Warisse Turner, Jeanine

English

epublications@Marquette

Conversations on Jesuit Higher EducationVolume 41 Faculty Life Issues Article 359-1-2011Talking Back: Real Presence: Challenges andOpportunities for a Wired Generation: CanMedicated Conversation Lead to MeaningfulDialogue?Jeanine Warisse TurnerFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversationsRecommended CitationWarisse Turner, Jeanine (2012) "Talking Back: Real Presence: Challenges and Opportunities for a Wired Generation: Can MedicatedConversation Lead to Meaningful Dialogue?," Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education: Vol. 41, Article 35.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol41/iss1/35Conversations 59Students trickle in to alarge lecture class at aUniversity. They sit down,pull out their phones andbegin texting. The profes-sor arrives and some tryto hide their phones whileothers sit them on theirdesk. Time between classes used to bean opportunity for conversation in theclassroom, it now provides the oppor-tunity for conversation outside theclassroom. While physically togetherand proximately close, where and withwhom are these students most present?Communication used to primarilyrequire primarily physical presence.Letter writing and later telephonesallowed communication to take placeover distance, but the primary way weconceived of presence was throughphysical presence. The “best” way tocommunicate was face-to-face. As newmedia applications like social network-ing, texting, and video chat providemore options for connections, the con-cept of face-to-face communication asthe ideal communication is changing.Now physical presence seems muchless relevant, or even desired.Father Nicolás touches on thiswhen he spoke of the “globalization ofsuperficiality” suggesting that immedi-ate access to information and audiencescan create superficial relationships(Conversations 40, 2011). FatherStephen Kuder also underlines thedebilitating effect that mediated com-munication can have on relationships(Conversations 31, 2007). ProfessorHarrison responds to these concernsabout superficiality and disconnect byembracing the opportunities offered bya mediated world, asking the question,“To what extent should the Jesuit edu-cation system be re-designed to avoidthe pitfalls of superficiality and takeadvantage of the benefits that exist forengagement in the modern technologi-cal world?” (Conversations 20, 2011) To think through this question, Ihave reflected on what presence meansand how prayer can help us understandmediated interaction. I am an associateReal Presence:Challenges and Opportunitiesfor a Wired GenerationCan mediated conversation lead to meaningful dialogue?By Jeanine Warisse TurnerJeanine Warisse Turner is an associate professor teaching communication, culture, and technology at Georgetown University.1Warisse Turner: Talking Back: Real Presence: Challenges and Opportunities for a WPublished by e-Publications@Marquette, 201260 ConversationsTalking Backprofessor at Georgetown University andI study presence and research uses ofcommunication technology. In Augustof 2010, I participated in an Ignatian19th Annotation Retreat. Over the sub-sequent 10 months, I prayed daily forthirty minutes, met weekly with a spiri-tual advisor, and met monthly with agroup of individuals experiencing theretreat with me. The biggest anxiety Ihad leading up to the retreat was whereI was going to find 30 minutes in myday and what I was going to do withthat 30 minutes. Over those ten monthsof Ignatian prayer, I gained a deeperunderstanding about what communica-tion and presence means, both in myrelationship with God and others. What is presence? Prior to thearrival of many of today’s communica-tion technologies, presence from acommunication perspective meantbeing in the same room with anotherperson, open to interaction with thatperson. The term hardly needed to bedefined because it was so obvious.Now we define presence as an experi-ence of feeling like the other person isthere, in the same space, even if she isnot. However, this type of perceivedpresence is not the same as communi-cating in person. Perceived presence requires a dif-ferent type of effort on the part of thecommunicators involved. Communicatorsfill in what is physically absent. In somecases this can help commu-nication. For example, manyparents have suggested thatthey have a better conversa-tion with their teenagersover text messages than theydo when they share a din-ner. Maybe in this case, eachcommunicator is given thefreedom to imagine the com-munication partner the waythey he would like that per-son to be. Each person canenvision an accepting andloving communicator. Theteenager isn’t rolling hereyes, and the parent isn’tshaking his head disapprov-ingly. This imagined audi-ence can help the relation-ship because it allows somecommunication to take placethat normally might not. However, over time,when communicators areonly interacting in mediatedspace, the lack of visual cuescan lead to misunderstand-ings on the part of bothcommunicators taking a tollon the relationship.Individuals who know eachother via distance technolo-gies may overemphasizecharacteristics held in common andignore differences, making it harder ormore awkward to establish or maintaina relationship. Without real time, in-per-son feedback, our communication canrevert to rote, disconnected, and com-partmentalized communication. Wedon’t share the same physical space ortime. We are often asynchronous (notat the same time), meaning we send amessage but do not get immediate feed-back like in a real-time conversation.The message comes