Sherry Turkle on Technology and Connection

How do you feel about the issues Turkle raises in her article and Ted Talk? Did the pandemic change the way you feel about yourself (personally and professionally) in relation to technology?

Just because of capacity, this blog will have a simple quote + thoughts/reaction structure and I kinda fry my brain by the end so, sorry in advance lol. 

Ted Talk

"We expect more from technology and less from each other"

My first impression during the first few minutes of the TedTalk completely shifted when Turkle shared the story about someone telling her they wish siri could one day serve the function of a best friend that listens because no one really listens and that makes us want to spend time with machines... That's when she got my attention. At first, it didn't sound like she was saying anything really concerning and then I realized, the excessive use of technology is so normal now and we are just so desensitized that maybe that's why what she was saying didn't really peak my interest. But then I could relate to the person in the story and when she said, "People want to be with each other but also elsewhere" to describe connection in a world of technology where you might be physically present but mentally not. 

"The illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship" 

This quote stood out to me because although the phrase "demands of friendship" seems harsh, it's not wrong. Even the word "friendship: triggers me a bit because why is it so demanding? I'm gonna say capitalism is mostly to blame for this one. We live in a society where we are constantly on the go, where working 40+ hours per week is required and sometimes not even enough to sustain a family and household. Where its normal to only receive 2 weeks of vacation per year, if that. Where we are exhausted all of the time and only really have maybe 4 hours to ourselves and families every day after work before our bodies collapse into sleep mode. The amount of things we have to get done in those 4 hours is almost impossible so we have to learn to be okay with always being behind. These are not suitable conditions to be able to even sustain friendships. So I can empathize with someone who wants connection, who wants the illusions without having to sacrifice so much to be able to receive love and companionship. 

"The moment people are alone, even for a few seconds, they become anxious, they panic, they fidget, they reach for a device. Just think of people at a checkout line or at a red light."

Honestly, she read me so hard with this one. I pick up my phone out of boredom, silence, stillness, loneliness, distractedness, etc ALL DAY LONG. And most of the time, I accomplish nothing more than achieving a temporary distraction. Most of the time, I'm not connecting. Who the fuck has time to text anymore, lets be real! It's such a chore and I'm behind on so many chores. When my friends hit me up, I find myself praying its a quick check in or question because I don't have the capacity to sustain an ongoing conversation. But then I find myself very sad when I see that I have no ongoing conversations. It's such a disappointing cycle. Something else I notice is that if you looked at my schedule/routine, you would see that I actually don't have a lot of time for leisure. It takes forever for my friends and I to find times to hang out because our schedules are so booked. Then a quick buzz from my phone will show me a screen time report saying that I averaged 8-10 hours of screen time per day this week. Like literally, HOW all them little scrolls add up to this in one day???

Anyways, after listening to this TedTalk, I feel inspired to rely less on technology for connection and make time and space for real connection, solitude and conversation. 

Article

Okay, back to the whole capacity thing, lol. I'm gonna provide 1 sentence reactions to the next three lol

"Then, the pandemic. Suddenly, the screens that had closed us down to the most meaningful connections were the only way we could open up to each other. I had once said we were “alone together.” Now we were truly “together alone.” 

I really appreciated Turkle's realization of the way the times relate to her beliefs on technology and adjusting her theory to describe how things have changed as a result of the pandemic. 

"The closest I could come was staring into the green light on the top of my laptop screen, which gives the other person the illusion that you are looking into their eyes. But to sustain that illusion, you end up looking at nothing at all."

This was so relatable because I have definitely looked directly at my camera so that those on the video call see me looking right at them but it has led me to feeling so sad that I was missing their face and expressions as they spoke. Its always so confusing to know which is best to do.

"The striking thing about living through dramatic change is you are right there when something that once seemed odd begins to seem natural. The trick is to remember why it once seemed odd because that might be a reason worth remembering."

This was deep lol.