Sensory isolation while being a prisoner of the information age.

The most severe punishment known to the human race is isolation. Consequently, that has been the punishment of choice by the captors of many prisoners of war. Those of us who have not been prisoners of war probably have not experienced such excruciating pain associated with total we may not escape being a prisoner the information age.

Sensory isolation has been the subject of numerous research projects showing that individuals began to hallucinate after only a few hours in a sensory isolation chamber that removes all stimulation from touching, hearing and seeing. It has been hypothesized that the hallucination is the person's attempt to provide self-stimulation - a form of communication, if you will. Now you may be wondering how could anybody be subject to sensory isolation while being bombarded with communication from the plethora of electronic gadgets. Keep reading.

We have the need to be psychologically "in touch" with other persons. Humans have always been social creatures. Millions of years ago the need was driven by survival. Groups banded together simply to stay alive, whether it was for the collection of food or fighting other groups. Indeed, this need has become inherent within every individual of modern society. Human beings have a strong need to be respected by others and to play a part within social interactions.

In addition to the need to be psychologically "in touch," we have a need to be physically "touched" by others. Medical doctors will tell you that skin has many physical responsibilities. It helps regulate temperature. It's the home for blood vessels and nerves. It also helps to contain our internal organs and fluids. The truth of the matter is, we would not be a pretty sight with our organs dangling from our bodies.

I don't intend to get you all excited, but the touch of skin upon skin is warm, comfortable and yes, it has a stimulating sensual quality. From a psychological point of view, touching another person is a reminder that we need other people. It illustrates the interdependent qualities of our needing one another.

Speaking of touch, several years ago a series of research projects with both human and chimpanzee infants found that infants who were not physically touched did not develop properly when compared to the control subjects who were touched. Some of the untouched experimental infants even died! Fortunately, such research had a short shelf life, but the psychological need to be touched is well documented. This brings us to the subject matter of this article - to be touched while at the same time being bombarded with information.

Today's world has been categorized as the Information Age. Yesterday, it was the fax machine. Today the computer has opened the door to a host of tools designed to facilitate communication - e-mail and the Internet. Tomorrow, what will we see?

Our new tools have had an instantaneous and positive effect. While we're rejoicing about the positive attributes of these communication advancements, we must remember a very important psychological phenomenon - positive attributes exist because negative ones exist and vice versa. Some of the negative implications are associated with the social needs of humans.

The impersonal nature of these communication tools represent a threat to our social needs of "being in touch." It may seem a bit contradictory that one could experience "a sensory isolation phenomenon" while being bombarded with electronic communications, but that threat exists.

My guess is that your computer is similar to mine. Neither one of them has much of a personality. Oh yes, you may fancy it up with eye catching screen savers, an array of sounds coming through the speakers and yours may be black instead of the traditional drab gray in color. You may write or receive interesting words and even take exciting journeys through the Internet world. But by itself, it's a machine. It has no personality. It doesn't touch you. It doesn't tell you how much it likes you. It only argues with you when you want it to do something it doesn't want to do. It's every function is dependent upon human touch. It is the lack of human touch in the high-tech world that must be attended to.

Thanks to e-mail, you can communicate instantly, and world-wide. A problem with e-mail is you only see what you get. As you know the written word is fraught with opportunities for miscommunication. Not being in touch with the sender eliminates the opportunity to read the non-verbal aspect of the communication, which is an important element to fully understand the received message.

A case in point is this article which we've written for Communication World. When we first communicated via e-mail concerning this article, we were not certain about its proposed subject. That necessitated a telephone conversation that has the advantage of communicating in real time and listening to another's voice.

The communication advances have given birth to a host of "stay-at-home" workers. The joy of not spending a couple of hours driving a car, fighting traffic, and throwing money out the exhaust is great. Instead, work flows to and from your home through the telephone wires. I also have the benefit of working at my home office. But, take it from me, this also has a downside of social isolation. It creates a syndrome that we might want to call "professional loneliness." In spite of the pleasures of working at home, i.e., listening to beautiful music, working with my assistant and being able to jog during the lunch hour, an emerging need is to have physical contact with my clients and colleagues. The strength of this driving force is positively correlated with the number of days I am "cooped up at home with my computer and other electronic communication tools." The bottom line is these fancy tools are no substitute for being with people!

The Information Age is also forcing a reliance on the mechanical ingredients of the age-old social value of trust. Traditionally, the important elements of trust are such things as being dependable, keeping people informed, allowing people to do their jobs and keeping confidences. In spite of the importance of each of these mechanical elements, you also know that it's easier to trust people you like. The psychological phenomenon of "liking" is strongly influenced by the personal chemistry that exists between two people. Such chemistry is based on what you see and hear. That requires you to be physically in touch. In today's impersonal world of communication, less opportunity arises to "see and hear" thereby requiring a greater reliance on the mechanical ingredients.

The social isolation can have another psychological effect on the basic human need to be liked. The reliance on communication tools can expand your electronic touch to those you don't know, while at the same time creating fewer opportunities to be in physical contact and liked by colleagues. As you probably are, I am now communicating with a host of other people (authors and speakers in my case) that I don't know. The impersonal nature of this communication will force an even stronger dependency upon your support network of family and friends for social acceptance.

Yes, I would be remiss if I failed to mention that many personalities could be described as "high tech and low touch." These folks will tell you they yearn for the solitude of their computers - to be left alone from the hassle and problems associated with "being with people." Funny thing about these folks, it may take a few additional days being "cooped up with their electronic gadgets" before the need to be in touch emerges, but it will surely emerge.

It would be a bit ironic if we were misunderstood while writing this article on communication. I'm not saying that humans will undergo a catastrophic psychological reaction caused by the multitude of impersonal communication advances, but I am asking you to realize that in all the excitement, glitz and glory of "High Tech," it is important to remember your basic human need of High Touch.

Larry Cole, Ph.D., is founder of Cole Training Consultants, Conway, Ark. He can be reached at [e-mail].

Michael Cole, M.A., is a graduate student in industrial/organizational psychology, University of Tulsa, Okla.