User:Maria97M

Maria Carreno Spring 2019

Technology Makes Us More Alone In today’s life technology is used to do almost anything, without technology the world would just stop. Technology has improved our standard of living in many ways and have provided us great opportunities. Technology in a way is supposed to make us feel more connected with one another, through cellphones or social media like Twitter or Facebook. I would fully agree with Sherry Turkle that technology is creating the illusion of togetherness, while reducing actual communication and connection. The way we communicate with one another has changed in the past decade. In the article Sherry Turkle explains how we constantly check our phones it makes us less empathetic and its likely to form meaningless relationships. In my point of view, I strongly agree with the authors opinion. The overuse of cellphones makes us not concentrate with face to face conversations, we end up losing empathy and we can’t gather other people’s moods well. In my own daily life, I feel myself loosing interest in a face to face conversation due to constantly checking my phone. For example, just recently I went on a brunch date with all my girlfriends, I specifically did not bring out my phone because I wanted to see if our conversations would have more meaning or if they would stay the same. All of my friends most of the time were checking their phones all while trying to keep up with our conversation. In my opinion I felt a lot more engaged in the conversation I was having with my friends because I did not bring my phone with me. When I asked my friends after our brunch how they felt, they had let me know that they were not that engaged and got bored of the conversation, so they went to their phones to avoid the awkward silence. In today's society there is a dependency on having technology around us 24/7 and it has taken charge of who we want to connect with. If someone was to take my phone for even just one day I could say that I feel alone and uncomfortable. When my phone was stolen from Ventura Collage I had the biggest panic attack, but the worst part was having to wait three days for my new phone to arrive. Not having a phone with me at all times made feel so alone and disconnected from the world but when I actually took a step back I was a bit more relaxed that I didn’t have to focus on Twitter or Instagram. Not having a cellphone for just three days showed me how we have prioritized any communication technology as something we can’t live without or feeling left out from life and the world. In reality while we are so focused on social media and another people’s life’s we take away from the real world and what goes on around us. I do also see how technology helps many people including myself on communicating with people like blogs or an online chat room. I would say technology is both a blessing and a curse. Amber Case argues in her TED Talk that cellphones create an “ambient intimacy.” In her TED Talk she said, “Our phones are not accessories, but psychologically potent devices that change not just what we do but who we are.” This clearly shows the technology effects everyone’s life and it should always be treated very seriously. I would say that cyber technology is not helping us be more human and yes, it is diminishing face to face intimacy in some ways. Although technology has helped us find like minded people all around the world, I would say it never gives us the sense of humanness when chatting online or using social media to find new people that have the same interests. When we interact over social networking sites like Facebook in my opinion we tend to be very bold and have conversation with strangers but it’s almost the complete opposite when we actually have to interact with others in real life. Conversations should always involve facial expressions to help us understand what the other person is thinking. I do agree that technology has been distracting us from real socialization, but then again, the problem starts with us. I was always taught by my parents that too much of anything is bad. If we know how to properly utilize the abilities of technology and balance it with self-discipline at the right time appropriately specifically in social environments, then I do believe we can make the most out of technology.