later. As a result,we juggle messages like balls. We askfor a report. We comment on a discus-sion thread. Conversations become aflurry of messages crossing in cyber-Students at Santa Clara University.2Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, Vol. 41, Iss. 1 [2012], Art. 35http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol41/iss1/35Conversations 61Talking Backspace. We can send out thirty messagesrelated to work or home, involvingfunny, sad, encouraging, and disap-pointed content within a span of 20minutes. Throughout, without in-per-son cues, we can always imagine therecipient the way we want to, whichgives us more agency as speakers. Wecan engage in multiple conversations atonce and be judicious about what wereveal and when. We convince our-selves that we are attentive and pres-ent—enough—but are we really?So what does this have to do withprayer life? Prayer is the ultimateexample of a mediated experience withanother. Prayer is a medium for com-municating with God. Interestingly, thistype of communication with God canhave many similarities to our mediatedcommunication today. We pray whenwe need something or when we are sadand need support. We pray whensomeones friends are sick and we wantthem to get better. We pray when it isSunday and we think we are supposedto pray. We send asynchronous mes-sages in short bursts, instigated by ourneeds.The decoupling ofmessage and physical presence influ-ences our perception of our audience.We no longer receive physical cuesrequiring immediate attention; we arenot in listening mode but constant sendmode. Listening mode is very different.Listening requires the suspension of ourperspective and concentration onanother’s so that we can find under-standing. Active listening means that weunderstand the message and needs ofour audience on their time rather thanours. It requires attention, focus, andpatience. Just like prayer. Listening to God requires waitingfor an answer in God’s time rather thanours. Listening in prayer requires atten-tion, focus, and patience. In theSpiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius invitesus to imagine our Divine audience bythinking about the sounds, sights,smells, and textures surrounding theGospel stories. This imagination helpsan individual create a concrete physicalcontext for a relationship with Jesus.Just like a face-to-face meeting providesnonverbal cues from communicatorsthat inhibit both individuals from anidealized relationship, the applicationof the senses attempts to bring a personin prayer to a more reflective settingthat inhibits an ability to assume a moreidealistic perception of God.I learned that this imaginativeprayer requires concentration andeffort. It requires putting oneself inanother place in time to improve mydialogue with God. Whether an individ-ual uses this Ignatian approach to spir-ituality, or another type of prayer, arelationship primarily developed out-side of physical presence (just like anyrelationship) takes time, attention, andpatience. Without this time, attention,and patience, prayer can become rote,disconnected, and compartmentalized. Presence can be difficult. My difficul-ty in concentrating for thirty minutes aday gradually became easier. I felt morepresent with God. Sometimes I felt thatpresence in the thirty minutes of prayerand sometimes I felt it hours later. Ifound that my communication with Godis often asynchronous and that I have tobe focused on my audience so that I canbe aware of God’s reply when it comes.Presence is not about me demandingGod’s attention or my daughter’s atten-tion or my husband’s attention.Presence in prayer and in all communi-cation is created by the communicatorsinvolved but requires a focus on theaudience, their needs, and theirresponse. The ease of anytime/any-where communication can make usthink that sending a message is thesame as communicating a message. Myyear of reflection taught me the impor-tant roles of waiting and listening.Mediated communication can pro-vide the context for meaningful dia-logue, but may require even more focuson audience and dialogue than whenwe share physical space. Maybe ourattention to our prayer life over theyears has been a precursor to the effortinvolved in making relationships workwith the advent of technology thatallows separation of people, messages,and space. And just as our inability tosustain strong spiritual lives can coincidewith a one-sided, compartmentalized,and efficient approach to our prayerlives, using this same approach in ourcommunication with others, whether inperson or across distance, can create thesame superficial relationships.Presence takes time—but we oftentake it for granted. Checking emailwhile talking to my son diminishes mypresence with him. Not taking the timedaily to reflect on my relationship withGod diminishes my presence with God.The retreat taught me about audienceand presence. Maybe remembering ouraudience will help us understandengagement, in the room and acrossthe globe. ■Conversationsbecome a flurry ofmessages crossingin cyberspace.3Warisse Turner: Talking Back: Real Presence: Challenges and Opportunities for a WPublished by e-Publications@Marquette, 2012

Talking Back: Real Presence: Challenges and Opportunities for a Wired Generation: Can Medicated Conversation Lead to Meaningful Dialogue?

https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1720&amp;context=conversations

Talking Back: Real Presence: Challenges and Opportunities for a Wired Generation: Can Medicated Conversation Lead to Meaningful Dialogue?

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

epublications@Marquette