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this is a summary of "Growing Up Tethered"...

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Daniela Molestina January 3rd, 2018 UCWR I

In the article, Growing Up Tethered, Sherry Turkle discusses the current generation of teenagers that are “tethered” or linked to technology. The author argues that teenagers are unable to make any free decision because of the constant presence of their parents. She also argues that nowadays teenagers have no need to develop empathic skills, to think about their identities and values, and to express their feelings. In other words, that today’s generation do not create the time to discover themselves or interact with people using face-to-face communication. Turkle explores the idea that young people are unable to make decisions by their own due to the constant presence of parents. Now a day, exists a high dependence on parents for any decision to take. As the student from Branscome explains, “I taught my parents to IM… Now my parents IM me all the time” (174). This is a clear example of the intensive presence parents have in their kids’ lives due to facilitators as cell phones. They now are unable to make any free decisions. The author supports this argument by giving another example of a student who call her mother daily for backing her up in personal decisions. This example shows an even bigger concern on our current youth generation. The high dependence on parent at certain age will cause issues in the long run. Therefore, individuals are responsible for correctly accurately using their technological devices. Also, she explains a main point by saying that devices bankrupt adolescent from new experiences. In other words, that technology abduct this moment from them making it easy for adolescents to depend on devices. Furthermore, Turkle debates about how cellphones change human’s developmental chemistry and growth because teens are growing up attached to the internet or social media continually. She claims the implications of growing up attached with technology are unhealthy and creates a negative impact on the young. Technology is causing a disintegration of core values that long ago were the fabric that held communication present.

After all, Turkle explores the idea of online identities being misconducted through our technological developments. To provide evidence, she states that teenagers use a variety of social platforms to keep connected to their friends such as Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter which immediately change teens identity and self-image. But, for a more concrete explanation, she provides evidence through student statements. While still focused on how we interact with our devices, the author phrased “If it is always possible to be in touch, when does one have the right to be alone?” (173). The quote mention above defines what Sherry Turkle means by saying “Growing up Tethered.” When will be the time to teenagers experience the time of being alone with only him- or herself? Young people should have recreational time for physical and emotional development; reading, sports, and family activities have fallen by the wayside. This study discloses that technology has a critical impact. The author believes some things about teenagers growing up tethered; the first one is that they are always available, and assume their friends to be as well. Sherry Turkle infers that adolescents need a phone in hand and an immediate respond from a friend to defeat a sense of isolation. The second idea Turkle argues in this chapter is that the constantly connected lifestyle is complex and constraining. “The right to be alone”, as Turkle calls it, is crucial to one’s stability; still in the adolescence of today it is hardly experienced. Furthermore, some teens describe themselves as “addicted” to their phones. For example, as the final school bell rings, everyone in the school rushes to checks their messages immediately. This common action makes people to be more focused on what a message could say instead of looking around and seeing the world without a screen in front of them. As we know, the internet is powerful. So, if our reality is having technological devices around use all the time, teens must learn how to use it responsibly. While I find her evidence is very broad, I do consider Turkle is making a valid point that our generation is codependent to technology. Being part of the generation that grew up with technology, I

have lived first-hand technological advances and I am witness of our dependency among cell phones which has guided us to a lack of self-development and growth. The implications Turkle makes about teenager’s constant availability is indeed compelling. Technology makes easier to express emotions while they are being formed; however, shifts teenager’s personalities due to their addiction to validation. As teens often use technology for entertainment; they feel the best way to communicate is to do it digitally. Therefore, when they adapt to this type of thinking, they hurt the necessary skills needed for human interaction. Turkle article provides a noticeable warning. Adolescents need to re-learn the valuable life skills of having a face-to-face conversation and self-growth. Social media will play a crucial role in their adults’ lives, yet without either personal interaction, or self-development, this generation of teenagers might get stuck behind a screen, unable to communicate.

Resources: Turkle, S (2012). Alone together. New York: Basic Books....