Dear Editor: I have been thinking about all the non-technical elements of using Zoom for building community.
Mostly we talk about Zoom as “better than nothing.” I say plastic flowers are also better than nothing, but sooner or later, you want to throw them against the wall.
Right now, my meeting is contemplating: (a) using closed captioning for worship, and (b) recording adult ed sessions. Much of these conversations concern technical questions about the features of hardware and software.
We have been conditioned by the digital industry to think a “feature” is a good thing, and every question about computer usage is merely a question of technical mastery. But there are all kinds of peripheral questions that get stirred up with every innovation. For instance: If we are angry at other Friends in the midst of this intrusion of technology, why? How does the use of digital technology stratify us by levels of mastery / comfort, and how do we address that? How does a given innovation serve the purpose of drawing us closer to each other and Spirit, and what impediments does it create?
We miss each other if we talk about “technology” as a solution or a vexation without addressing these peripheral but inevitable elements. ~~~
– Paul Jolly, Strawberry Creek Friends Meeting, Berkeley, CA (PacYM)