09 p. 63)

As you travel through your weekend observe your social patterns. As you text and twitter away or check your face book postings or email enjoy all the efficient benefits and mourn all the lost human to human contact, so important to nourishing our psyches and our souls.

More on this subject next week.

Bye For Now,

Bill

www.williampenzerphd.com

954 475 1371 x 1
561 361 1898 x 1

check 3/17 blog to know our goals