A、Putting aside our phones when dining with friends. B、Creating a device-free conversation under all circumstances. C、Texting fr

M: What happens when we become too dependent on our mobile phones? According to MIT sociologist Sherry Turkle, author of the book Reclaiming Conversation, we lose our ability to have deeper, more spontaneous conversations with others, changing the nature of our social interactions in alarming ways. Today we’re glad to have Turkle with us to talk about her book and some of the questions it raises. So, Turkle I’ve learned that your new book warns that cell phones and other portable communication technologies are killing the art of conversatioa Why did you want to focus on conversation, specifically?
W: Well, because conversation is the most human and humanizing thing that we do. But my research shows that we’ve actually moved away from conversation in a way that is hurting us.
M: How are cell phones and other technologies hurting us?
W: Eighty-nine percent of Americans said that during their last social interaction, they took out a phone, and 82 percent said that it deteriorated the conversation they were in. If you put a cell phone into a social interaction, it decreases the quality of your talk as well as the empathetic connection that people feel towards each other.
M: So, why are humans so vulnerable to the temptation of the cell phones?
W: Cell phones make us promises that we will never have to be alone or bored, that we can put our attention wherever we want it to be, and that we can multitask, which is perhaps the most attractive of all.
M: One thing that struck me in your book was that many people said when online, they could be more careful with their responses, and that helped decrease interpersonal tensions. What’s the problem with that idea?
W: It surprised me to learn just how many people want to deal with difficult emotional issues by doing it online. But if you do that with your child, you are basically playing into your child’s worst fear— that their truth, their rage, their feelings, are something that you can’t handle.
M: Some studies seem to show that increased social media use actually increases social interaction offline. I wonder how this squares with your thesis?
W: I’m totally supportive if one uses it for taking baby steps towards meeting people. I’m more concerned about people for whom social media becomes a kind of substitute, whose self-worth and focus become dictated by how they are accepted and desired by social media. There are many situations where everyone is texting at the meal and nobody is actually talking about what’s really on their minds, and feeling connected to one another.
M: If technology seems to be everywhere yet can also cause a lot of problems, what recommendations do you make for keeping it at a manageable level without getting so hooked?
W: The path ahead is not a path where we do without technology, but of living in greater harmony with it. Among the first steps I see is to create a device-free conversation, that is to say, we should set a-side our phones for a conversation. When you have lunch with someone, don’t put a phone on the table between you two. Make meals a time when you are there to listen and be heard. We should learn to enjoy those human moments and the pace of conversation—for empathy, for communication, for affiliation.
W: That’s a wonderful talk, thanks for joining us.
M: Thank you. My pleasure.
6. What is the interview mainly about?
7. Why are humans so addicted to phones according to the woman?
8. How does the woman think of solving problems online?
9. How can we live harmoniously with technology according to the woman?
10. What is the woman’s attitude towards mobile phones?