Life With Texting

Life plus texting. What it means when we’re physically together but off in our own online worlds.

You’re sitting down for a nice intimate conversation with an old friend, or a new one. And suddenly you realize that while they’re talking with you, they’re texting. They’re with you — and somewhere else. Both.

Or you’re home in the family room and suddenly notice it’s a little quiet. Everybody, the whole family, is on a separate screen. Texting, gaming, reading e-mail, on the laptop, the iPad, tearing into a smart-phone app. Everybody’s there, but not there. Together, but not together.

This hour On Point: life and connection — many connections — in the digital jet stream.

Guests:

David Gerzof Richard, professor of social media and marketing at Emerson College. He is chief executive founder of BigFish, a marketing and branding firm. William Powers, author of, “Hamlet’s Backberry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age.” Sue Shellenbarger, creator and writer for the Wall Street Journal’s “Work and Family Life” column.