DL 336

Algorithmically Plottable Emptiness

Welcome to Digitally Literate, issue #336.

🔖 Key Takeaways

Recalibrating Relationships: Post-pandemic connections are shifting as immersive tech reshapes how we engage.
Social Media's Shadow: Exploring the subtle ways platforms shape our behavior and society, often without our consent or awareness.
The End of Hack Education: A reflective farewell to one of the most influential voices in educational technology.

📚 This Week’s Highlights

1. A Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace

John Perry Barlow’s 1996 manifesto defied governmental interference in cyberspace, envisioning a decentralized, liberated internet.
Why this matters: As digital spaces evolve, it’s worth revisiting the ideals that inspired the early web and asking how we’ve drifted from them.

2. The Great Relationships Reset

Meta's research highlights profound shifts in personal connections, driven by technology and pandemic-fueled introspection:

72% of respondents reprioritized close friendships.
Immersive technologies are gaining traction as tools for deepening connections.
37% reassessed life priorities.
Why this matters: Understanding these shifts can help us design healthier, more intentional digital interactions.

Jonathan Haidt and Chris Bail explore the nuanced relationship between social media and political dysfunction in their collaborative review.
Why this matters: Distilling evidence from debates about social media’s effects can inform better policies and personal habits.

4. How the Internet Turned Us into Content Machines

A reflection on how the internet commodifies individuality, transforming it into “algorithmically plottable” behavior.

The more you use the Internet, the more your individuality warps into a brand, and your subjectivity transforms into an algorithmically plottable vector of activity.
Why this matters: This post challenges us to reconsider how and why we contribute to digital spaces—and what it costs us to resist.

5. The Case for Making Classrooms Phone-Free

Tyler Rablin advocates for limiting phone use in classrooms to improve focus and foster meaningful learning.
Why this matters: Creating boundaries around technology use can empower students to engage more deeply with their education.

6. The End of Hack Education

Audrey Watters bids farewell to her influential newsletter, but her critical lens on edtech will continue through personal writing.
Why this matters: Audrey’s voice shaped how many of us think about technology in education. Her insights remain vital as the field evolves.

🛠️ DO: Master the Art of Listening

The Art of Listening by M. M. Owen challenges us to cut through cognitive noise and truly hear others.

Empathic listening demands effort but signals care and connection.
Avoid the trap of categorizing or judging; instead, “put on” another’s perspective like a mental costume.
...the basic challenge of listening is this: consciousnesses are isolated from one another, and there are thickets of cognitive noise between them. Cutting through the noise requires effort. Listening well ‘requires that we get inside the speaker, that we grasp, from his point of view, just what it is he is communicating to us.’ This empathic leap is a real effort. It is much easier to judge another’s point of view, analyze it, categorize it. But to put it on, like a mental costume, is very hard.
Why this matters: Genuine listening is an increasingly rare skill in an age of digital distraction.

🌟 Closing Reflection

“Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.”
— Ian Fleming

Reflect and Engage

How can we reclaim digital spaces for genuine connection rather than performative content?
What lessons can we draw from Audrey Watters’ critique as we navigate the future of education?
How might intentional listening reshape our personal and professional relationships?

Thank you for reading Digitally Literate. Stay tuned for more insights and discussions. Connect with me at hello@digitallyliterate.net or explore Newsletter Index for all past issues.