assistance needed english

Boncher 6

Jeremy Boncher

Professor Kameo Cragoe

English Composition I

19 March 2021

Technology Has Taken Over Society; Let’s Embrace It but Also Get Back to Basics

I grew up in a time without the modern technology of the internet, texting, smart phones, Facebook, Twitter, online dating and really, the list can go on and on. I guess one could say, I have lived the best of both worlds. Through these experiences, I have realized that I prefer in-person interactions. It’s not even the words that are spoken during these interactions; it’s the facial expressions and the body language that draw me in. However, my youth showed me my disdain for talking on the phone which led to my pure enjoyment of the revolutionary idea of texting. Basic texting technology, followed by smart phones years later, has brought convenience and enjoyment to all generations living in this current society but has also led to addiction, anxiety, and false self-representations.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Sherry Turkle sheds light on today’s youth who have been born into a technology-soaked world in her 2011 book, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, and specifically in a chapter called, “Growing Up Tethered.” Throughout the chapter, Turkle interviews several teenagers and questions how they handle and cope with technology regarding relationships with friends and family and having a life that’s online. She begins by talking about the addictive nature of technology and the ways students can’t stay away from texting while driving despite known dangers. She then discusses the equally significant dangers cell phones pose for identity development. She offers that this millennial generation lacks independence because young people always have a parent or friend close at hand to help with decision making and offer constant emotional feedback. Beyond the ways overdependence on constant communication with others impedes development of independence, she further comments that self-branding and social media interactions can lead to a deceitful or confused self-representation and self-perception. An online life is all the youth of today know, and Turkle correctly focuses on their trials and tribulations; however, she only touches briefly on the impact of technology on adults who grew up with heavy technological influences.

Through interviews with teens, Turkle notes that the need for connection is what addicts them to their phones, but she could further explore the ways this need for connection stems from parental influences. One student states, “I keep the sound on when I drive. When a text comes in, I have to look. No matter what” (Turkle 583). This same sentiment was a common theme with most of the students Turkle interviewed. The students need their phones on them at all times to make sure they can check their Facebook feed or receive that Twitter message. Being able to call, text and post at will has also led to emotional issues. Turkle states that having a parent or friend only a text or call away leads to the inability to cope with stresses and anxious moments on their own (585). She calls this inability “[t]he collaborative self” (587). Although she discusses the participation of parents in their children’s phone addiction and parental dependence, she could more strongly implicate adults in the problem. Parents of this generation have helped to cultivate their children’s need for emotional approval which has led to anxious moments for both adult and child. Adults willingly handed their kids cell phones and want constant updates on their whereabouts while frantically waiting for the quick response they want. Young people have also acquired the need for a rapid response as they move on from friend to friend if the first doesn’t respond fast enough. Parents’ actions with their own cell phone addiction has led to a copycat pattern for their kids.

Turkle also highlights the dependence issues created by “the collaborative self” but doesn’t fully explore the long-term implications of this dependence for young people as they move into adulthood. Turkle emphasizes that, with the ability to always contact someone, having a “tethered life,” has led to independence issues with the youth of this generation (583). She explains that years ago, before cell phones, if a college-aged person called their parents multiple times a day, they clearly had separation issues. However, today with the conveniences of texting, this is a normal occurrence (586). Turkle goes on to discuss the Huck Finn story and how he fled from adult supervision for adventures on the Mississippi. She states, “Of course, the time on the river is emblematic not of a moment but of an ongoing process through which children separate from their parents” (584). Turkle points to a significant problem developing among young people, but the problem has further-reaching consequences than those she highlights. Unlike Huck Finn who sought independence, millennials have learned increasing or, at very least, continued dependence on parental figures. This dependence carries over into their workplace interactions. Millennials have started immersing into the work force and interacting with co-workers three times their age, and when conflict arises between young and old, the youngster often runs to the supervisor rather than solving the issue on their own. The supervisor is acting as the work parent for the young worker. Independence is needed, and adults and children must embrace the current online society but also let go of each other and allow for the return of the individuality the adults once felt so it can be passed onto the child.

