Alone Together by Sherry Turkle - Essay Example

REALISM: ALONE TOGTHER ‘Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other’ is a book on technology and its effects on our daily lives. The writer has partitioned it into two; the first half observes and explains human interaction with robots and the second half she deals with human dependence on the internet (Turkle).
Through a series of observational studies involving human interaction with robots – particularly children and the elderly – it is noted that humans established a connection with the robots (Turkle). These connections were formed at the expense of other human-to-human communication. Subjects in this study preferred the company of robots from that of other people or their pets.
The author captures our dependence on the internet by the incalculable time we spent on social media, text messaging, Blogspots and email. We use our icons and archetypes to share experiences in virtual worlds, communicate through instant messengers and email and publish news on blogs. All the while yearning for the delayed replies, ‘likes’ and ‘retweets’ that accompany such posts. The result is a population of constantly distracted individuals who hang on to their electronic devices being aloof their immediate environment (Turkle).
An expert in her field, Sherry Turkle is a professor of Social Science and Technology and a licensed Clinical Psychologist (Turkle). She spent fifteen years of quality research to compile this book. It is an accurate representation of day-to-day activities in our households, schools, communities and workplaces and therefore not a misguided rant of an alarmist Luddite.
REFFERENCE
Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other. New York: Basic Books, 2011. Read More