Better Than Human Analysis

In her article “No Need to Call” Sherry Turkle says even though she uses technology to text her daughter and to communicate with other people she still thinks it's getting out of control. She opens the article by telling a story on Elaine, a 17 year old, who attends Roosevelt high school, who says that people hate talking on the phone. Sherry Turkle teaches in the program in science, technology, and society at MIT. She believes that Society will have reached a point to where phone calls are fearful. She explains that people are fearsome for calls because calls take all their attention and that no one has that much time. Turkle gives us an example by telling us a story of Tara, a 55 year old lawyer, who doesn't has time to call her friends so

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.

Technology is an essential part of the American life and it's constantly changing with the newer generations. A few people view technology as a positive addition to life while others believe it is a negative thing and will take over their lives. Nicholas G. Carr a well known American, the author of The Shallows a novel about the various distractions that come with internet and how people are losing key skills. In the start of the book the negative effects of modern technology on the masses. Carr’s argument is effective and flawed for various reasons such as don't include the helpful advances have improved education, medical field and business.

All advantages have corresponding disadvantages. Sherry Turkle’s essay “Connectivity and its Discontents” address her stance towards technological communication. Throughout her essay, she provides examples that illustrate how the world is consistently depending on technology for communication. Turkle’s opinion towards the issue is that, “she believes we’ll eventually sacrifice communication for mere connection.” Her examples make the reader consider that technological communication leads to human beings losing intensity in communication in both personal and professional situations because of distraction and convenience. The twenty-first century widely introduced a variety technological advancements which made people rely often on the technology. Thinking back to her opinion towards the issue I would agree with the idea that humans are becoming too attached to technology, but I would disagree that technology draws a wedge between people.

    In simple terms, The Flight From Conversation entails the human fight or flight behavior. However, as conversation has begun slipping away from our culture, we’ve failed to fight for it. There is a mentality in society that anything done with a conversation can be done through technology. People have failed to realize the consequences that result from avoiding conversation. We’ve nearly eliminated talking and have replaced it with texting and emailing. We have no realization that texting prevents all feeling that should be involved in that conversation had it been a real conversation. As Turkle states, “ The students had tried to “warm up” their digital messages by using emoticons, typing out the sounds of laughter, and using the forced urgency of TYPING IN ALL CAPS.” (pg. 23). I can personally vouch that this is a very real thing that even I do on a daily basis if not more. People can’t understand that these emotional short cuts and feelings aren’t the same things. On the other hand, they can almost understand the

Everyday we hear about the astounding technological advances discovered year after year. Thirty years ago, who would have thought that we would soon be able to communicate with a person half way around the world through a computer? The possibilities of technology are endless and beyond belief, but are these possibilities always beneficial in society, or are they causing more harm then help? Authors Pete Hamill, Grant Fjermedal and Roger Rosenblat take a look at certain forms of technology and the beneficial and detrimental aspects that have and will come from its advances.

“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

For instance, after a student has told her that they would rather talk to a screen then their own parents about dating advice, she states, “this enthusiasm speaks to how much we have confused conversation with connection and collectively seem to have embraced a new kind of delusion that accepts the stimulation of compassion,” (138). She uses reasoning from her own studies explaining how technology has affected our attitudes and mentality toward certain factors. For example, a high schooler wants to talk to an artificial intelligence program about dating advice rather than another person, such as a parent or sibling because they feel as if they can only trust a computer screen more than their family. In another instance, Turkle incorporates reasoning into why technology has become a big factor in our everyday lives. She states, “In the silence of connection, people are comforted by being in touch with a lot of people. We can’t get enough of one another if we can use technology to keep one another at distances we can control: not too close, not too far, just right,” (137). Here, Turkle reasons that technology is a favorable option to many, in for instance, having a conversation, because one has control of what they are saying, how they are saying it, and when they are saying it. All with the benefit of editing. Turkle says that one would rather be

It is widely accepted that technology can be used for people to connect with one another. One primary example that may spring to mind is the smartphone. No matter the distance between two people, the other party is only a text, call, or instant message (IM) away. In consideration of that, certain methods are favored over others. In her work titled “No Need to Call,” Turkle examines why there is a decline of phone calls. She surveys different generational demographics that bring her to the consensus that, regardless of age, texting holds wider appeal because there is less commitment involved. As a result, calls are more significant, only to be used if one is a family member or if the message cannot be properly expressed over text. Cases of the latter may even come with restrictions. One person that Turkle interviewed claims that it was easier to deal with traumatic news without immediately speaking about

“Our phones are not accessories, but psychologically potent devices that change not just what we do but who we are.” (Turkle 2015). As the technology era is on the rise, the face-to-face talking era is on the decline. Technology now days is being used in our every day lives. Just like everything technology absolutely has pros and cons but do the cons out weigh the pros? As stated in the article: “Stop Googling. Let’s Talk.” written by Sherry Turkle, she lays out how technology is affecting the people in the society. Today’s technology comes with consequences: leading us to be vulnerable, unaware and shallow.

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.

In her work “No Need to Call”, Sherry Turkle insists that technology gives users the ability to hide behind a computer or phone screen while having a conversation instead of having face-to-face interaction. In the article Turkle uses a young girl named Audrey as an example of a person who likes to hide behind technology. Audrey states, “You have time to think and prepare what you’re going to say, to make it appear like that’s just the way you are.” Basically she is saying the user can control what is said, how it is said and when it is said, this kind of interaction reduces the amount of chances for error in a conversation. People hiding behind their computer screen seem more likely to say something online that they would not normally say in person.

    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).

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).

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: