Mobile Connection Technology and Social Relations - Essay Example

Technology is beneficial since it has revolutionized the way people connect they provide a lot of convenience due to ease of communication. People now rely on portable devices such as smartphones and tablets to connect with their friends, relatives, teammates, and even compatriots in their places of work. Instantaneous connections allow people to pass messages quickly regardless of where they are. However, mobile technologies are a hindrance to important one-on-one communication, therefore, they should be moderately used for the sake of building meaningful relationships.  

            The technologies are dangerous since they drive people away from normal conversations. These technologies make people indifferent to the people they are with physically since they rather communicate with others through mobile devices. According to Turkle, “technology-enabled, we can be with one another, and also elsewhere, connected to wherever we want to be” (1). This tendency leads to the loss in the value of face-to-face interactions, as people feel rejected by their mates who seem addicted to their communication devices. The use of mobile technologies enables people to snub the people close by. “We are together, but each of us is in our bubble, furiously connected to keyboards and tiny touch screens” (Turkle 2). However, the problem has become so widespread that everyone seems to use technologies to keep others away.

            The remote connections enabled by mobile technologies do not yield deep relationships. I agree with Turkle’s views that technologies are an avenue that people use to present an ideal image of themselves, which is unlike who they are. “Texting and e-mail and posting let us present the self we want to be. This means we can edit. And if we wish to, we can delete. Or retouch the voice, the flesh, the face, the body” (Turkle 2). The downside to this is that people end up not knowing one another hence they cannot meaningfully understand and connect.

            Consulting via technology does not yield answers that would fit the needs or concerns that people have. Turkle (3) states that “As we ramp up the volume and velocity of online connections, we start to expect faster answers. To get these, we ask one another simpler questions; we dumb down our communications, even on the most important matters.” Indeed, there has been an argument that with the emergence of smart devices, people have become dumped.  Moreover, people connect through online platforms without having the interests of one another at heart, therefore they may even offer misleading solutions. This would not be the case if the people related through normal conversations with people who they know.