Analysis Of Alone Together By Sherry Turkle

The Documented Life is an article wrote by Sherry Turkle on December 15, 2013 and published in The New York Times. In the article, she talks about how modern technology has caused us to put our lives on hold. Turkle states that people do not feel like themselves if they are not sharing their thoughts and views. The article states that technology has changed us by putting our interpersonal communications on pause. Turkle says we no longer see interruptions as a kind of disruption anymore. She adds that the most frequently heard phrase is, “wait, what?” as people fall back into missed conversions has become the new norm. Turkle also states that when people are alone or bored, they reach for a device. It has become so natural that they forget there is a time and place not to use their gadgets. Turkle suggests that there might be hope for the younger generation as they witness the price being paid by preoccupied, device carrying adults. Youngsters have come to value the device-free zones set up by parents for family conversion time.

She finds that everyone even old adults who grew up without cell phones, tablets, or laptops seem to be hooked to being on their phones computers and other devices that allow us to connect to the internet. She seem to mention most is connection versus conversation and that devices that allow mobile connection affect the lives of all who use them young and old it changes how they act towards other people how they run their businesses and who they are. In Turkle’s narrative people have become accustomed to being enabled by technology we are “alone together”. We are able to be somewhere and elsewhere connected to whatever or wherever we want to be.

Sherry Turkle’s article “Alone Together” analyzes the psychological effects, that technology, or as she refers, robots, have on people. She begins with the technological growth in robots as she states, “computers no longer wait for humans to project meaning onto them. Now, sociable robots meet our gaze, speak to us, and learn to recognize us” (Turkle 85). Technology is at its peak in modernization; in an instant, people are virtually transported into another dimension. Turkle wants her audience to acknowledge what qualities humans are missing when they become indulged in their machines. Robots are beginning to fill gaps of our lives that our brains are not functioned for. Humans are beginning to rely too much on robots, robots are possessing

Many people are not mindful of how technology is disconnecting us from one another. When people pull out smartphones during a conversation or social gathering they will cause others to feel disconnected. These phones allow people to withdraw from what is happing now and move another situation reducing the quality of the conversation that is within our reach. In the essay "Stop Googling. Let's Talk" by Sherry Turkle; she believes that we are becoming a culture of short chats versus growing our culture of thinkers that are open to sharing in constructive and meaningful conversations with one another.

“No Need to Call” by Sherry Turkle is an article written about the relationship people have with technology, and specifically with communicating via technology. How it has affected the way we want to interact with people, or how we end up interacting with people. This being due to social norms having changed when it comes to our way of interacting, such as the meaning behind making phone calls rather than texting. The article itself brings up many viewpoints as well as different opinions on the subject, plus a few pros and cons to show that certain things are not always to be seen as black and white. Technology has its advantages, but even the most tech savvy, devoted people have to admit that it has its disadvantages, brought up in this article. Examples are brought up with each point to

The relationship between people has been changed because of the widely using of new technology. People can easily communicate with other people by using different kinds of methods. Because of the use of those methods, people have more space with others and frequently hide part of themselves on the Internet in order to show the best of them. In the essay “Small Change: Why he Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted”, Malcolm Gladwell states that the relationship between people can be categorized by strong ties and weak ties. For example, in the past, people communicated by the method of interpersonal hierarchies, which are considered as strong ties. However, with the development of technology, social network, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Skype, which have become very popular in the world, are regarded as weak ties. Moreover, in the essay “Alone Together”, Sherry Turkle claims that people are distant with others and get lost in the virtual world through the new technology. She points out that now people communicate with others through technology instead of directing talking to real people. Furthermore, some people suppose that sociable robots as substitutes for people. Both Gladwell and Turkle agree with the idea that technology plays an important role on people’s connection. Technology only creates inauthentic relationship because it hides identity of many disorganized people.

These drawbacks include too many people being reliant to talking online rather than in person and not verbally communicating with friends even though they are in the same room. Jasmine Fowlkes shows the reality in how social media is affecting our new generation through her article, “Viewpoint: Why Social Media is Destroying our Social Skills.” After discussing the results conducted by several researchers, Fowlkes states,“As more generations are born into the social age, social media will continue to be the favored communication form among young people. However, this shift may begin to affect their ability to properly communicate in person with peers.” Many start to rely on applications on our devices to talk to people, but this results in less verbal communication. In addition, Kelly-Fay’s Talktrack research study showed that conversations held in person are much more impactful than on social media. Rather than making social media a huge part of your life, Fowlkes wishes that people would look up from their phones and engage more with others since that could change their lives.