Just as young people’s childhood dependence on parental figures has consequences well into adulthood, so do the false self-representations Turkle explores. She points out that social media like Facebook and Twitter allow for a profile creation that people can craft to appeal to those who are friended or are following. Turkle interviewed a fourteen-year old girl that recently joined Facebook. The girl stated, “Immediately, I felt power” (591). The power that people have behind a keyboard can go in many different directions. As stated previously, having the ability to portray themselves as the person they always wanted to be is powerful, and again, the implications reach beyond adolescent development and into the adult workplace. Social media users can create their profiles to appeal to interviewers at a new job. With this rapidly changing technology and increasing self-branding, do companies really know who they’re hiring? Potential employees may just be meticulously crafted versions straight from online profiles. Besides these self-misrepresentations, adults also lack civility in online social interactions. People feel they can do or say whatever they want about themselves and to others when they’re behind that computer screen. Often, while scrolling through Twitter, I can’t help but notice all the rude and hostile interactions people encounter. Would these same people talk like that in a face-to-face interaction? Social media platforms certainly allow users to both misrepresent themselves and to mistreat others without fully facing the interpersonal consequences.

Through real life interviews, Turkle does a fine job of portraying today’s young people’s adventures with their technological selves, and she accurately points out the emotional ups and downs that are associated with being online. However, only touching briefly on the adult’s role in young people’s techno ways, she needed to discuss this point further and to explore the ways the technological habits established while young might carry over into adult life. Can Millennials find a happy medium between their “tethered” sidekicks and developing individuality? Can adults lead by example and once again find the ability to be “individual” like they once knew and interject that thinking into young people’s minds? Ideally, we all should embrace the conveniences that our walking computers have bestowed upon us. However, we should remember that a healthy dose of independent decision making and significant time spent developing in-person relationships are the best ways to show (and become) who we truly are.

Works Cited

Turkle, Sherry. “Growing Up Tethered.” From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Text and Reader. 5th ed. Edited by Stuart Greene and April Lidinsky. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2021. 582-597.

Boncher 6

Jeremy Boncher

Professor Kameo Cragoe

English Composition I

19 March 2021

Technology Has Taken Over Society; Let’s Embrace It but Also Get Back to Basics

I grew up in a time without the modern technology of the internet, texting, smart phones, Facebook, Twitter, online dating and really, the list can go on and on. I guess one could say, I have lived the best of both worlds. Through these experiences, I have realized that I prefer in-person interactions. It’s not even the words that are spoken during these interactions; it’s the facial expressions and the body language that draw me in. However, my youth showed me my disdain for talking on the phone which led to my pure enjoyment of the revolutionary idea of texting. Basic texting technology, followed by smart phones years later, has brought convenience and enjoyment to all generations living in this current society but has also led to addiction, anxiety, and false self-representations.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Sherry Turkle sheds light on today’s youth who have been born into a technology-soaked world in her 2011 book, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, and specifically in a chapter called, “Growing Up Tethered.” Throughout the chapter, Turkle interviews several teenagers and questions how they handle and cope with technology regarding relationships with friends and family and having a life that’s online. She begins by talking about the addictive nature of technology and the ways students can’t stay away from texting while driving despite known dangers. She then discusses the equally significant dangers cell phones pose for identity development. She offers that this millennial generation lacks independence because young people always have a parent or friend close at hand to help with decision making and offer constant emotional feedback. Beyond the ways overdependence on constant communication with others impedes development of independence, she further comments that self-branding and social media interactions can lead to a deceitful or confused self-representation and self-perception. An online life is all the youth of today know, and Turkle correctly focuses on their trials and tribulations; however, she only touches briefly on the impact of technology on adults who grew up with heavy technological influences.

