The IRL Fetish Nathan Jurgenson Summary

Through the power of today's advanced technology, the use of digital communication has changed the way society communicates with each other. Although digital communication is widely used all around the world it brings some positive and negative implications to physical communication. On average more than 2 million kiwis use facebook every day. Seventy-nine percent of those people use Facebook to stay connected to friends and family (Firstdigital 2015) Digital communication allows people and business to stay connected to the internet, but the use of too much digital communication can have harsh consequences to a person's relationship

In the article “The IRL Fetish” by Nathan Jergenson, is a powerful essay that demonstrates the idea of this so called “Fetish” that we have with technology today. Within this essay Jergenson uses specific word choice in his essay to strengthen his argument about being connected. He uses quotes from other speakers and writers to get his points acrossed about this fetish that we have in our society right now. Finally, Jergenson also talks about the little victories that we have with technology, like “logging off”, and the irrational fear that we have about being disconnected.

Imagine the world without cellular devices. Would it prevent car accidents or maybe prevent eye problems in young individuals? Regardless of the answer, cell phones are an ever expanding industry. Journalist Lauryn Chamberlain states that rates of cell phone ownership of the ages of 13 and older that are American has increased 15% in the last ten years, increased to 85%. This statistic causes one to contemplate one simple question, why? Ten years ago, cell phones typically had two main functions, calling and texting. However, since then a multitude of new applications have been created to advance the user’s experience socially. Some of these applications include Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest, and Blogger, which advance experience by making interactions with people on a global scale. Despite this, these social platforms can have disadvantages. Psychologist Larry Rosen uses his image “Weapons of Mass Distraction” to show

that it became a platform for the creation of insincere relationships that lacked personal connection. When discussing the harmful effects of the Internet on the actions of those who participate in online relations, Merkle and Richardson state, “For example, the global presence of the Internet diminishes the need for spatial proximity . . . Internet communication allows for anonymity; and candid self-disclosure becomes significant as the only means for two users to know one another.” The introduction of the Internet in American society eliminated the need for people to directly engage in discussions with their peers, which took away the emotional value in their relationships

Gail Dines asked the question to her readers in Pornland; How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality, “what are the consequences of porn of culture, sexuality, gender, identity, and relationship”(xi). With the competition of the pornography industry and the consumer desensitization of porn has driven the porn industry to create more hard core porn to satisfy the consumers and raise profits. In the beginning of the book, Dines’ depicts the history of pornography and the growing number of competition porn has for consumers. Later she describes, the impact porn has on our culture, the effects on both men and women, and our relationships

The initial sentence of the Symposium—“In fact, your question does not find me unprepared”—operates with an odd and mordant brevity. The close sandwiching of “in fact” and “does not” is a performative linkage of qualifiers that, in consideration of later text, functions as stylistic foreshadowing—what might be read as subtle mockery of the dialogic form (in that the sentence responds to an unknown provocatory referent) also hesitantly establishes an opacity that accurately exemplifies the Symposium’s widespread use of stylistic hoverance: its complex layering and alternations among comedic, pedantic, philosophical, and didactic registers. “Does not find me unprepared” is gratuitous hesitance, a signpost for the winking comedic rhetorics of salutatory debate. In fact, your question does not find me unprepared—of course I shall fabricate an explanatory ascendance laced by the performative codes of circuitous humor. Just the other day, as it happens…

The Internet takes a role of the mediator of interpersonal relationships by reinforcing existing offline to online friendships and relationships in terms of evident support and feeling of commitment. Subrahmanyam and Greenfield (2008) report the results of a 2001 Pew Internet and American Life Project survey, where 48 percent of the teen interviewees using online communication tools strongly believe that the Internet had a major positive impact on their existing relationships, which was demonstrating a positive trend in the larger amount of Internet usage. A more recent report of the PEW Internet Research Center indicates that 40 percent of young adults between 18 to 29 years old, report to feel closer and more committed to their partners, because of online text/instant – messaging

In today’s world, social media is expanding enormously. Social media has done leaps for today’s culture and is bringing people together every day. Social media has transformed the game of dating forever. By a press of a couple buttons you can buy an outfit you saw on your friends Instagram post. Social media has assisted the everyday life drastically, and continues to improve. Earlier whenever we wanted to contact our friends and relations the only option was to give a call to know about their location. However today we have come much closer than earlier. We know the person’s day to day life through the status but through the social media, we cannot make out the emotions that are involved. Instead of making a phone call we prefer chatting with the person online through Facebook chat and Twitter we feel more comfortable than the traditional phone calls. Even the important conversations are made through email and chat instead of personal meetings. This makes it where difficult to provide feelings when feelings are needed. People have mixed options on this matter, some people feel like it hinders others social skills and the ability to converse with people in their life. Social media is also affecting the way school is taught because of the distraction it is causing in the classroom. Just about half of classes on campus do not allow technology exactly for that reason. Technology has evolved right before our eyes over the past 20 years.

When adolescents communicate face to face, it provides an adequate tone of voice, therefore the message is more clearly, in contrast, when using social media, the reader may misinterpret the message. Erozkan (2013) emphasized that without effective communication, a message can turn into error, misunderstanding, or frustration. Communication is the basis of personal relationships and effective communication happens when the message that is sent is the same message that is received (Erozkan, 2013). This can cause differences in relationships as interactions face to face are necessary. Although face to face interactions provides more meaning to relationships, adolescents opt to use their electronic communication. Some adolescents might be more expressive

Technological devices, experts assure us, are becoming insensitive, instant human substitutes for the conventional user. Sherry Turkle, a Doctor of Social Studies and Technology at MIT, states, “We turn to machines for companionship even as we seem pained or inconvenienced to...texting offers the right amount of access, the right amount of control to distance people not too far or close” (Turkle 2011). People are connected through the internet to millions of

This paper will attempt to better understand computer-mediated communication compared to face-to-face interactions for romantic relationships. The paper will discuss mediated communication, reflecting on both key strengths and limitations in terms of romantic partnerships, and close with a brief conclusion.

Maintaining and manufacturing relationships is one of the most stressful undertakings a human can experience. Humans crave relationships no matter how introverted; still wanting some form of companionship whether it be face-to-face or through technology. The only way to have a relationship is to have communication with others that start the stages of developing the relationship. Without communication in some form, we could never truly have a relationship or bond with another human being; causing that craving for companionship and relationships to never be filled and major physical and psychological damage to oneself.

Technology developed in the past decade has been life-changing. Cell phones have become the most quickly embraced consumer technology in history. Because of this boom and the monumental popularity of social media; have we lost the ability to communicate without this medium? Smartphones and pocket-sized mobile devices have allowed us to do things that were only dreamed of a few years ago. These new technological marvels combined with the overwhelming wave that is social media are reshaping the way we communicate, and with whom. Smartphones and social media are changing the way we relate to people and lessening

Technology has a massive impact on humans and plays a very strong role in our everyday lives, as a matter of fact while I’m writing this essay on my laptop I’m also multi-tasking on my phone by listening to music, texting several people and surfing my social media profiles. Technology has many valuable benefits however it overloads our brain, consumes drastic time, and deeply impacts our relationships with family and friends. Many authors agree to the fact that technology negatively impacts interpersonal relationships in our society today, however a small collection believe that technology enhances relationships with numerous social media sites. Although technology does make long distance communication easier, I believe it is taking away our ability of verbal/non-verbal skills of communication in real world interactions because people are spending less time with people regarding face to face interactions. These articles will present how technological advancements change the ways we work together and how for some technology can assist or complicate a relationship.

Counterarguments suggest that online communication expands social interaction because it connects you to a plethora of people at a fast rate. The research of Cooper and Sportolari (1997) was significantly useful because according to experts, the use of the Internet in romantic relationships lowers the pressure of physical attributes, more freedom to meet someone new regardless of gender, and allows you to develop healthy relationships with a variety of people.