Sherry
Turkle gave a very compelling argument, although when I hear things like this I
wonder if people read too much into things because everything has its pros and
cons.
I guess
because I've grown up with technology, I never really think about its impact.
I'm honestly surprised things aren't more advanced. It seems like things
advance in a way that I don't even notice anything (which is partly probably to
make more money. For example, the last iPhone upgrade didn't seem much
different, but because of the way people are they have to have the newest
thing). It blows my mind when I hear about the technology- more like the lack
of- that my parents grew up with.
When
Turkle showed a picture of her daughter and her friends being together, but all
of them were on their phones, a light bulb went off for me. I’m always getting
annoyed with my boyfriend because when he’s on his phone it’s like I’m talking
to a brick wall and he’s always on the darn thing. But it’s not just Facebook,
it’s also playing game with people online or texting. It’s like pulling teeth
to get him to put it away long enough to watch a movie. Then the other night,
we went out to eat with two of our friends and they were all on their phones
throughout the whole time and I was just thinking, “Why are we even here?” What
this Ted Talk made me realize is that I’ve never thought about it in a “phenomenon”
sense (the media/technology side), but I always think about the person aspect
and how they are being ridiculous. I also realized that the reason I see things
differently is because I’m not caught up in this-and I wonder if this is partly
because I have a short attention span and get bored easily on my phone. I
prefer sitting around with people and talking. I don’t even think people
realize how “addicted” they are. I’m not necessarily sure how I feel about the
effect technology/media has on people because there are so many different angles
to look at (such as it making people happy).
She also
talked about how people have a problem with being alone, which she related to
when people reach for a devise such as at a checkout line. While I would agree
with the argument, I’m not sure that I necessarily agree with this connection.
I think the fact that people always grab their phone when they have down time
is simply just to waste time and stay occupied- as much as we hate to be alone,
we also hate to be bored. Sometimes I act like I’m on my phone just to avoid
awkward situations.
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