Reaction Paper on Connected, but Alone? PDF

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Reaction Paper on “Connected, but Alone?”Sherry Turkle’s TED talk, “Connected, but Alone?” is about how she feels about technology and what it is doing to us and to how we interact with one another. She discussed that we are allowing the smallest devices to control us to the point that they change w...

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Reaction Paper on “Connected, but Alone?” Sherry Turkle’s TED talk, “Connected, but Alone?” is about how she feels about technology and what it is doing to us and to how we interact with one another. She discussed that we are allowing the smallest devices to control us to the point that they change who we are and how we act. Turkle emphasized that we depend on technology more than our peers and people around us. She also included that people are way too invested in their devices, whether it be a board meeting, classes, or even a funeral. It seems that life in 2012 is alike to how we live in 2021. What Turkle discussed in the video is still happening right now, 9 years after her TED talk. In my opinion, people feel more secure and comfortable using devices instead of interacting with people face to face. We do not expect more on technology rather we prefer it because making connections through the internet is most of the time easier for people rather than in real life. Because of technology, communication has improved and making connections are more efficient. A quote that I liked is, "Goldilocks effect: People want relationships in bits they can control: not too close, not too far, just right.” It is very suitable in how we live our lives right now. We want to be able to control everything because unexpected things and surprises aren’t always fun and appreciated. Unanticipated events are mostly uncomfortable to people. If having control over things make you comfortable and relaxed, there is nothing wrong with it but not everything will go according to plan. Morever, technology is not a bad thing, addiction to technology is. It makes our daily lives easier but it shouldn’t dampen our relationships outside the screen. In order for us to be less afraid of connecting with others, we need to accept ourselves and show them our authentic selves (Sharif, 2016). However, I have noticed from observing people online that people have found friends, lovers, and family through the internet, although not blood-related, they treat each other like family. This is one of the benefits of using devices. We show people our pain because usually, people on the internet aren’t judgemental, rather they would help you, I am speaking from my own experience and observations. People online are sometimes better than people we interact with everyday hence we share our deepest wounds to them as they would to us. We are always distracted from our life; we could never fully be present in our life. Technology is one of the distractions in our life. To fully be able to handle being alone, we need to be fully be part of our experience and in the real world (Arndt, 2018). It is important to keep things in moderation and go out of our comfort zone. We should let everyone around us know our true selves not only the internet. Build connections with people who we interact with in real life. Being alone and being lonely is different. Some prefer to be alone but they also like human interactions. As per Sherry Turkle’s words, “We’re setting ourselves up for trouble – trouble in how we relate to each other, but also trouble in how we relate to ourselves and our capacity for self-reflection.”...