A reaction paper to

“The Flight from Conversation”

Balladares, Jhusper F. BMMA1

“The flight from conversation” is a New York Times article written by Abby
Rockfeller Mauze, better known by her pen name “Sherry Turkle”. Turkle stated that she
studied mobile technologies for over 15 years and spoke with hundreds of people about
their "plugged-in lives." She discovered that mobile devices are so powerful that they
have changed not only how people do things but also who they are. In the article she
argues that technology has fundamentally altered how people communicate over time.
People would rather communicate via text, e-mail, and other flat forms of social media
than by talking or conversing face-to-face. She also mentioned that people have gotten
so accustomed to technology that it has become the new way of being alone. Turkle
concludes with recommendations methods of dealing with the technology invasion.
Turkle ends her piece with a bit of advice. She advised that we should raise our heads
and look at each other to begin conversation.

Technology, I believe, has simplified the way I do things, allowing me to save time,
increase production, and communicate more effectively. It has also allowed me to
significantly alter my surroundings to better suit my needs and communicate more
effectively. Certain aspects of my daily life, on the other hand, are unattainable via these
online communication methods. Based on the article mentioned above, the purpose of
this reaction paper is to explore the effects of technological advancement on my day-to-
day conversation.

“Everyone has to be able to participate in a future that they want to live for,” Dean
Kamen said. That is what technology is capable of.” This, in my opinion, is completely
correct. Technology is a tool with two edges: with one, I can live in a technologically
advanced era. Technology is required for traveling, communicating, learning,
conducting business, and living comfortably. Thanks to mobile technology, I can
communicate with my much further friends and relatives. With the help of the internet, I
can learn new things. I can now travel to some far locations in a matter of hours, as
opposed to years in the past. I have the ability to share information with anyone,
anywhere in the world. Without a doubt, I believe technology is one of humanity's
greatest inventions.

However, with the other edge, Sherry Turkle pointed out that technology is so
powerful that it influences not only what we do, but also who we are as people. I modify
or customize myself to conform to societal expectations rather than expressing who I
am. When I use social media platforms, I feel connected to everyone else, but in reality,
I am subconsciously drifting away from everyone else with whom I am physically
present. When I'm out with my friends, for example, we're more likely to be on our
phones, taking pictures with each other and updating our social media platforms with
the fact that we've met up, rather than having proper conversations. It's as if we feel
obligated to tell the entire world what we're up to, lest we feel incomplete or
unrecognizable. While I am able to freely express myself online, sharing bits of my life
and experiences on social media, I frequently fail to do so offline. I've become so reliant
on it that I've begun to discard face-to-face interactions in favor of virtual ones because I
believe it is more convenient. As a result, even though I say we have more connections
than ever before, I am still alone, as like Sherry pointed out.

Overall, I fully agree with Sherry Turkle that technology has altered how we
communicate. I believe that new technologies enable more efficient communication, but
that they may also cause some people to become more sedentary. Also, I am well
aware that we now rely on technology for communication much more than we did years
ago. We always text, call, or check our phones no matter where we go or what we do
because they are convenient and with us all the time. From writing and sending physical
mail to a click of a button on an email or messenger, our mode of communication has
changed dramatically. Sherry talks about how losing connection to technology can
make people feel lonely, and it’s true. Without phone, I was unable to call or text
anyone, and no one was able to contact me. I had the impression that I was cut off from
the rest of the world. It's incredible what technology has accomplished in terms of
improving people's lives in so many ways.

It's incredible to see how much a generation can change our lives. All thanks to
technological advancements. Since we now spend more time online than ever before,
and the internet plays a key role in various aspects of our lives, technology has a huge
social impact. There's no denying that technology has made our lives easier and
allowed us to communicate with the rest of the world, but it also has a number of flaws.
The first is a severe lack of social interaction and activities. Isolation, to put it bluntly.
We isolate ourselves because we prefer to communicate online rather than interact face
to face. However, It’s up to us which part of the sword we’re going to take.