Danna C.

Barredo September 1, 2020

ZGE 1105 - B4C

Connected vs Communication

‘Connected, but alone?’ by Sherry Turkle has sent me a lot of messages about the
importance of giving a sacred place to reflect on yourself and the importance of having a
conversation. Also, she talks about how people prefer to put themselves in front of machines
instead of their fellow humans, and how it can affect communication in the future generation. In
this generation that we start to live on, has communication become less important in a human’s
perspective?

I am sad to think about how people always lose their control when they started to use
their gadgets. They always lose grip and they lose sight on which their two bare eyes can reach. I
am also sad to think about how we are glad to see the world evolving with technologies while
our connection with one another is being left behind. Seeing my friends having eye contact on
their cellphones taking a lot more time than looking at one another is sending me a lot of
messages and one of them is a disappointment. One time, I had my eighteenth birthday at home,
I invited my friends from my former school, and as we celebrate my birthday others started to
talk about what they have been doing over the past few months but others seems to be more
enticed in playing their games on their phones and scrolling in their social media accounts. I
haven’t seen them for years and have lost communication with them, however, since we are
having a party we want to catch up with one another but it seems like others find the games on
their phone more interesting than having a conversation with their friends.

The development of technologies is growing so fast that it reached the fact that people
now find social media more comforting and easier than having a conversation with a person and
because of this, we started to get lazy to start a conversation and so we let the technologies
revolve around our world. When technologies achieved their purposes alone, people forget how
to listen to others just like how my guy friends decided to focus on their games and not to put
their full attention on our friends’ genuine stories, to put in words, they decided to be connected
elsewhere and communication has lost its purpose. As time goes by, people are having less
appreciation for what one conversation can do, not only to one person but rather to several
people. Because my guy friends took a lot of time playing games, they also forget to take time on
reflecting on themselves which causes them to absorb less appreciation when feelings and
emotions are being shared. Imagine, if my guy friends decided to put down their cellphone for a
while and also started sharing their experiences for the past few months, the situation could have
been different, to put in words, it could have been happier and exciting. That is why I agree with
Ms. Sherry Turkle when she said that people should change their ways of using their
technologies, and people should know when to use it only.

After all, it was not the technology’s fault, it was us, people from the start, who has less
care to involve ourselves in a conversation because people like us always find excuses for not
communicating with other people. Little did we know that because of this, it doesn’t only hurt
ourselves but also to other people, because we care less to ourselves we also show less
appreciation to others. And if there’s something that people should remind themselves, it is that
technology should only use when we are far from each other, and when we are near, a
conversation is a must. Important and detailed information should only be seen on our phones
but when feelings and emotions are involved let the conversation work on its own, and so real
attachment will start to grow. In this generation that we start to live on, I cannot wait to see
people starting to find their fellow human as their companion more than their gadgets whether
we are in pain, in happiness, in angry, in fear, and even at times when we are lonely because
technologies do not have the experience, but human’s feelings and emotions that are being
shared are for real.

Reference:
Ted. (2012, April 4). Connected, but Alone? [Video]. Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Xr3AsBEK4