Technology may connect us physically, but much remains to be learned about its ability to create emotional connections.

Author: Barbara Palmer       

We’ve long talked about how technology connects us, points out designer and researcher Pamela Pavliscak, a panelist at the technology conference Collision@Home, held online June 21-24. “But what we’ve meant by connecting,” Pavliscak told Convene, “is that technology reduces physical distance, or just that technology puts us in contact with somebody else.”

Now, with the widespread move to digital platforms in response to the pandemic, “it’s as if we’re a big experiment,” she added, one that’s demonstrating how technology can bring us together, but also highlighting its weaknesses. To really connect, “we need to be able to read nonverbal signals — the sensorial aspect of our connection, where we are part of a larger context,” said Pavliscak, author of Emotionally Intelligent Design. “We’re in an awkward phase. We have this technology, but it doesn’t really facilitate intimacy, emotions, or vulnerability. Maybe it doesn’t even facilitate empathy in the way we want it to. And how will we get it to that point?”

For full article - https://www.pcma.org/digital-events-awkward-phase-collisionhome/