Connectivity

Sherry Turkle's article "The Flight From Conversation" resonated with several of my own complaints. I agree that communicating through a device can leave a lot to be desired when looking for connection. Text messages do not carry the same sentiments as in-person conversations. Although this concept was the main idea of Turkle's article, I was surprised she didn't elaborate on the specific differences such as eye contact, body language, intonation, and inflection.

I also agree with her argument regarding the need to be alone-- actually alone, without being "connected" through a device. Being comfortable by yourself is essential for healthy development. As Turkle stated, "If we are unable to be alone, we are far more likely to be lonely" (2). And as we discussed in class, loneliness is a common and widespread cause of depression.

While real human connection and face-to-face conversations are ideal, they are not always accessible or easily developed. In this case, I believe that having the ability to "connect" with anyone at anytime- even if it is through social media or robots- can function as a comforting tool, as long as it is not the only outlet for connection. Turkle seems to leave absolutely no room for consideration of the benefits that can come from communication that isn't face-to-face. For example, when she prefaced a story as "one of the most haunting experiences" during her research, she went on to describe what seemed to me as something very pleasant: a baby seal robot was taken to an elder-care facility where a woman began to talk to it about the loss of her child. Turkle ended the story with: "The woman was comforted" (3). I do not particularly understand why witnessing a troubled woman become comforted was so haunting, especially since Turkle does not elaborate or explain it herself, but rather, she proceeds to question why people would talk about love and loss to a machine. "Have we so lost confidence that we will be there for one another?" (3). The simple answer could be yes. Real humans can be busy, and real humans can be selfish. And while I agree with her notion that a "simulation of compassion" is not always as satisfying, I would argue that it is way better than no compassion at all, especially in this particular case because the woman in the elder-care facility may not have had many real humans that would listen intently, allowing her to express her deepest sadnesses.

Overall, I found Turkle's article to be quite aggressive. She over-generalizes by writing the entire article with the pronouns "we" and "our." Not everyone has lost the ability to be alone or cultivate conversation, and not "everyone is on their own devices" when spending time with family and friends (4-5). While she made several valid points, I think her argument could have been more effective if she had taken a more objective standpoint.