The use of technology has increased rapidly as time has gone by.  In “Growing Up Tethered”, Turkle proves that the young generation need to be connected at all times by relying on their phones a lot. Reality is now based on technology, which people now live off of. Turkle’s argument in “Growing up Tethered” was used in the form of a book, with a well-organized smoothly transitioned article telling of the disconnection of the world we live in today, due to technologies such as cell phones, and social networks. We are slowly becoming a society of distance amongst each other with face to face conversations being limited to 20minutes phone conversations, and on social network sights we are making a portrayal of a person who we are

The internet is a very powerful source that can be useful but damaging at the same time. Both Cullington and Turkle hold strong opinions about the extent the internet can control and help us. Cullington says that texting so much will affect the way you construct papers, grammar errors, and lack of emotion within a paper. With that note, Turkle is saying the internet is a place to hide behind a screen in order to express who you are. I agree both authors are arguing the internet can misinterpret the way we reflect ourselves on the web. Just because the internet is changing doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing for everyone. The internet is a stronger source than anything else offered before, as long as it’s used appropriately.

In the chapter, "No Need to Call," by Sherry Turkle, the author uses repetition, contrast, and anomalies, to exemplify today’s generations inability to talk on the phone. With our world consumed with the latest technology, all available at the tips of our fingers, it's no wonder this generation doesn't even know how to hold a phone conversation properly. Texting is the newest way of communicating with one another. It is fast, easy, and convenient. However, only texting and not speaking on the phone is not preparing this generation for the real world.

In the reading, “Connectivity And Its Discontents,” by Turkle, the author contends that social media defends people against loneliness. She also states, that it controls the intensity of connections of how people connect with other people, and create ease to communicate and disengage if people wanted to. For example, he states, “We discover the network—the world of connectivity—to be uniquely suited to the overworked and over scheduled life it makes possible. And now we look to the network to defend us against loneliness even as we use it to control the intensity of our connections. Technology makes it easy to communicate when we wish and disengage at will” (190-191). Therefore, people using social media to communicate is good because people might have a busy life style that doesn’t allow them to spend time meeting with their friends. It also provides an outlet against loneliness because some people might not have many friends, and social media allows them to connect easier with people they can’t see through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many other forms of social media. It’s better for people to be open with other people online. People are able to socially interact with other people all over the world using computers, cell phones, and even tablets. The technology today doesn’t limit people from communicating, and web browsing to their hearts content. Social media and the technology

Our society has evolved very much over time. The technology, has impacted it greatly. With technology in our lives, we find ourselves ‘glued’ to our electronics. Now, the question is, what does social media provide us? In Wu’s article, he states, “The devices we use change the way we live much faster than any contest among genes.” Meaning, we rely on these devices to make us happy, and resort to them when we are bored. Similarly, in Castells article, he says, “Media often report that intense use of the Internet increases the risk of isolation, alienation, and withdrawal from society.” However, the article also says that social media has actually “increased sociability, civic engagement, and the intensity of family and friendship relationships, in all cultures.” Answering the question, we actually get something out of using social media. We are allowed to communicate with

Everyone at one point in their life experiences some sort of loss. Once you bring a pet into your home, they become part of the family. The unconditional love that you receive from them is the best thing ever. Like a child, you raise them, train them, and no matter what, they will always be a loyal, loving part of your family. So, the death of a pet, for some, can be a traumatic experience. You have so many feelings of loss and emptiness that is unexplainable unless you have gone through it

In the article named, “Does Technology Make Us Feel Alone,” written by Michael Gonchar, “Technology is supposed to make us more connected, we can stay in touch with our friends all the times on Facebook, Instagram, and Snatchat and of course by texting, but a could technology be making us MORE alone?” That is the real question. The article stated that Gonchar conducted his own study receiving opinions from college student how technology was intruding in their relationships. A majority of the college students agreed that technology was responsible for interfering with communication and the human interaction. Also, “I Tweet,Therefore I am” written by Peggy Orenstein expressed how twitter and her feed began

Politician Christian Lous Lange once said, “Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master.” Even though Lange spoke these wise words over a hundred years ago, their truth translates into today with ease. To better understand today’s interpretation, Sherry Turkle’s essay “Growing Up Tethered” acts as a useful tool. Her use of qualitative evidence is easily relatable creating plenty of opportunity for discussions. As a clinical psychologist, Turkle brings in a perspective unfamiliar to most STEM students. For exploration of how recently developed technologies affect our lives, “Growing Up Tethered” by Sherry Turkle grants an intriguing first step towards lively classroom discussions.