D

We are a social animal. Indeed, it is our sociality-such as the ability to make sense of each other, to communicate, to work cooperatively and, finally, to create culture-that marks us off from other animal species.

But then why are we everywhere striving to increase our isolation and limit our contact with others? As musician David Byrne argues in an essay published last month, it is a striking fact about the new technologies that have so come to shape our lives, that they have precisely this effect: they limit our need for human contact. Online shopping? Check. Automated checkout? Check. Ride hail apps? Check. Efficiency is the key. We purchase efficiency by limiting the human aspect, known as "autonomous operation". This is perhaps even more pronounced with new technologies on the horizon. Take the MOOC, the teacher-less virtual classroom. As Byrne notes, this is meant to deliver the values of a learning environment without, well, without the environment-you get to stay at home-no teacher, but also, no fellow students.

Byrne isn't claiming we are consciously choosing to isolate ourselves. We shop online because it is convenient. The absence of contact with others is a side-effect. Maybe even an unavoidable one, as one of the things that makes online shopping so easy is precisely the absence of contact with other people.

But Bryne's thought is that whatever our intention, the tendency of our tech to isolate us may be a feature, not a bug. His hypothesis is that we actually, at some level, crave (渴望) the increased isolation and we are actually making technologies to satisfy impulses that, in some way, go beyond-or against-our social nature. But I wonder, is this really new?

Even if we are social by nature, and do everything we can to embed ourselves socially, the need to find ways to be alone is, well, nothing new. It's also striking that the very activities that risk separating us-in the old days, books, newspapers, TV; nowadays, the latest apps-also connect us. We read about each other. What we read gives us information to share with each other.

I am well aware of the data that shows the more time you spend on social media, the sadder and more isolated and envious you feel of others. But how novel is the isolating effect of social media? Being there reminds me a lot of what it was like to be social in high school-you have a vivid sense of your status and your standing in relation to others, and you have to deal with that.

This may be isolating, sure. But it's the isolating face of the social lives we've always had. It is isolating because of the ways technology brings us into real contact with others, not because it removes that contact.

I wonder whether more isolation is a real option, after all.

31. Which of the following best reflects "autonomous operation"?

A. Getting a toothbrush via a hotel delivery robot.

B. Teaching mom how to establish a smart home.

C. Seeking help by calling human customer services.

D. Having an online meeting at home with colleagues.