Recently, I received an email from a friend that included a video about the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park. What is the significance of this decision? Well, with the return of the wolves, who had been gone for over 70 years, the entire eco-system was altered. Due to the absence of the wolves the population of deer had gotten out of control and the deer were destroying the vegetation. With the loss of vegetation, the number of other animals decreased, the rivers and streams were altered because of erosion of the land. The wolves were reintroduced, and they began to attack and eat the deer. Vegetation began to grow, animals returned, rivers and streams were no longer impacted by the erosion, and the entire eco-system was vastly changed for the better. The lesson to be learned was that a balance must be maintained for the eco-system to survive.
Let me draw an analogy that is having a very significant effect on the human eco-system. Technology has become so ingrained in the everyday activities of all of us that we cannot leave home without our cell phone or iPad and we get into a driverless car that was built by robots. We click a device that closes the garage door, sets the security system, and turns off the lights in the house. We are taken to an office where we are admitted to the building by a mechanism that recognizes our face and unlocks the entry door. We go to an area that houses our computers, printers, and fax machines. We have a device on our wrist that is a small computer that allows us to never be without technological contact with other technological devices. This same little computer measures the number of steps we take, calculates the number of calories we eat, and gives us up-to-the minute calculations of our weight and body fat. Sitting at our desk, we communicate with others by email, fax, or text.
In addition to the above, we can use the Internet to do most of what needs to be done for us on a day-to-day basis. We can shop at the grocery store and have the groceries delivered to our door. We can contact a restaurant and be put on the waiting list for a table. We can order goods from Amazon or Walmart and they will bring them to our home and put them inside the front door. Communication with others is done through Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Education has also been altered by technology. An increasing number of classes are being taught to students located throughout the world. Complete undergraduate and graduate degrees can be earned never having been in a classroom. Tests are graded by a machine, not an instructor. Students are registered for classes by accessing the Internet. Libraries are becoming more and more unnecessary with the development of Google.
Although not exhaustive, all that has been noted has one thing in common—there has not been any human interaction. There have not been individuals communicating face-to-face with one another. There has not been the opportunity for one person to interpret another person’s facial expressions, gestures, posture, or other signs of non-verbal communication. Instructors have not been available for students to ask questions, and there is an absence of dialog between instructor and student and student to student. We are losing the ability as humans to interact with each other. As Albert Einstein is reported to have lamented, we will become so dependent on technology that we will no longer know how to engage in interpersonal communication. Have we gotten to this time? Is the “eco-system” out of balance? Witness the absence of interaction between family members sitting at a table in a restaurant having dinner. If it is a family of four, each of them, parents included, are engrossed in their cell phones. When classes are dismissed on the campus of a university, the first action of most of the students is to reach for their cell phone to check their email or texts, or to send an email or text. Do we need to reintroduce the art of personal interaction? What will be the price to humanity if we continue as we are going? We need to stop and reflect on the impact of the reintroduction of the wolves. What is the message inherent in this example?