Through interviews with teens, Turkle notes that the need for connection is what addicts them to their phones, but she could further explore the ways this need for connection stems from parental influences. One student states, “I keep the sound on when I drive. When a text comes in, I have to look. No matter what” (Turkle 583). This same sentiment was a common theme with most of the students Turkle interviewed. The students need their phones on them at all times to make sure they can check their Facebook feed or receive that Twitter message. Being able to call, text and post at will has also led to emotional issues. Turkle states that having a parent or friend only a text or call away leads to the inability to cope with stresses and anxious moments on their own (585). She calls this inability “[t]he collaborative self” (587). Although she discusses the participation of parents in their children’s phone addiction and parental dependence, she could more strongly implicate adults in the problem. Parents of this generation have helped to cultivate their children’s need for emotional approval which has led to anxious moments for both adult and child. Adults willingly handed their kids cell phones and want constant updates on their whereabouts while frantically waiting for the quick response they want. Young people have also acquired the need for a rapid response as they move on from friend to friend if the first doesn’t respond fast enough. Parents’ actions with their own cell phone addiction has led to a copycat pattern for their kids.

Turkle also highlights the dependence issues created by “the collaborative self” but doesn’t fully explore the long-term implications of this dependence for young people as they move into adulthood. Turkle emphasizes that, with the ability to always contact someone, having a “tethered life,” has led to independence issues with the youth of this generation (583). She explains that years ago, before cell phones, if a college-aged person called their parents multiple times a day, they clearly had separation issues. However, today with the conveniences of texting, this is a normal occurrence (586). Turkle goes on to discuss the Huck Finn story and how he fled from adult supervision for adventures on the Mississippi. She states, “Of course, the time on the river is emblematic not of a moment but of an ongoing process through which children separate from their parents” (584). Turkle points to a significant problem developing among young people, but the problem has further-reaching consequences than those she highlights. Unlike Huck Finn who sought independence, millennials have learned increasing or, at very least, continued dependence on parental figures. This dependence carries over into their workplace interactions. Millennials have started immersing into the work force and interacting with co-workers three times their age, and when conflict arises between young and old, the youngster often runs to the supervisor rather than solving the issue on their own. The supervisor is acting as the work parent for the young worker. Independence is needed, and adults and children must embrace the current online society but also let go of each other and allow for the return of the individuality the adults once felt so it can be passed onto the child.

Just as young people’s childhood dependence on parental figures has consequences well into adulthood, so do the false self-representations Turkle explores. She points out that social media like Facebook and Twitter allow for a profile creation that people can craft to appeal to those who are friended or are following. Turkle interviewed a fourteen-year old girl that recently joined Facebook. The girl stated, “Immediately, I felt power” (591). The power that people have behind a keyboard can go in many different directions. As stated previously, having the ability to portray themselves as the person they always wanted to be is powerful, and again, the implications reach beyond adolescent development and into the adult workplace. Social media users can create their profiles to appeal to interviewers at a new job. With this rapidly changing technology and increasing self-branding, do companies really know who they’re hiring? Potential employees may just be meticulously crafted versions straight from online profiles. Besides these self-misrepresentations, adults also lack civility in online social interactions. People feel they can do or say whatever they want about themselves and to others when they’re behind that computer screen. Often, while scrolling through Twitter, I can’t help but notice all the rude and hostile interactions people encounter. Would these same people talk like that in a face-to-face interaction? Social media platforms certainly allow users to both misrepresent themselves and to mistreat others without fully facing the interpersonal consequences.

Through real life interviews, Turkle does a fine job of portraying today’s young people’s adventures with their technological selves, and she accurately points out the emotional ups and downs that are associated with being online. However, only touching briefly on the adult’s role in young people’s techno ways, she needed to discuss this point further and to explore the ways the technological habits established while young might carry over into adult life. Can Millennials find a happy medium between their “tethered” sidekicks and developing individuality? Can adults lead by example and once again find the ability to be “individual” like they once knew and interject that thinking into young people’s minds? Ideally, we all should embrace the conveniences that our walking computers have bestowed upon us. However, we should remember that a healthy dose of independent decision making and significant time spent developing in-person relationships are the best ways to show (and become) who we truly are.

Works Cited

Turkle, Sherry. “Growing Up Tethered.” From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Text and Reader. 5th ed. Edited by Stuart Greene and April Lidinsky. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2021. 582-597.