Draft 1
Almost everyone uses technology in some way or another. Whether it’s for school, to contact family and friends, or just for entertainment. It is reasonable to assume all this exposure to devices has had an impact on the population in some way. Which is why Sherry Turkle, who holds a doctorate in sociology and psychology from Harvard, addresses these issues in “The Empathy Diaries.” Technology has been advancing for years and continues to advance. The more technology advances, the more our ability to converse with one another and speak face-to-face is being stripped away. Conversation is a key element to development and without it, there are many consequences. These consequences include but are not limited to, lack of empathy, inability to listen, self reflect, connect, and experience intimacy.
This idea of lacking development is first mentioned in the first paragraph on page 344, when Sherry Turkle says, “Fully present to one another, we learn to listen. It’s where we develop the capacity for empathy. It’s where we experience the joy of being heard, of being understood. And conversation advances self-reflection, the conversation with ourselves that are the cornerstone of early development and continue throughout life.” Turkle mentions several different ways in which she believes technology affects us. I agree with each of these points she makes. Kids of this generation aren’t able to develop necessary social skills if they are never interacting with others outside of a screen. My mom has a home daycare and I watch kids come to our house staring at their tablets completely unaware of their surroundings as they walk down the stairs. She says good morning and they will at least reply but don’t bother looking up. More kids arrive and they don’t interact with each other. Their way of interacting is by watching the other play a game on their tablet. If they had free will on their tablets at all times I believe they would sit on them all day long. The only time they interact is when they are forced to put the tablets down. They’re so addicted they never put the tablets down the first time you ask. They will never develop these necessary skills if they continue to move through life under these circumstances.
Draft 2
Technology has been advancing for years and continues to advance. Almost everyone uses technology in some way or another. Whether for educational purposes, to contact family and friends, or just for entertainment. It is reasonable to assume all this exposure to devices has impacted the population in some way. This is why Sherry Turkle, a doctorate holder in sociology and psychology from Harvard, addresses these issues in “The Empathy Diaries.” She focuses on how technology affects our capacity for connection, empathy, and intimacy. The more technology advances, the more our ability to converse with one another and speak face-to-face is being stripped away. Conversation is a key element to development and without it, there are many consequences. I agree with the points she makes but I believe she dramatizes some of these points and does not consider other factors.
This idea of lacking development is first mentioned in the first paragraph on page 344, when Sherry Turkle states, “Fully present to one another, we learn to listen. It’s where we develop the capacity for empathy. It’s where we experience the joy of being heard, of being understood. And conversation advances self-reflection, the conversation with ourselves that are the cornerstone of early development and continue throughout life.” Turkle mentions several different ways in which she believes technology affects us. I agree that technology has an impact on development, especially in young children. Kids aren’t developing the ability to be fully present. I’ve seen this firsthand because my mom has a home daycare. I watch kids come to our house staring at their tablets completely unaware of their surroundings as they walk down the stairs. She says good morning and they will at least reply but don’t bother looking up. More kids arrive and they don’t interact with each other. Their way of interacting is by watching the other play a game on their tablet. If they had free will on their tablets at all times I believe they would sit on them all day long. The only time they interact is when they are forced to put the tablets down. They’re so addicted they never put the tablets down the first time you ask. Kids of this generation aren’t able to develop necessary social skills if they are never interacting with others outside of a screen. If they continue to move through life under these circumstances, it’s only going to get worse.
Additionally, Turkle mentions the importance of conversation and how it develops empathy and intimacy. If people are not conversing, they are never reaching the point of intimacy. When your time is spent texting, you’re losing practice in conversing. Sherry Turkle says, “That means lost practice in the empathetic arts-learning to make eye contact, to listen, and to attend to others. Conversation is on the path toward the experience of intimacy, community, and communion. Reclaiming conversation is a step toward reclaiming our most fundamental human values.”(pg 346) If you don’t know how to speak face-to-face, how will you ever learn how to attend and listen to others? I think Turkle makes a really good point about not reaching intimacy or community without conversing. The starting point of all relationships and friendships start with a conversation. If this conversation never happens, how will the relationship get any stronger? I agree with what Turkle is saying regarding intimacy and empathy, but I think she exaggerates how much technology has taken away our fundamental human values.
Finally, Turkle mentions a valuable point about younger generations. She claims, “Without conversation, studies show that we are less empathetic, less connected, less creative and fulfilled. We are diminished, in retreat. But to generations that grew up using their phones to text and message, these studies may be describing losses they don’t feel. They didn’t grow up with a lot of face-to-face talk.”(350) How are we to measure the changes of conversation when these younger generations never had face-to-face conversations to begin with? It’s sad to think younger kids will never feel the connection the older generations got to experience. If you never converse with someone enough to form intimacy, you’ll never feel comfortable or know how to share your feelings with one another. If you’re not sharing feelings, you’ll never learn how to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and develop empathy for others.
In my personal experience as an 18 year old who grew up surrounded by technology, I feel as though I didn’t grow up with as much face-to-face talk as I should’ve. I remember wanting a phone so bad. Everyone else had a phone and it made me feel left out because the only conversations were happening on phones. At the end of the day in seventh grade when we finally had time to talk to each other, everyone was instead just looking on their phones. Sometimes I find face-to-face conversations to be awkward and anxiety inducing. But, connecting with people on social media isn’t the same. I have never been able to form a friendship that stemmed from online. I’ve talked to people on social media but after a week we never speak again.
I strongly agree with what Turkle is saying, but at the same time, I don’t think she considers all the factors that could be playing into this. For example, I think a lot of these issues with connection, empathy, and intimacy come from Covid because we weren’t allowed to speak to each other in person.
Draft 3
Technology has been advancing for years and continues to advance. Almost everyone uses technology in some way or another. Whether for educational purposes, to contact family and friends, or just for entertainment. It is reasonable to assume all this exposure to devices has impacted the population in some way. This is why Sherry Turkle, a doctorate holder in sociology and psychology from Harvard, addresses these issues in “The Empathy Diaries.” She focuses on how technology affects our capacity for connection, empathy, and intimacy. The more technology advances, the more our ability to converse with one another and speak face-to-face is being stripped away. Conversation is a key element to development and without it, there are many consequences. I agree with the points she makes but I believe she dramatizes some of these points and does not consider other factors.
This idea of lacking development is first mentioned in the first paragraph on page 344, when Sherry Turkle states, “Fully present to one another, we learn to listen. It’s where we develop the capacity for empathy. It’s where we experience the joy of being heard, of being understood. And conversation advances self-reflection, the conversation with ourselves that are the cornerstone of early development and continue throughout life.” Turkle mentions several different ways in which she believes technology affects us. I agree that technology has an impact on development, especially in young children. Kids aren’t developing the ability to be fully present. I’ve seen this first hand because my mom has a home daycare. I watch kids come to our house staring at their tablets completely unaware of their surroundings as they walk down the stairs. She says good morning and they will at least reply but don’t bother looking up. More kids arrive and they don’t interact with each other. Their way of interacting is by watching the other play a game on their tablet. If they had free will on their tablets at all times I believe they would sit on them all day long. The only time they interact is when they are forced to put the tablets down. They’re so addicted they never put the tablets down the first time you ask. Kids of this generation aren’t able to develop necessary social skills if they are never interacting with others outside of a screen. They also don’t learn how to self-reflect because they never have time alone with their thoughts, free time is spent on devices. If they continue to move through life under these circumstances, it’s only going to get worse.
Additionally, Turkle mentions the importance of conversation and how it develops empathy and intimacy. If people are not conversing, they are never reaching the point of intimacy. When your time is spent texting, you’re losing practice in conversing. Sherry Turkle explains, “That means lost practice in the empathetic arts-learning to make eye contact, to listen, and to attend to others. Conversation is on the path toward the experience of intimacy, community, and communion. Reclaiming conversation is a step toward reclaiming our most fundamental human values.”(pg 346) If you don’t know how to speak face-to-face, how will you ever learn how to attend and listen to others? I think Turkle makes a really good point about not reaching intimacy or community without conversing. The starting point of all relationships and friendships start with a conversation. If you never converse with someone enough to form intimacy, you’ll never feel comfortable or know how to share your feelings with one another. If you’re not sharing feelings, you’ll never learn how to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and develop empathy for others. I agree with what Turkle is saying regarding intimacy and empathy, but I think she exaggerates how much technology has taken away our fundamental human values.
Finally, Turkle mentions a valuable point about younger generations. She claims, “Without conversation, studies show that we are less empathetic, less connected, less creative and fulfilled. We are diminished, in retreat. But to generations that grew up using their phones to text and message, these studies may be describing losses they don’t feel. They didn’t grow up with a lot of face-to-face talk.”(350) How are we to measure the changes of conversation when these younger generations never had face-to-face conversations to begin with? Their conversation skills can’t decline because they never had them in the first place. Younger kids will never feel the connection the older generations got to experience.
Although it seems as though technology has done too much damage, Turkle believes we can reclaim conversation. If we put the screens down, talk, and be present with one another we can turn this around. Turkle proves this when she mentions children’s capacity for empathy increase after 5 days at a summer camp with no electronics. I agree it’s possible, but I think technology is too easily accessible and a lot of people don’t have the self control for it.
In my personal experience as an 18 year old who grew up surrounded by technology, I see its effects on myself daily. I take my phone everywhere I go and I use it way more than I should. I also find it harder to connect with people now than in the past.
I strongly agree with what Turkle is saying because I see these issues in myself and in all the people around me. It’s no question that we aren’t able to connect like we once did. While I think most of this stems from technology, I don’t think Turkle considers all the factors that could be playing into this. For example, I think a lot of these issues with connection, empathy, and intimacy come from Covid because we weren’t allowed to speak to each other in person.
Final
Malayna Hawxwell
Professor Jesse
English 110
25 Sept. 2024
How Much is Technology Affecting Us?
Technology has been advancing for years and continues to advance. Almost everyone uses technology in some way or another. Whether for educational purposes, to contact family and friends, or just for entertainment. It is reasonable to assume all this exposure to devices has impacted the population in some way. This is why Sherry Turkle, a doctorate holder in sociology and psychology from Harvard, addresses these issues in “The Empathy Diaries.” She focuses on how technology affects our capacity for connection, empathy, and intimacy. The more technology advances, the more our ability to converse with one another and speak face-to-face is being stripped away. Conversation is a key element to development and without it, there are many consequences. I agree that technology is affecting our conversations, connection, empathy, intimacy, and development because we use it to avoid face-to-face interactions. We do this out of convenience, ease, and to prevent social anxiety. Older generations lost the ability to converse face-to-face while younger generations never developed the ability to converse. While I agree with Turkle on many points, I disagree that technology is taking away fundamental values such as honesty, trust, and fairness. Technology may diminish these values, but it doesn’t completely erase them. Technology does have some benefits that Turkle doesn’t mention. It opens us up to new ideas and perspectives. This exposure helps us to have open-minded conversations.
