An announcement from Barrett Bookstore:

Barrett Bookstore, in partnership with The Darien Community Association and The Darien Foundation for Technology and Community, is hosting an evening with Sherry Turkle at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 6 at The DCA, 274 Middlesex Road.

Ms. Turkle is the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT. A licensed clinical psychologist, she has been studying digital culture for over thirty years.

Her initial enthusiasm for the new technology has been tempered by a disturbing effect that has become increasingly evident over time.

In her new book, “Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age,” Turkle examines how we often find ways around conversation, tempted by the safety of a text or an email in which we don’t have to look, listen, or reveal ourselves.

At home, children compete with phones for their parents’ attention or are sated with a screen to keep quiet. A group of friends work to keep conversations going when only a few people look up from their phones.

At work, we retreat to our screens although it is conversation at the water cooler that increases not only productivity but commitment to the job.

But there is good news: we are resilient. Conversation cures. Based on five years of research and interviews in homes, schools, and the workplace, Sherry Turkle argues that we have come to a better understanding of where our technology can and cannot take us and that the time is right to re-establish personal connection and reclaim conversation.

Tickets are available at Barrett Bookstore or the DCA. The price is $5 for DCA members and $10 for non-members.

Refreshments will be served. Ms. Turkle will sign copies of “Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age,” and any books purchased at the event will receive a 15% discount.