TOUCH vol. 8 | Page 26

TOUCH Issue 8: Touch Technology: Friend or Foe? TOUCH TECHNOLOGY: Friend -OR- Foe? Why Touch Screens Actually Diminish Your Touch Vocabulary. By Daniela Goode In a world of ever-changing technology, it is amazing to see how phones, televisions and computers have evolved over time. Gone are the days where everything had to have a cord that attaches it to a power-source, cable, or network connection. The need to press buttons has even become nearobsolete, as touch screen phones, televisions and computers have now become common place. It really is wonder ful to see how many different things can be done from such small devices with a simple tap or swipe on the screen. What is interesting though, is how these touch-screen devices have also diminished our experience of the many dimensions of touch. I remember learning to type as a child, and figuring out how to find the ā€œFā€ and ā€œJā€ keys on the home row of the keyboard, using the raised surface as an indicator. From there, I learned the location of all of the other keys spatially, to the point of being able to type full words,