This idea of conversation contributing to development is first mentioned at the beginning of the text when Turkle introduces how we turn to our phones instead of each other. Turkle explains how important face-to-face conversation is by stating, “Fully present to one another, we learn to listen. It’s where we develop the capacity for empathy. It’s where we experience the joy of being heard, of being understood. And conversation advances self-reflection, the conversation with ourselves that are the cornerstone of early development and continue throughout life.” Turkle mentions several different ways in which conversation is necessary for us. Conversing helps with development and without it, people are not fully developing, especially young kids. Kids aren’t developing the ability to be fully present. I’ve seen this first hand because my mom has a home daycare. I watch kids come to our house staring at their tablets completely unaware of their surroundings as they walk down the stairs. She says good morning and they will at least reply but don’t bother looking up. More kids arrive and they don’t interact with each other. Their way of interacting is by watching each other play games on their tablet. If they had free will on their tablets at all times I believe they would sit on them all day long. The only time they interact is when they are forced to put the tablet down. They’re so addicted they never put the tablets down the first time you ask. Kids of this generation aren’t able to develop necessary social skills if they are never interacting with others outside of a screen. They also don’t learn how to self-reflect because they never have time alone with their thoughts, free time is spent on devices. If they continue to move through life under these circumstances, it’s only going to get worse.
Additionally, Turkle mentions the importance of conversation and how it develops empathy and intimacy. Intimacy refers to how emotionally connected you are with another person. If people are not conversing, they are never going to be able to form intimacy. When your time is spent texting, you’re losing practice in conversing. Sherry Turkle explains, “That means lost practice in the empathetic arts-learning to make eye contact, to listen, and to attend to others. Conversation is on the path toward the experience of intimacy, community, and communion. Reclaiming conversation is a step toward reclaiming our most fundamental human values” (Turkle 346). Turkle expresses the importance of conversation and how it develops necessary aspects of relationships. If you don’t know how to speak face-to-face, how will you ever learn how to attend and listen to others? I think Turkle makes a really good point about not reaching intimacy or community without conversing. The starting point of all relationships and friendships start with a conversation. If you never converse with someone enough to form intimacy, you’ll never feel comfortable or know how to share your feelings with one another. If you’re not sharing feelings, you’ll never learn how to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and develop empathy for others. For example, if I were to meet someone online, I would never reach the point in friendship where I felt comfortable sharing personal information. I agree with what Turkle is saying regarding intimacy and empathy, but I don’t agree with the idea that technology has taken away our fundamental human values. The five fundamental human values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. Technology may have taken away some of these values but not all. Personally, as someone who grew up surrounded by technology my whole life, I don’t feel as though I lack in any of these values.
Finally, Turkle mentions a valuable point about younger generations. She claims, “Without conversation, studies show that we are less empathetic, less connected, less creative and fulfilled. We are diminished, in retreat. But to generations that grew up using their phones to text and message, these studies may be describing losses they don’t feel. They didn’t grow up with a lot of face-to-face talk.”(350) Turkle explains how studies show we have less empathy and connection. But for studies of younger generations, there is no loss of these qualities because they never had them. How are we to measure the changes in conversation when these younger generations never had face-to-face conversations to begin with? Their conversation skills can’t decline because they never had them in the first place. Younger kids will never feel the connection the older generations got to experience. I agree because when I look at my parents and grandparents, all of their connections are personal. They watch us grow up and notice how different our childhoods are from their childhoods. They didn’t have a phone, so they were forced to go out and speak face-to-face which helped them develop empathy and connection. Newer generations have so many alternatives to avoid face-to-face conversation so they never got the chance to develop empathy and connection.
While I do agree with Turkle that technology has many negative effects on conversation, I also believe that technology has some positive effects on conversation that Turkle doesn’t mention. For example, technology gives us the ability to talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Technology has allowed us to break boundaries of distance and talk to people all over the world. It also allows us to share ideas and information with each other which opens us up to different perspectives. This allows us to have more insightful, open-minded conversations. Access to the internet allows us to be better educated which as a result allows us to have intelligent conversations.
Overall, I agree with Turkle that technology is affecting our conversations. We use technology to avoid talking to each other in person. This causes us to lack connection, empathy, intimacy, and development. On the other hand, I disagree with Turkle that technology is taking away our fundamental values. While technology may diminish these values, they are not completely stripped away. Also, Turkle seems to only look at the negative effects of technology, implying there are little to no benefits. I don’t agree with this because technology does have many benefits. Therefore, Turkle makes many great points that I agree with, but I don’t agree with all of them.
