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a. hindrance
f. limit
g. to wish or long for
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DAY 2:
For Conversation, Press # 1
by Michael Alvear
A funny thing happened in the way to communications revolution: we stopped
talking to one another.
I was walking in the park with a friend recently, and his cell phone rang,
interrupting our conversation. There we were, walking and talking on a beautiful sunny
day andpoof! ---I became invisible, absent from the conversation because of a gadget
designed to make communication easier.
The park was filled with people talking on their cell phones. They were passing
other people without looking at them, saying hello, noticing their babies or stopping to
pet their puppies. Evidently, the untethered electronic voice is preferable to human
contact.
The telephone used to connect you to the absent. Now it makes people sitting
next to you feel absent.
Why is it that the more connected we get, the more disconnected I feel?
Every advance in communications technology is a setback to the intimacy of human
interaction. With e-mail and instant messaging over the Internet, we can now
communicate without seeing or talking to one another. In making deposit at the bank,
you can just insert your card into the ATM. With voice mail, you can conduct entire
conversations without ever reaching anyone.
If my mom has a question, I just leave the answer on her machine.
As almost every conceivable contact between human beings gets automated, the
alienation index goes up.
I am no Luddite. I own a cell phone, an ATM card, a voice-mail system, and an email account. Giving them up isnt an option---theyre great for what theyre intended to
do. Its their unintended consequences that make me cringe.
So Ive put myself on technology restriction: no instant messaging with people
who live near me, no cell-phoning in the presence of friends, no letting the voice mail
pick up when Im home.
Readers Digest, pp. 143-145, July 2000
Questions:
1. Who is the speaker in the selection?
2. Why did the speaker feel that his friends conversation got interrupted?
3. Why did the speaker feel that he is invisible and absent from his conversation with his
friend?
4. What are the examples of technology mentioned by the author in the selection? What
are its uses?
5. What do you mean by the phrase the telephone used to connect you to the absent.
Now it makes people sitting next to you feel absent.?
6. What are the consequences brought by communications technology?
7. What is the authors view towards communications technology?
8. What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
9. Do you think using technology is beneficial for people in terms of communication?
Why or why not?
10. If you were in the authors situation, how will you get back you friends attention?
11. As a student, how will you make use of technology?
12. Do you think people should still use this kind of technology? Why?
DAY 3-4:
Task 8: Enriching Your Experience
1. Go back to the text For Conversation, Press # 1. Aside from the communications
technology cited by the author, what other technological advances in communication
deviate from human interaction? Reflect on the authors concern and how you use your
ICT gadgets without neglecting human interaction. Write your reflections in your
notebook.
2. Form five groups to work on the activities below.
Group 1 - Actors
In a role play, show the proper etiquette when using a cell phone and telephone.
(How should we deal with a phone call or text message when we are talking with
someone?)
Group 2 - Dancers
Through a dance, interpret a song that discusses the authors desire to have human
contact rather than the use of technology in communication.
Group 3 - Mathematicians
Make a computation of how much your weekly expenses allotted for load and phone
bills amount to. Think of how you can still use the technology but lessen the expenses.
Group 4 - Researchers
List the advantages and disadvantages of communications technology. Use the chart
below.
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
Unit
Advantages
Disadvantages
Telephone
Cell phone
Fax Machine
E-Mail
Voice Mail
Group 5 - Singers
Compose a jingle about communications technology highlighting its importance but not
losing interaction with others, and then sing it.