12 Hours Without Technology

Sherry Turkle’s “Stop Googling. Let’s Talk” article was published on September 26, 2015 in The New York Times. The author explains that college students spend more time on their phones than talking face-to-face. Turkle mentions that parents have realized this at the dinner table with their kids or just trying to have a conversation with them. Teenagers and young adults claim that they can multitask and understand what the person is saying while being preoccupied. Multiple studies have been done to demonstrate the influence and behaviorial changes without a device. This generation reports that they feel more personal when their phones were taken away for a certain period of time. A boy from one of the studies describes this dilemma as “It’s what texting does to our conversation when we are together that’s the problem” (Turkle par. 6). Texting has become more popular as time goes on and college students were born in a world where phones were a problem and with new features coming out, they have become more intrigued. Using rhetorical strategies such as mentioning research studies and rhetorical appeals, the author effectively explains how technology changes society.

Randy Cohen wrote When Texting Is Wrong and published it in The New York Times on July 13, 2009. The article talks about how no one ever agreed to the new age of technology that fell upon the world but instead adapted to it. This is in fact what has happened to the world. Technology has taken over, and people of all ages have had to adapt to the new time period that we have fallen in; however, not all are very fond of the era. It is evident in society that younger and older generations have differing views on technology, cell phones especially. While the younger generation is fine with the world being taken over by computers and cell phones, the older generation is a little more apprehensive about it. Although Cohen is not anti-texting or anti-technology, he explains to parents and bosses, or people of influence, that new manners need to be introduced in everyday life (at home and at work ) as an effort to reduce the impact of emerging technology.

“Our generation doesn't ring the doorbell. They text or call to say they're outside,” this line is from one of the well-known social networks, Tweeter, which shows how the way of communication has change in this modern life. According to 2013 statistics by Business Insider, in United States alone, smartphone owners aged 18 to 24 send 2,022 texts per month on average — 67 texts on a daily basis — and receive another 1,831 texts (Cocotas). Nowadays, technology such as text messaging has practically replaced traditional face to face communication among the society primarily in young generations because texting allows messages to be sent fast and effortless. In order to quickly type what they are trying to say in text messaging, people are

Article “OMG! We've been here B4!” by Clive Thompson is a reflection of what the effects the telephone has on everyday communication as well as the development of the telephone over the years. Thompson however explains that the early days of the telephone weren't seen as a helpful tool for social interaction, but an abate to conversation. When the cell phone first emerged on scene, it was believed that people choose to communicate face-to-face less and call instead. Clive Thompson explores the thought that texting may make people shield their emotions, limit conversations to only the phone, and erode intimacy. Although the telephone had various opinions, the cell phone did not destroy traditional etiquette but altered the way we communicate with one another.

As much as I regret to admit it, I’m attached to my phone. I’m constantly reaching into my pocket to check the time, make sure I haven’t gotten a new update, or to send a message. I do this even when I’m not talking to anyone! It’s become an addiction, having to make sure I’m not missing anything, and I'm not the only one who has this problem. Seventy-five percent of the world population has a cell phone, and that number will only increase. With the creation of new technology portions of life have become easier. Technology has changed the way we go through life. It’s made talking to people easier, as well as keeping up with the lives of others. However, the effects have affected the aspects of our lives that don’t include technology.

To define technological determinism is an approach in technology or technological advances, as a central element in the process of social change. Technology is stabilized, its tend is design to dictate the behavior of users, which diminishing the human agency. Social and cultural circumstances in which technology is developed, however ignores this stance. As we watch The Apple Special Event, Apple’s new product line is an example of technological determinism. Apple product make users feel they need the newest and latest products that they offer. Radio Wars showed technological determinism as the radio change. From how people used AM radio then they discovered FM radio and people switch from AM to FM. Once satellite radio was created people

In her essay “No Need to Call,” Sherry Turkle makes the claim that smart phones, texting in particular, are having a negative effect on the way humans interact and communicate with each other. The issue of how smart phones are changing our social behaviors is important because it can potentially impact the future of the human race. With smart phones, computers and tablets, our society is entering into uncharted territory and we cannot be certain of how the outcome will change our social interactions. Figuring out whether or not these changes are negative or positive is a pertinent topic for all people because everyone is affected by these new technologies in their everyday lives, whether they have them or not. Turkle believes that the way we are communicating through these devices is starting to develop us into humans who are too reliant on impersonal forms of communication to the point that it is changing how we interact with others.

