There’s an interesting study out on internet usage, by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. It sheds light on, and has implications for, the work you and I do.
What does it say? Surprisingly, people who use digital technology and social networking—email, blogs, twitter, text messaging, etc.—tend to have wider social networks that those who don’t. Rather than restricting our horizons and interactions, digital technologies are expanding them.
Maybe we’re not bowling alone. Maybe we're just goinging to a different bowling alley.
So, what does this mean for us? Probably a lot of things; so far I've only ve figured out a few.
I was in Chicago last month. A highly-experienced principal I met with won’t hire teachers who don’t use email. Her reason is simple, and sensible: she’s using email more and more with her teachers, and she’s asking her teachers to communicate with parents that way too. Without email, a teacher is cut off from these conversations.
And there’s another benefit to her rule, something more profound: imagine a teacher who has made it to 2009 without a computer, without email, without the resources of the internet that we take for granted (think about Google alone!). How broad is their perspective? Do they know what’s going on in the world? And what messages—what role modeling—does that provide our children?
The Pew study tells us that people with social networking skills tend to reach out more often beyond their immediate family, and their immediate community. They have a wider array of conversation partners available to them. They interact with others who are geographically, socially, and intellectually more diverse. They hear a broader range of viewpoints; they have opportunities for a richer set of experiences. And, they can bring that breadth and richness to our children.
By itself, that would be enough reason. But there's more.
Technology will keep marching forward. Some day, maybe soon, we won’t be able to imagine hiring a teacher without a personal webpage. Or maybe a blog. Maybe a Twitter account.
(Now, not everything’s for everyone. I’m not much of a Twitter guy—having gone to law school I’m pretty much unable to express any coherent thought in 140 characters or less. But it’s great for other things, and emails and blogs are a great way for me to enrich my community. And maybe someday I’ll learn to use Twitter effectively as well.)
The Pew effort is a reminder to all of us—we need to keep moving forward with technology. Not just to keep up with the kids; not just to be able to appear to be hip or have “street cred.” (By the way, according to Jessica—our Behrman House street cred assessor—mine is in negative territory!) It’s also so that we can have a rich, diverse set of conversations and experiences, in order that we may become wiser ourselves, and help convey that wisdom to our children.
