Wow, people are really ready to announce the new era of “We will all now work from home and attend school online, which is what we should have been doing anyway!” I’ve seen a number of articles, particularly on LinkedIn, promoting the idea that coming together to work and learn in the same place is over-rated and driven by outdated practices.
Some of that, undoubtedly, is true, and this massive global upheaval gives us an opportunity to take stock and reassess. Issues of accessibility (socioeconomic and physical) are big inequities that we can all address by making changes in our understanding of who needs to be where in order to make work and learning move forward.
But.
But.
Humans crave connection, physical closeness, and community. We lose the serendipity of discovery and exploration when our every sentence is mediated through technology. Yes, I can exercise at home, but I’m not going to get to know the people at my gym, a wide group of people very different from me, if I do that. Yes, I can schedule a Zoom call with my team, but we won’t recreate the easy flow that allows deep creativity that we have when we’re in the same place. Yes, I can schedule pick-up of my groceries, but I won’t get to talk to the young person working as a cashier to save money for a trip to Tel Aviv.
Most of us control exactly who shows up in our Facebook, Instagram, and other social media. We can even control the news we receive. If we further curate our lives to limit who we interact with in the world, what will the outcome be? How will we know what we don’t know? How will we be challenged?
Tuesday April 21 at noon Eastern, Angie will be leading the How to Make Podcast That People Actually Listen To masterclass! It’s one hour, and totally free. More info here!