There is an ongoing curiosity about why electronic devices are so irresistible. It is flabbergasting and utterly disappointing that people of all ages, including hypocritical parents lecturing teens about their texting addiction, “would prefer to communicate over text rather than meeting face to face”(mobile commons). Although technology has its benefits of quick communication and always staying in touch with others, the amount of common sense lost to technology has a stronger and more detrimental effect on one 's future. As people become more dependent on the technology that sits in the palms of their hands, the social skills one

    Sherry Turkle, a professor and director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, wrote an essay called “No Need To Call” to talk about her research on cell phones and social life. She goes in depth into a few lives of those who use their cell phones frequently and those who avoid it. Turkle starts off her essay by talking about Elaine, a seventeen year old. Elaine acknowledges the use of texting within her generation, she states “It’s only on the screen that shy people open up.” (373). Elaine then follows this by speaking of the ability to pause and think before you send a message. You have more time to think before you say something, unlike in person or on the phone. Turkle then reflects on this teen’s analysis, she says, “Elaine is right in her analysis: teenagers flee the telephone. Perhaps more surprisingly, so do adults.” (374).

Surely, we can’t deny how technology helps us contact each other, but there is one idea that they overlooks, which is the addiction that people have on the cell phone. Whenever people congregate, the action they do is stare on the phones. Audrey, sixteen, a Roosevelt junior, describes how her relationship with her mother breaks up as her mother spent all her time on the phone every time they were together. “It could have been four days since I last spoke to her, then I sit in the car and wait silently until she’s done,” said Audrey (377). In other words, Audrey is trying to express her feeling that how the cell phone has estranged her and her mother. From these, we can tell that how technology has been a “drug” that keeps us from interacting with each

Now day’s kids sit in front of a screen in their room for hours talking into a mic, talking to some random person they found online. Not only do we see this happen on TV with the main characters little brother, but also when we walk in the door of our own house. There was a TED talk that I recently watched where the speaker was a mom and her daughter had invited some friends over to hang out, but what she actually meant was turn and stare at a phone. As what Sherry Turkle said, “And what I've found is that our little devices, those little devices in our pockets, are so psychologically powerful that they don't only change what we do, they change who we are.” What she says is that we cannot survive without these little devices in our life. The ability of our social connection in real life is disappearing. For example, when they hang out with each other in person it’s not face to face anymore, it’s back to back, they text each other instead of talking. Some might say we are running from our problems with the help of technology. When you have an issue with someone you don’t want to come right out and confront them because you don’t know how they will react, so you text them. But when you do this you don’t put any emotions into it, maybe a few exclamation points and a sad face, then ending the heated text message with a heart, but in the end did you really get your point a crossed to them or did you just tell them that whatever they did make you a little sad and you won’t do anything about it, giving them the chance to do whatever they did again. Technology is breaking us down as people. (SO

Consequently, people who text a lot may be more uncomfortable with in-person communication.” Taking this information into account, it becomes clear that cell phones have essentially decreased face-to-face socialization and have socially affected those who use cell phones as a main source of communication. Along with the absence of face-to-face social interaction, arises the issue of resolving problems via text rather than in person. Cell phones have provided a way to hide behind technology from emotionally distressing events, such as ending relationships (Campbell, 2005).

Technological determinism is a term developed by Marshal McLuhan, a theorist in the study of new media. By technological determinism, McLuhan refers to technology having the power to change societies and influence our cultures. In this essay I will argue that technology does have the power to change society and influence a civilization, using ideas put forward by Marshal McLuhan. I will also discuss the debate around technological determinism recognizing the claims made by Raymond Williams that society shapes technology as we look back at its emergence and their subsequent control.

The first seven hours were challenging, being disconnected from my virtual communications made me become aware of my unknown behaviors tied to my phone. For example, when I felt bored or get disconnected from a conversation I would grab my phone with the intentions of surfing the web or visiting my social media platforms. Secondly, at home, I would hear my phone ringing or vibrating and would rush to check it but of course, it was off. This taught me how daunting it is to contact or meet someone without a text and the overwhelming feeling of being unsure if they will find you at your meeting destination.

In the past, families used to schedule time frames in order to all get together to sit down and have a talk about what had happened during their day. Since the creation of the smartphone, this has changed from a time for everyone to talk and socialize with each other into a competition of how many words per minute someone can text on their smartphone. This situation has occurred in none other than my family. Every dinner, we used to get together and converse about each other’s day and now it has changed into a time to use our phones. Even if we are only rooms apart, we much rather send each other a text message than call out each other’s name and engage in conversation in this matter. By no longer engaging in these conversations the smartphone has reinvented the way humans go about their social relationships. It is due to this that many people in the world today cannot have a face-to-face conversation because they feel unsafe with this form of conversation. As Sherry Turkle says: