"Can You Hear Me Now?" by Sherry Turkle
In this article, the author questions, and break-downs, the pros and cons of digital and electronic technology, including the use of robotics in everyday life. She sums up the article by using five categories to describe her observations and feelings in regards to modern-day technology.
1. "There is a new state of self, itself." Turkle explains this concept using examples of online virtual gaming and the creation of avatars in the 1990s.
2. "Are we losing time to take our time?" Here the author questions whether or not the use of technology really saves any time, or if it has simply consumed our waking hours while we check cell phone messages, email on BlackBerries, and use GPS devices to find our way around.
3. "The tethered adolescent." Turkle makes the observation that kids of today are unable to develop their own independence, losing out on the certain right of passage that kids of earlier generations received when they had to make their own decisions in a big, scary world. Adolescents are tied to cell phones and dependent on these devices to make decisions for them. Turkle describes this dependence with the idea of "I have a feeling, I want to call a friend," vs. "I want to feel something, I need to make a call."
4. "Virtuality and its discontents." Facebook and MySpace are classic examples used by the author to prove the idea that it's okay if someone is watching you, because some people choose to give up their privacy. "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear."
5. "Split Attention." In this section, Turkle makes the argument that cell phones are dividing people by denying them full intimacy. At a time when a person is mid-sentence in a live conversation, the friend is checking their cell phone for messages, splitting the attention between the real person and a more desired audience.
Turkle concludes the article with a segment regarding robots used in everyday, real-life situations. She argues that people agree there are times when using robotics may be more appropriate, even if the idea is cold and unfeeling. She observes that some people are perfectly happy using robots as pets, even, because at least the pets don't betray you or die, and they still serve their purpose of entertainment and companionship.
Question 1: Are the author's observations and opinions correct in regards to technology and the effect it has had in modern society?
Answer 1: I agree with everything the author pointed out in her article. While many of her statements were mere opinions, I think she was dead on. I think technology has divided our attention from loved ones and other human beings, and it has deprived us of privacy once highly valued in society. I fear for the youngest generation, because as the kids grow up they will be unable to communicate without a cell phone in their hand or without the ability to text useless and fragmented sentences back and forth to one another to convey something similar to emotions.
Question 2: Is there anything we, as society, can do regarding the on-going reliance that technology will create for us?
Answer 2: I believe that with awareness and understanding, society can create a balance between the wonderful benefits technology holds, and the even more wonderful benefits that intimacy with other human beings also holds. In regards to cell phone usage, changes have already taken place at many major establishments and public places. One example is when, in 2004, I had the opportunity to travel to Italy to visit Rome and Florence. Upon arriving back in the U.S., my friend and are were waiting patiently in a long line for customs to check our luggage. There were signs posted in several places stating "NO CELL PHONE USAGE WHILE IN LINE." As was to be expected, a woman in line disregarded the signs and continued a conversation on her phone while in line. The attendant yelled, over the tops of the on-lookers heads, at the woman to read the signs and hang up her phone. Of course the woman was mortified, but I can guarantee you she learned a valuable lesson to pay better attention to cell phone usage signs when requested to do so. I say, good, it's about time someone do something about cell phones. I'm tired of hearing everyone else's conversations when I'm minding my own business in a public place.
In this article, the author questions, and break-downs, the pros and cons of digital and electronic technology, including the use of robotics in everyday life. She sums up the article by using five categories to describe her observations and feelings in regards to modern-day technology.
1. "There is a new state of self, itself." Turkle explains this concept using examples of online virtual gaming and the creation of avatars in the 1990s.
2. "Are we losing time to take our time?" Here the author questions whether or not the use of technology really saves any time, or if it has simply consumed our waking hours while we check cell phone messages, email on BlackBerries, and use GPS devices to find our way around.
3. "The tethered adolescent." Turkle makes the observation that kids of today are unable to develop their own independence, losing out on the certain right of passage that kids of earlier generations received when they had to make their own decisions in a big, scary world. Adolescents are tied to cell phones and dependent on these devices to make decisions for them. Turkle describes this dependence with the idea of "I have a feeling, I want to call a friend," vs. "I want to feel something, I need to make a call."
4. "Virtuality and its discontents." Facebook and MySpace are classic examples used by the author to prove the idea that it's okay if someone is watching you, because some people choose to give up their privacy. "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear."
5. "Split Attention." In this section, Turkle makes the argument that cell phones are dividing people by denying them full intimacy. At a time when a person is mid-sentence in a live conversation, the friend is checking their cell phone for messages, splitting the attention between the real person and a more desired audience.
Turkle concludes the article with a segment regarding robots used in everyday, real-life situations. She argues that people agree there are times when using robotics may be more appropriate, even if the idea is cold and unfeeling. She observes that some people are perfectly happy using robots as pets, even, because at least the pets don't betray you or die, and they still serve their purpose of entertainment and companionship.
Question 1: Are the author's observations and opinions correct in regards to technology and the effect it has had in modern society?
Answer 1: I agree with everything the author pointed out in her article. While many of her statements were mere opinions, I think she was dead on. I think technology has divided our attention from loved ones and other human beings, and it has deprived us of privacy once highly valued in society. I fear for the youngest generation, because as the kids grow up they will be unable to communicate without a cell phone in their hand or without the ability to text useless and fragmented sentences back and forth to one another to convey something similar to emotions.
Question 2: Is there anything we, as society, can do regarding the on-going reliance that technology will create for us?
Answer 2: I believe that with awareness and understanding, society can create a balance between the wonderful benefits technology holds, and the even more wonderful benefits that intimacy with other human beings also holds. In regards to cell phone usage, changes have already taken place at many major establishments and public places. One example is when, in 2004, I had the opportunity to travel to Italy to visit Rome and Florence. Upon arriving back in the U.S., my friend and are were waiting patiently in a long line for customs to check our luggage. There were signs posted in several places stating "NO CELL PHONE USAGE WHILE IN LINE." As was to be expected, a woman in line disregarded the signs and continued a conversation on her phone while in line. The attendant yelled, over the tops of the on-lookers heads, at the woman to read the signs and hang up her phone. Of course the woman was mortified, but I can guarantee you she learned a valuable lesson to pay better attention to cell phone usage signs when requested to do so. I say, good, it's about time someone do something about cell phones. I'm tired of hearing everyone else's conversations when I'm minding my own business in a public place.
A professor at U of Illinois did his dissertation study comparing cell phone use in Canada and the U.S. Among other findings, he found that Canadian people did not use their cell phones in a public space such as on a bus. On the contrary, the U.S. society accepts people talking and "sharing" their stories in a public place.
ReplyDelete