"The Flight from Conversation"

In today’s world it seems as if people are more concerned with reading e-mails, sending text messages, and updating their Facebook status rather than conversing and interacting with another person. In the article “The Flight from Conversation” Sherry Turkle discusses how there is a new trend of being “alone together.” She explains that no matter where we are or who we are with, we have a constant desire to be “connected.” Technology today allows us to be present in one place while being anywhere else we want to be (digitally) at the same time.

As Mike Wesch proclaimed the need to embrace technology, especially in the classroom, Turkle expresses the need to maintain the human connection. I don’t necessarily think that Turkle is challenging Wesch’s ideas but rather shedding light on a darker side of the technology revolution. It is just as important for students to be digitally literate as it is for them to have the ability to communicate and interact with others.

Technology is growing and becoming more advanced so rapidly however I don’t think it will or should ever take the place of human interactions. I agree with many of the points Turkle made in her piece. Kids today are growing up with these devices as the norm. As we discussed in class, research has shown that the brains of children who grow up fully immersed in technology are actually changing to adapt to the world around them. Does this mean that they will loose the critical piece of social interaction? I hope not. So often I see children, even adults, who are glued to their digital devices. It is important that parents and families set limits and make the time for genuine interactions – device free.

The following YouTube video is a TED Talk from Sherry Turkle where she further illustrates her point.