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Perspectives on Socialization and Technology - Then and Now

  • Writer: Patricia Faust
    Patricia Faust
  • Apr 30, 2020
  • 3 min read

Way back in 2017 I found an article from 2014 – The Progression of Seclusion. This article was looking at old schools of thought when it came to technology and social connections. I was so surprised to see how our pandemic situation today was diametrically opposite of this thinking.

Socialization has been a critical piece of having a healthy brain and I have been diligent in presenting how important it is for our cognition. This article takes socialization seriously. I am going to list the statements on how TV and the internet are counterproductive to good brain health.

· In 1963, while the television was becoming mainstream into the homes of all Americans, poet T.S. Elliot warned:

o “[television] permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the same time, and yet remain lonesome.”


· As recent as 2000, Norman Nie, director of the Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society, found that

o “…for every hour people spent using the internet, their face-to-face contact with friends, coworkers, and family fell by 24 minutes.”

New research into face-to-face socialization shows that interactions play a key role in reshaping our brain, through ‘neuroplasticity’. Repetition and consistency can sculpt the brain shape, size and number of neurons and their synaptic connections. As explained, our key relationships can change our neural circuitry. We collectively are modifying not only who, but how we are.

· “We take on a toxic state simply by being around the wrong person at the wrong time…like secondhand smoke, the leakage of emotions can make a bystander an innocent casualty of someone else’s toxic state.”

(Daniel Goleman, Social Intelligence: “The New Science of Human Relationships”)


Socialization and Cognitive Function

Most modern online technology (2014 -remember?) offers varieties of nominal communication while the content creators are in actual social and psychological isolation. As Daniel Goleman writes:

· “This inexorable techno creep is so insidious that no one has yet calculated its social and economical costs.”

The Health Cost of Internet Isolation

Research has determined that social and personal relationships are important to our development. People with strong social relationships are 50% less likely to die prematurely. It is as beneficial as giving up a 15 cigarette/day smoking habit. Low levels of social interaction are equally as detrimental to your health as being an alcoholic and more harmful than not exercising and twice as harmful as obesity.

Social relationships further improve health by buffering our nervous systems from stressful situations and creating a normalcy of healthy behaviors. Most psychological processes that are linked with disease risk can be directly associated to the ties of social relationships. Having a strong support system is correlated with lower blood pressure, better immune system functioning, wound healing, aging, inflammation.

(Anthony Richardson, May 22, 2014)

What Happens Now?

The government has put forth a number of initiatives to alleviate chronic conditions:

· The Clean Air Act to fight pollution

· Health initiatives to fight obesity

· Campaigns to teens to not text and drive


As it turns out, low levels of socialization are more dangerous than all of these put together. Will there be a government program that leads us to positive social interactions?

(Adaptation of Anthony Richardson’s How Technology Has Created a Disguise of Socialization)

What’s Next?

We just read the compelling case of how heavy internet use was dangerous to us and our cognitive function. Here we are in 2020 and we have a pandemic that is mandating social distancing to slow the spread of the virus. Where are we as a society when we must stay home and maintain 6 feet of distance between each other. What will happen to our relationships under these conditions? How will our brain health, cognition, and mental health come out of this isolation? The toll of the pandemic has been heavy economically and with loss of life. Of course, these are the top most concerns as we try to figure out how to go forward. What will the secondary consequences of staying at home and being socially distant from our fellow humans?

As much as this virus has taken everyone by surprise, we will not know the complete outcomes of social isolation until the pandemic has run its course and we make attempts to find our normal life. The costs of this pandemic will be significant on many levels.

Reference:

Richardson, A. (May 22, 2014). How technology has created a disguise of socialization. The progression od seclusion. Retrieved from https://medium.com/neuroscience-internet/internet-friends-can-kill-yoy-885d9c94f841

 
 
 

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March was an unusual month for me.  Normally I work on articles, give presentations and generally just stay tuned to what is going on in the field of aging.  This month I “learned” a lot.  Last year I learned how to write a book.  At the time I took the course I thought it would just be a natural extension of all the writing I had done over the years.  WRONG!!  The actual writing of the book was the easy part.  Putting it together into a book was difficult for me.  The course gave me step by step lessons on constructing a book.  Then editing and formatting were just as challenging.  On June 7 last year the book was published!  It was one of the most satisfying days of my writing career. 

Naturally, when you self-publish, you do not have a publisher promoting the book and getting it in the right categories for best sales on Amazon.  That was crushing because I really didn’t know to appropriately market it.  I am a brain health person!  In December of last year, I purchased a marketing program that is based on statistics.  I am technical minded and so this approach made sense to me.  The course is almost completed.  Can’t wait to see if it improves sales!

The next step I am looking at is recording an audiobook.  This is another venture I knew nothing about.  But I am already tagged on Facebook for marketing of audio book programs.  Facebook picks up everything.  Now my husband was creative director for an advertising agency and when I told him I purchased another class – he couldn’t believe it.  “This was my business.  I know how to do recordings, why didn’t you ask me?” Well, I knew he was an expert in that business, but this audiobook needs to meet all the criteria that Amazon requires for publication.  So, he can take care of the recording part of this audiobook, and I will navigate the process of meeting Amazon’s requirements.  We worked on the book together like this. 

Then I talked with some coaching experts on the viability of starting group teaching programs.  Reading The Boomer Brain book and implementing the Brain Healthy Lifestyle have two entirely different outcomes.  This lifestyle is important to maintaining high cognitive function throughout the later years of our lives.  Look for updates as to when I will roll this program out.

My last learning endeavor was attending a two-day bootcamp for Speakers.  I am really excited about what I learned there.  That is a late this year or next year project, but it is one I am really looking forward to.

 

What Is Happening in April?

The American Society on Aging is having their annual conference in Orlando Florida April 21-24.  This is the largest multidisciplinary conference on aging and the annual conference for Members of ASA.  I have attended a number of these conferences throughout the years, and it is consequential.  Keynote speakers and special events are focused on combating ageism in our society.  Although this is a professional meeting, the attendees come from all aspects of aging services.  They have their work cut out for them this year!

April is Stress Awareness Month.  We should be aware of stress every month and understand how we can break the stress cycle.  These are stressful times, and we need to protect ourselves

Here is a positive one “April is National Volunteer Month”.  When I am working with new retirees who don’t know what to do, I talk to them about volunteering. It is important to have a purpose after you leave the workforce.  There are so many nonprofits who need help in all aspects of their organizations.  It is a perfect way to give back.

Finally – It was Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds – the oldest major league team in the nation.  Cincinnati takes that responsibility seriously.  There is always an Opening Day Parade through downtown to the Ball Park.  Huge crowds line the streets and every year there is talk of making it an official holiday.  Schools and employers look the other way when there is an empty desk.  No matter what the outcome of the game is, there is so much joy, and you can feel that energy.  I am fortunate that I get to experience that.  We all need some joy right now. 

Enjoy your April.

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