by MIA FREEDMAN
On Wednesday 27th of February Publisher Mia Freedman addressed the Sydney Institute on the topic of the Changing Face of Female Communication. This is what she had to say.
PART 1: AUSTRALIAN WOMEN AND ONLINE COMMUNICATION
It’s become the en vouge thing to trash the Internet and what it does to our brains, particularly our children and young people’s brains. Somehow, the idea that a wealth of information and a world of communication is only a click away has become corrupted.
We hear discussion of shortened attention spans, brought about by our thoughts being confined to only 140 characters. We hear criticism that depth of thought, introspection and personal reflection have all but disappeared, as we live our lives increasingly online and not in the real world.
Selfie, anyone?
We are told that our appreciation of sources with integrity is being compromised, as we turn instead to what is nothing more than an uneducated thought bubble on a screen. We are told that our relationships with each other have become less meaningful, as they are reduced to a series of emails, Facebook shares and Instagram ‘likes’.
Parents are warned that we’re raising a generation of socially awkward, socially isolated, socially uneducated, socially phobic loners who cannot read facial expressions or body language and who would rather tweet to the person on the other side of the couch than talk to them with their actual voice.
Top Comments
Thank you for an informative and thought provoking speech. I feel you are taking womens education in positive directions. Mamamia articles are well written, topical and fun. Your voice is fresh and fair.
Hi Mia,
Great sentiments here and all very true. You should be very proud of what you have created.
I just have one question please. I realise that your site has to be viable and able to pay the 20+ staff you have.
So, what i am wondering is how does the site make money? Is it all from advertising?
I have been wondering this for a while as we obviously dont pay a membership fee.
Thank you.
:)
Good question anon.
I wonder this too...