Human Communication And Modern Technology - Essay Example

 “Always On” Alone Together documents the research of Sherry Turkle, a clinical psychologist and professor at MIT, regarding the relationship between the people of today and the many technological devices keeping them constantly occupied. (NPR) In Chapter 8, “Always On”, Turkle claims that devices such as mobile phones, apps, etc. have made people become connected to others but at the same time isolated in their own physical world, apart from even those individuals just standing next to them. She also proposes that technology has made people enjoy leading more than one life and that it has made people adopt the concept of multitasking even more. Finally, Turkle says mobile phones, the Internet and the virtual world have caused people to live their lives in a paradox. I have to partially agree with the author’s position. First I will present a summary of her thesis and then evaluate her ideas. “Always On” of Sherry Turkle’s book Alone Together is presented in five different parts. In the opening paragraphs, the author likens MIT researchers she met in 1996 to cyborgs as they were constantly walking around with their electronic devices. She describes how these young people felt more comfortable around others thanks to the gadgets that were on them. Later in the section, Turkle explains how the generation of today has become ‘cyborg-like’ with their smartphones and technological devices, becoming what used to be considered alien in 1996. In “The New State of the Self: Tethered and Marked Absent”, Turkle (143) explains that people of today cannot be separated from their devices. Everyone is tethered or attached to their lives and activities even if far away from home. Thanks to connectivity through mobile phones and e-mails, people feel at a loss if they are not able to check the Internet or receive text messages. Another point Turkle presents in this section is that people who are busy on their devices are truly not in the space they are occupying because their minds are on the conversation on their mobile phone, the e-mails, their avatars, etc. The next section “The New State of the Self: From Life to The Life Mix” discusses how some people live their real life while simultaneously discovering and living another life on the Internet. Life mix, according to one of Turkle’s subjects, is the combined online and offline life of an individual. (Turkle, 148) The author shares how people who develop or create a virtual life do so to escape from the disappointments they have in their real-life. Also, virtual life provides for these people a place to be what they always wanted to be or have what they only wish they could have. In the virtual world, individuals present themselves as different persons. With technology as a mask, they are free to express themselves to others in a way they cannot express themselves to their family or friends who share the same physical space. The third section of Chapter8 talks about “multitasking and the alchemy of time (Turkle, 150).” The author shares that multitasking has become what characterizes living with technology. From the classrooms to the home, technology has changed the individual’s idea of time because in this age one can juggle several tasks all at once. Moreover, everyone expects results right away, aware that technology can actually make this happen. Finally, in “Fearful Symmetries” (155) the author shares her concern that thanks to the deluge of things technological devices bring people, individuals will start treating each other with a sense of detachment. Persons will just be automatically replying to e-mails or answering phone calls and text messages like a machine, without time to pause and breathe. The author summarizes with a reflection on how society has realized that although technology has indeed brought good things to people’s lives, it has also left undesirable effects. At this part of the essay, I will evaluate some points Turkle set forth using my personal knowledge and experience. Turkle proposes that technological devices encourage multitasking. I completely agree with this because personally I am guilty of juggling several activities due to the convenience technology has given me. I multitask and I do think I can now accomplish so many more things than before the Internet and mobile phones were invented. In fact, I sometimes schedule my tasks with this ‘superhuman’ mindset. In the evenings, I find myself watching television while browsing the Internet or checking my e-mail or posts on my social networking sites. I find myself sending text messages wherever I am at any time of the day sometimes just because I remember something I have to tell someone or because I feel the need to send a reply. Turkle is right in saying “networked devices encourage a new notion of time because they promise that one can layer more activities onto it (151).” The introduction of gadgets such as smart phones and iPads have allowed me and many others to read books, play games, watch movies and be on the Internet while waiting for the bus, sunbathing on the beach or traveling somewhere. Having access to wireless Internet almost everywhere nowadays has added to this power of multitasking. I also agree with Turkle on how people confess that they cannot live without their gadgets. When my mother accidentally left her mobile phone at the office on a Friday, she had asked my brother who was resting at home to go and drive over to the office in a hurry before the secretaries leave for the weekend. At the time, my mother was having dinner with her friends in another part of town and would not be able to go back in time to pick up the phone herself. My nieces who used to turn on the television right after they get out of bed now have a new habit. Soon after their dad bought them an iPad, their first thought in the morning is to look for the device so they could play Fruit Ninja or What’s The Word. To my annoyance, they walk around everywhere holding the device as if they fingers have become attached to it. I have a friend who claims her day would be incomplete without her mobile phone. It is amusing reading about Diane and Trey, examples used by Turkle in this section of Chapter 8. They are the perfect examples of how digital natives that I know are whether the person is a student, a homemaker or a corporate professional. They complain about the demands of being always available – meaning they can be reached via e-mail messages, text messages and phone calls (153) – but they are also the first themselves to admit that they cannot just remove themselves from this situation because they will constantly be thinking about how many messages they have received or calls they have missed. Moreover, they will worry about how to reply to all those and if it is too late to reply. Later, they will make it a resolution not to do the same thing again to avoid all the headaches that come afterwards. In this age of advanced technology, people have become very dependent on their gadgets, thinking that an organized life requires the presence of these devices. Another point Turkle puts forth is that people are tethered, or attached, to their gadgets too much that is limiting them from enjoying new experiences such as vacations in places they have never been before. I can only partially agree with the author on this. Speaking for myself, I am able to enjoy new activities even with my mobile phone or iPad in tow. As Turkle mentioned in the opening paragraphs of Chapter 8, there are “small pleasures” (142) she associates with her iPhone such as texts from her daughter and photos. This is the same for me. Having my devices with me have allowed me to enjoy these new experiences even more because the devices help me remember these experiences through pictures and videos I can take on my gadget. Also, thanks to the Internet, I can share these new experiences in some way with family and friends who are not with me. In my opinion, people who are “marked absent” (144) intentionally make themselves more absorbed in their gadget-induced activities than those happening around them. Based on my observations of my family and friends, an individual can actually be physically, mentally and emotionally present in an occasion even with an iPhone, iPad, Blackberry or PS2 in their midst. It just takes a sense of respect for the occasion and a strong sense of discipline on the part of the gadget owner. In an interesting mixture of computer jargon and personal anecdotes, Sherry Turkle was able to clearly impart to her readers the effects of digital gadgets on people in Chapter 8 of her book Alone Together. This paper has presented concepts from this section aptly titled Always On. In this section, Turkle proposes that the connection people have with their gadgets have brought about some negative repercussions on their lives. While I agree with Turkle that “digital natives” are multitasking more and that they have considered their devices as a necessary item in their daily activities that to be without these they would be lost, I do not totally agree that this attachment to digital devices keep people from enjoying new pleasures. In fact, based on personal knowledge, I am of the opinion that digital devices even help immortalize these new experiences for some people. References: “In Constant Digital Contact, We Feel “Alone Together”. NPR books. NPR, October 17, 2012. Web. 26 April 2013. Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together. New York: Basic Books, 2010. Print. Read More