Week 12 - Utopias and Dystopias

This week our assignment was to watch the TED talk by Sherry Turkle. The questions we had to think about concerned how technology today affects our relationships, have we noticed symptoms of this in our daily lives or surroundings and is Sherry Turkle’s view on technology more utopian or dystopian.

In her talk Sherry Turkle discusses the idea of being alone together. By this she means the way people nowadays spend time with friends, taking part in conferences and classes but at the same time we are connected to the Internet via our mobile phones. Sherry Turkle presented one picture of her daughter and her two friends. They were spending time together probably at the Turkle family’s home, but all the three were browsing the Internet via their mobile phones. Turkle mentions that we participate in presentations, for example, but during those kinds of meetings we still use our mobile phones and are not really present.

I have noticed many times, how the use of smart phones takes time off of conversation. Sometimes I have been waiting for a class to start with a friend. I would have wanted to talk with her, but because she is browsing the Internet via her mobile phone, I feel that if I say something, I will interrupt. It is more difficult to start a conversation if the other person is focused on their mobile phone. One time I entered a classroom and greeted a friend, but she did not notice me because her eyes were fixed on her smartphone. The situation made me feel a bit annoyed and maybe also sad. I myself do not own a smartphone and that makes these kinds of situations even more annoying to me. If I am eating lunch with some friends and they all are browsing their smartphones, I just have to focus on eating, because I do not have a gadget to focus on instead of a conversation. Technology can be a great thing for human kind but I think for example the use of smartphones has already gone too far. I have heard some people complaining that no one is talking with each other in parties but they all sit together while browsing their smartphones. This is not how people should act in social events.

Sherry Turkle’s view on technology is more utopian than dystopian. She mentions that technology can be harmful for us and our relationships but it can also be of benefit. According to Sherry Turkle we must learn to use technology in a responsible way and to take time also for real conversation.

J.J.