The Irony of Presence and Absence in a Tethered World - Assignment Example

26 February The Irony of Presence and Absence in a Tethered World: Reacting to Turkle’s “Always On” The Digital Age offers numerous advantages of multitasking and simultaneous connection, but drawbacks tend to undermine these advantages. In “Always On,” Sherry Turkle argues that because of mobile communications technologies, people experience diverse benefits of multitasking, connectivity, and the ability to continuously work on the self; however, she believes that the greatest disadvantages of connectivity are inferior intellectual engagements and products and poor social relations with actual people. I agree with Turkle that tethered technologies offer benefits of multitasking, connectivity, and continuous self-development, but the irony is that the more people do simultaneous tasks, the less they achieve in terms of quality in their mental and social output; nevertheless, I believe that people can find a balance between the tethered and un-tethered self to enjoy a high-quality inner and social life. In the opening paragraphs, Turkle describes the proponents of cyborgs in MIT because they are the precursors of pervasive cyborg identities. Cyborgs are people who desire to be always on, always connected to others through mobile communication devices. People are cyborgs because they become their technology, where they expect enhancement of, not just their experiences and interconnections, but also their identities. Turkle argues that connectivity also allows people to experiment with their identity development through Erik Erikson’s notion of moratorium (152). She describes it as having new free spaces, where people can easily explore the production of ever-changing identities. Moreover, Turkle underscores the irony of using technology for one’s diverse gains. The tool becomes the person, as the person becomes inextricably dependent on it. Turkle argues that the more people use tethered technologies, the more they nurture their dependence on it (154). Furthermore, Turkle explores her hesitancy in embracing a virtually connected self. She admits that she enjoys being connected because she can bring memories with her anywhere she goes, and she can remain connected to her loved ones. However, Turkle recognizes the drawbacks of 24/7 connection: the inability to be disconnected when one should be so. In “Tethered and Marked Absent,” Turkle describes how technology connects and disconnects people from one another. On the one hand, communications technology connects people in real time. On the other hand, as they use these technologies, they become disconnected with whoever they are with physically. The disconnection includes having a sense of limitless privacy, as if others around them no longer exist. In “From Life to the Life Mix,” Turkle emphasizes how technology provides new materials for reworking people’s identities. She uses the term “life mix” (160) to describe the shift from multi-tasking to living parallel lives. She gives examples on how Second Life and other social networking sites allow people to be their real selves, even when these identities live in a parallel dimension, and where every aspect of its looks and capabilities are contrived. In “Multitasking and the Alchemy of Time,” Turkle discusses the illusion of multitasking benefits. First, multitasking does not make people more efficient because studies show the contrary. Second, multitasking becomes addictive, though it can be physically and emotionally stressful. She offers examples of parents not doing much parenting and students not doing much studying because of their mobile communications devices. Turkle is amazed that people think that they can be more by doing more, when it is evident that they can hardly concentrate on their existing tasks because of constant interruptions. The ability to engage in deep thinking is lost in a tethered society. In “Fearful Symmetries,” Turkle is concerned of how the “itself,” that outward connected self, results to the objectification of human beings. People can easily dispatch others through technology, although they feel connected to a larger group too because of it. Fearful symmetry comes from treating people as robots or objects that are alive enough to be used, misused, and deleted, depending on people’s needs and preferences. I agree with Turkle that tethered technologies offer benefits of multitasking, connectivity, and continuous self-development. Technology offers advantages of doing so much in one sitting. While reading class materials, I can download films and music videos online. I also check my Facebook and Twitter every now and then to get a break from my reading. When I am at a leisurely pace of reading, I check my cellular phone’s text messages too. I feel so productive because of these technologies. Moreover, by being always on, I feel connected to people who are not with me. I can connect to my family and friends who are in other locations. I can also virtually interact with my classmates and instructors. This is what Turkle means by not feeling alone, even when we are alone. Finally, I concur with Turkle that connected technologies provide materials for constant self-development. Self-development may be occurring for a parallel identity or identities, but it is a way of being more self-aware. For instance, when