Friday, January 15, 2016
My Take On Alone Together
After Wednesday's class meeting and discussion about "Always On" I would like to take a moment and share my take on the chapter. While Turkle seemed negative, hypocritical, and demeaning, she was straightforward in her argument and I did see some truths, although harsh, that stood out to me. One example being on page 156, "At a café a block away from my home, almost everyone is on a computer or smartphone as they drink their coffee. These people are not my friends, yet somehow I miss their presence." This in particular stood out to me because I can't remember the last time, if ever, that I went to a coffee shop and didn't use my phone or laptop and talked to the people around me. Another example being on page 161, "Mobile technology has made us 'pause-able'." I find truth in this too because every time I hangout with friends we usually have phones on us and that means we're receiving texts and calls, twitter and Facebook messages, and checking other forms of social media. Even though we're all still hanging out, when someone checks their phone they're not 100% into the conversation. When I hangout with friends I feel like I have to fight for their attention over their phones at times. Also, in the book she says that she has a condition having problems talking to people face-to-face. I think through technology, it's changing the way we communicate with people. If we're out somewhere and our friends aren't with us, to look more busy we'll pull out our phones. I know when I get into a room with a lot of people I get social anxiety and the way I relieve that is through my phone, it's my way to escape. From that, I think I have problems with talking to people face-to-face because I use my phone to text them more than I do to just go up to them and talk. So, I can see the truth in Turkle's statement. Also, looking at it from her view, I'm sure it's different because she grew up in a different time and she's been around to see all the advancements and all the new technology come out. We've been around only to live in this technological world. She remembers a time when people were a little less engaged with the internet world and little more engaged in the world around them. So, while Turkle has some negative views and harsh words she's not completely wrong in her views.
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The example on page 156, "At a café a block away from my home, almost everyone is on a computer or smartphone as they drink their coffee. These people are not my friends, yet somehow I miss their presence," does get me thinking about the last time I was in a cafe. It was the sweet shop on King's Street here in Shepherdstown and everyone at the tables had out a laptop or some kind of device, one guy even had a newspaper. Also, everyone in line waiting for either their order or to give it, was on some kind of device. I think that it’s sad that we, as a people, would rather busy ourselves with doing other things than trying to strike up a conversation with our fellow man.
ReplyDeleteI understand being frustrated with hanging out with friends that are always on their phones because some of my closest friends truly can't go more than ten minutes without checking their phone and mindlessly browsing. It's just annoying and unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteI understand where you are coming from people shouldn't be on their phones in the middle of a discussion, but as I said in class before phones, there were books. Cafes, to me, are a place to wind down or get work done. When I personally am at a cafe, I usually am reading a book, which was considered rude and antisocial before phones became a commonality, or I am typing a paper or blog post. The quietness of a cafe makes focusing on whatever task I have at hand easier than when I am at home.
ReplyDeleteThough it is sometimes annoying when a friend is always looking down at their phone when you're trying to have a conversation with them, technology also bring my friends and I closer together more often than not. We share texts with each other that we got from other friends, we look at funny pictures online, or we just Facetime with other friends who are not in the room with us, so having our phones with us usually does more good than harm.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post, Chelsea. Very balanced and charitable. And your point about her age is an important one.
ReplyDeleteGood discussion on this thread, everyone.