By Rich Simon It seems astonishing that even just two or three decades ago, parents not only pretty much knew what was expected of them to turn their offspring into civilized adults, but they could actually count on society to back them up. Even more astounding, kids seemed to understand this, too. Even if they rebelled against, yelled about, or sullenly resented how “unfair” adults were, they seemed to acknowledge adult authority and realize that they would just have to wait until they turned 18 to get for themselves the keys to the kingdom of grown-up independence. 
Thursday, November 3You’ll learn what people are saying about how the blurring of boundaries between themselves and their computers, smartphones, and gadgets is affecting the way they think and feel, changing how they experience solitude, and impacting their willingness to risk face-to-face intimacy and friendship. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of how the machines that are supposed to serve us are reshaping our conscious and unconscious lives.
Sherry Turkle, Ph.D., is the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT, director of MIT’s Initiative on Technology and Self, and a trained clinical psychologist. She's the author of the groundbreaking books The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit; Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet; and, most recently, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. Web address: http://web.mit.edu/sturkle/techself. For more on Alone Together, please visit: www.alonetogheterbook.com.
Learning Objectives:
1. Discuss what new sensibilities are encouraged by always-on/always-on-you communication
2. Review the theories (psychological and sociological) that are most helpful when thinking about these
3. Name and list the potential dangers in contemporary parenting
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