Study: Technology cannot replace nature

Seattle, April 02, SPA -- U.S. psychologists said humans might be
losers
if technological nature -- such as robotic dogs or Web cams viewing
nature
scenes -- replaces the real thing, according to UPI.

University of Washington psychologist Peter Kahn said technology
increasingly is encroaching upon human connections with the natural
world and that intrusion might
produce one of the central psychological problems of our times.
"We are a technological species, but we also need a deep connection
with nature in our lives," said Kahn, lead author of the study.
Kahn and graduate students Rachel Severson and Jolina Ruckert
studied the psychological effects of interacting with various forms
of technological nature.
One experiment showed people recovered better from low-level stress
by looking at an actual view of nature rather than seeing the same
view displayed on a high-definition television set.
Another experiment showed children in some ways treat robots as
other beings. But Kahn said compared with interacting with a real
dog, their interactions with the robots were not as social or deep.
The study is reported in the journal Current Directions in
Psychological Science.
--SPA
2345 LOCAL TIME GMT NNNN