Nola Hennessy, Serenidad Consulting: Addressing the Changes in Human Interaction – The Downside of Technological Advancement

Addressing the Changes inHuman Interaction – The

Downside of TechnologicalAdvancement

A Presentation to theChild Online Safety & Protection Conference, March 3, 2014

byNola A. Hennessy, Managing Director/Member & CEO

Serenidad Consulting Pty Ltd (Aust) & LLC (USA)© 2014 Serenidad Consulting

Addressing the Changes inHuman Interaction..What we will explore today:

• ICT improvements over the decades – upsides and downsides tointerpersonal relationships and how children have been caught up inthe wave

• Changes in human interaction – real human contact and its value

• Facebook et al – are they really real?

• Information Management and the importance of privacy

• The apparent loss of 2-way communication and the subtle nuancesthat affect change and create adverse strategic outcomes

© 2014 Serenidad Consulting

Technology – our journeyThe way of the recent past (pre-1980’s):• Children communicating without reliance on technology• IT confined mainly to the workplace; PCs, email and other ‘comms’

introduced early-mid 1980’s; focus on data security and access control• I Spy with My Little Eye and travel time entertainment• TV (from 1950’s) and/or radio the center of the family’s entertainment

universe – but TV, is it reality or fantasy?• Children’s games and playtime involved some form of bodily movement,

strong hand-eye coordination, interaction with others (most of the time)• Pinball and slot machines – save your pennies• Focus: Physical fitness, fresh air, bonding with others, ‘friendships’, happy

one with nature


Technology – our journeyTransition period:

• 90’s: Game Boy, Nintendo, other video-based games moved out of thegame parlour and into the home – expensive but more convenient

• Shift in children’s site of play – outside to inside - more time spent alone• Shift in parental expectations and time available – inside deemed safer• Socio-economic shift - increasing disposable income• Introduction of the mobile phone• 2000’s: Societal shift to giving children want they want, when they want it• Along the way: no solid assessment and reporting of child and adolescent

health impacts– eyesight, sunlight and Vit D, lung fitness, GI tractperformance, cardiovascular health, musculoskeletal strength


Technology – our journeyThe now:• Keeping up with the Joneses at a whole new level – IPad,

IPhone, Smart TV, Bluetooth, DVDs in cars• Blackberry already seen as ‘out of date’• Public phone boxes rarely seen except in major locations• Telco’s push for phones to be self-centric; ever-decreasing

network access fees; tracking locations via phone’s GPS• Average home has at least 1 laptop or PC + internet access• Focus is on the technology, not human interaction• Speed of communication has replaced quality – acronyms,

sms, cryptic communication (leading to mind games)• Free and easy access to Social Media forums – Facebook,

Twitter, Myspace, Pinterest, Reunion sites – limited vettingand site security

• Parents and children using ‘safety and security’ as an excuse to equipchildren with their own phone

• Where did the rules of engagement and trust go? curfews, checking in,parents knowing where their children were and children wanting themto know


Personal Interaction - the Valuein Real Human ContactPositive human-to-human interaction generally involves eye contact;being in each other’s presence and staying wholly ‘present’ andengaged; a length of time that is freely given by the participants. It willresult in:

• Active Listening• Emotional Bonding• Soul Nurturing• Relationship Strengthening• Boundaries being easily seen and felt• No reliance on technology to drive the relationship• A relationship ‘context’ being established and a reduction in the likelihood

of mixed messages or ambiguity• Requiring the individual to be responsible and manage relationship risks• Immediate accountability for actions and words


Social Media – Facebook et al• Reality or fantasy?

• Parents’ role in teaching and reinforcing the difference – the imperative

• Are they and their influence any different to TV - c. 70 years ofconditioning?

• Access control and children understanding implications of use areparamount

• Information – once it’s out there, it’s out there

• Personal Power – with the child or the parent?

• But, reinforcing to children the value of sharing and communicating


Information Management:• Key is to teach children the principles of “need to know”

• Set boundaries for technology and internet access - age thresholds,access times, parental access to accounts, family rules forinteraction using technology interfaces e.g. if they can’t spell andexplain “technology”, should they be using it?

• What information is real, valid and useful?

• Conduct a risk assessment and involve your children in decisionmaking, setting and fixing the boundaries, and monitoring success

• Remember that people learn from making mistakes but applying thelearnings is the key to success

• Parental rights of control until age of legal adulthood vs legalaccountability for a child’s actions


The Importance of Privacy:

• Can your child explain what privacy is about and why it’s soimportant?

• Do they know what should be kept private? What are the family’sexpectations?

• Teach children to be discerning in their choices and self-checking -should that picture or comment go in the public domain?

• Teach children about the value of listening to their internal alarmbells – did they see something inappropriate and report it to you orthe technology administrator?

• Correcting information upload and privacy errors – speed,ownership/responsibility, managing information mismanagement byothers


Communicating using Social Media:• DOWNSIDE:

– essentially means ‘transmitting out’ or away by thesite/account owner

– doesn’t rely on feedback from others or conversationto be effective

– no system-driven expectation of engagement withothers

– allows negative behavior to manifest in words andactions e.g. poking, abusive or critical comments

– no system-driven legal or moral character-stringanalysis during the data entry phase

– encourages cyber stalking by virtue of there beingonly basic privacy and access filters

– ‘posts’ can sometimes be deleted after upload – butwhere do the deletes reside?


Communicating using Social Media:• UPSIDE:

– encourages staying in touch, even if the interaction isbrief

– enables speedy sharing of information – updates,photos, videos

– cost effective form of communication– generally gives the ‘communicator’ control of what is

shared, distributed, posted– some privacy controls to prevent unwanted contact,

visibility or access to personal information– self-managed visibility controls for some applications– national security and other government agency

access where required– application’s provider has statutory obligations


Subtle Nuances that AffectCommunication Outcomes:• Outgoing transmissions can be misinterpreted if context and

familiarity is absent

• Subliminal programming is commonplace – we need to break thecycle

• Talking “at” or “to” people places people on the defensive – best totalk “with”

• Facebook “poke” capability promotes antagonistic behavior throughsubliminal messaging of intent….can lead to full-blown bullying

• Users need to self-check and censor provocative language

• Get off the phone and internet………….walk and talk/visit instead


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Nola Hennessy, Serenidad Consulting: Addressing the Changes in Human Interaction – The Downside of Technological Advancement