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Why We Don't Talk To Each Other Anymore

The De-Voicing of Society

About The Book

We Have Arrived at the Information Age -- But Not in Person
E-mail, voice mail, fax machines, beepers. Technology is overwhelming us with information, driving out the sound of human voices. We have gained the advantage of nearly constant interaction with others but make only partial connections; in the process, we are losing something precious. In this witty and intelligent book, prominent psycholinguist John Locke takes a hard look at what we are really missing as intimate forms of self-expression vanish.
Talking is the way we build and maintain relationships. Talking is the way that we learn to trust one another. But we now spend our days exchanging electronic factoids, leaving us little time to "just talk." Without intimate conversation, we can't really know others well enough to trust them or work with them harmoniously. We even lose track of our own selves -- our sense of humor, our own particular way of looking at things. We become lonely.
Keenly perceptive and though-provoking, Why We Don't Talk to Each Other Anymore is a provocative look at how we live with -- and without -- one another.

About The Author

John L. Locke is a biolinguist who has contributed to the understanding of language development and the evolution of language.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster (August 31, 1999)
  • Length: 256 pages
  • ISBN13: 9780684855745

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Raves and Reviews

Bruce Headlam The New York Times A lot of what Locke writes about...will make emotional sense to anyone exhausted after a day of pages, phone calls, e-mail messages and talk radio.

Jay Walljasper Utne Reader A level-headed look at how contemporary society is in danger of losing the most basic building block of human civilization -- spirited conversation.

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