I update my Facebook status, I get instant feedback on what people feel about what I wrote. I become more aware of my ideas and opinions. Sometimes, I get into a discussion with my friends, and I am thankful when I change for the better because of it. For example, these online discussions have opened my mind to different religious beliefs and practices, without judging them as inferior to my religious customs. Technology enables me to understand my identity more, so that I can be a better person. Aside from personally relating to the advantages of technology that Turkle discusses, I believe that technology has alarming consequences to the quality of our thoughts and interactions. Turkle explores fearful symmetries, where she dreads the commodification of human experience and connections. I know what she means when she talks about the decreasing quality of our thoughts. Her example of Trey shows that people demand instant answers to questions from their agents or employees, as if they have the right to be constantly answered. As a result, people have to respond swiftly, often in language that is simple and not rich enough to provide accurate and valid answers. One time, I was working on a paper and my family members and friends must have suddenly decided to send me text messages or e-mails all at once. I felt pressured to answer them, however, because their concerns seemed so urgent. Some inquiries, however, I easily dispatched as banal. As a result, I could not understand what I was reading and my paper was poorly-written. Technology overwhelmed me, but more importantly, I let it overwhelm me, where I sacrificed the quality of my academic and social output. Turkle is right. I have become my technology with negative results. I cannot be the itself without sacrificing me too. Turkle emphasizes the consequences of technology on real human connections, which I also experienced. When I am on, I think that I am more connected with, not just my friends and peers, but with the whole world. Like Turkle, I understand that the irony is that connectivity is not always real. It can only offer a semblance of human connectivity, but it also sacrifices existing connectivity with those around us. A few weeks ago, I was with my mother in an artsy coffee shop, where she wanted me to experience the idea of connecting with others because of the artistic displays around and poetry reading in the background. People were, at least most of them, discussing with one another, art and literature. Coffee smelled great, as the salty ocean breeze whiffed the sounds of coffee, bread, cake, tea, and incense. All these scents and interactions were initially lost on me. I was on my iPhone, reading e-mails from my friends and peers and posting photos of the place and its artworks on my Facebook. My mother looked at me irritably and said: “What are you doing? You are not experiencing this!” She motioned her arms around to convey the physical sense of place. I mumbled sorry and said: “I was actually experiencing it, but not, not, oh well, sorry Mom.” I turned my phone off, but at the back of my mind, I was imagining my friends’ replies to my posts and photos and felt anxious. I wanted to respond to them. It took me some time to remove myself from my tethered identity and to connect with my mother. Unfortunately, by that time, it was midnight, and my mother had to go home and rest because she was not exactly feeling so well. She was not feeling well, but she made it to our date. She gave time to me. Looking back, I feel ashamed of myself. Turkle only voices her apprehensions for the tethered world, but not her resolution for it, where I believe that people can find a balance between the tethered and un-tethered self to enjoy a quality inner and social life. Society demands an always-on individual. The school is experimenting on it, the workplace is demanding it, either implicitly or explicitly, and the social world cannot exist without it, or at least it seems that way for many people. Technology is here and I will use it for my benefit. I just have to be clear to others that I have boundaries. I will use it only as I need it. I will use it to control multiple roles and responsibilities, but I will not allow it to dominate mine. I struggle in finding balance, but I will do my best. I will control these menacing tentacles of technology. Turkle asserts that technology is a double-edged sword. It connects and disconnects people at the same time. I agree with her that the irony of being always on is that the more people do simultaneous tasks, the less they achieve in terms of quality in their mental and social output. The more they connect online, they also get disconnected offline. While Turkle does not offer solutions to this fearful symmetry, I believe that I can balance my connected life with my “real” life. I can do this by setting boundaries on my connected self through decreasing dependence on it for accomplishing diverse social and academic tasks. I will also be present when I am with people, to the point of disconnecting my phone or turning it to silent. I must strive to be vigorously present, or else, I might soon be absent in many ways, absent in connecting with my inner self and others, who are all critical to a balanced journey toward a meaningful and engaging self-development. Work Cited Turkle, Sherry. “Always On.” Read More