Sherry Turkle says, “Technology is seductive when what it offers meets our human vulnerabilities. I believe that in our culture of simulation, the notion of authenticity is for us what sex was for the Victorian -- threat and obsession, taboo and fascination” (pg 4). By human nature, we are all truly vulnerable to ourselves. Through Alone Together, Turkle states how technology is something that has made a strong impact on society with many negatives and positives to follow. The author talks about how the idea of technology can be useful but also can be addictive. Over the years, it has advanced to a whole new level and from observations and experience, people seem to have become dependent on technological devices such as iphones, laptops, etc. However, technology is something that has impacted our generation and culture in a good way. It has helped many people and companies network and build connections with each other throughout the nation. I think that Turkle is saying that technology can have its ups and downs through how you choose to use it whether it is as an “obsession” or “fascination”. In my own experience, I can agree with the fact that technology has developed as a certain attachment to people in society. For example, I can barely go five minutes without looking at my phone. Even when I am in class, I always check to see if I have a text or see what games I can play. To connect with the service-learning portion of our class, I think that this relates to how we are not allowed to use any forms of technology when contributing our services to the community. Through participating at MCCS, it’ll help isolate myself from technology and focus fully on helping the kids.
Robotic Moment:
“Technology ties us up as it promises to free us up. Even when we are not ‘at work’, we experience ourselves ‘on call’…” (pg 13).
Technology has made a huge impact on our world. As advanced and connected it is, it is not necessarily for the good. Technology has kept us in a different state of mind and has caused us to consistently rely on it. Even when we aren’t using it for work or school, we still tend to always keep it close to us in our everyday lives. The author talked about a girl named Ellen who would communicate with her grandmother through Skype but had feelings of guilt because she was always distracted by her email, didn’t pay attention, and felt like she was “talking to someone who was not there”. This shows that having a face-to-face conversation takes away all technological distractions and lets people express their true feelings. Technology has become a big part of peoples’ lives and is swiftly advancing each and everyday. Regardless if we’re with our friends or doing homework, technology is somehow always involved.
Connectivity and its Discontents:
“Technology makes it easy to communicate when we wish and to disengage at will” (pg 13).
I believe that this quote explains the true essence of what technology has come to. Turkle indicates that technology has made it easy for people to communicate when they want to and when “disengage at will”. The author is stating that technology has given us the opportunity to avoid confrontation and fall back on communicating through technological devices. By doing this, people are disconnecting from reality and relying on technology for their problems. Rather than having a face-to-face conversation, most would rather just text. As connected as technology has made us, it has also disconnected us from our real selves and our relationships with others.
Romancing the Machine:
“On social networks, people are reduced to their profiles. On our mobile devices, we often talk to each other on the move and with little disposable time—so little in fact, that we communicate in a new language of abbreviation in which letters stand for words and emoticons for feelings” (pgs 18-19).
Through this quote, Turkle is suggesting that technology has taken over peoples’ lives. This indicates that people have changed the way they speak or communicate due to the impact technology has had on our world. Instead of actually using words or express our feelings, we tend to switch them with an “abbreviation” or “emoticon”. This connects with the idea that technology has changed the way we communicate with each other in being vague and using icons to hide our feelings.
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