Rosemarie Teresa F.

Pil BSHM - 1
Comm 11 Purposive Communication 1st Semester S.Y. 2022-2023

THE FLIGHT FROM CONVERSATION

By SHERRY TURKLE

Sherry Turkle argues in her article "The Flight From Conversation" about how
technology affects how people communicate and how it has changed over time. She
believes that we live in a time in which electronic devices hinder our human growth
and impair pure human relationships. It shows how individuals would rather
communicate via text or technology in general than have personal interaction with one
another. Isolation through internet connections lowers interpersonal skills, patience,
and self-reflection. Those devices in people's pockets are so psychologically potent
that they alter their behavior and identity. Technology only defines individuals by
sharing their thoughts and feelings, and when they are profoundly linked to those
things, it will lead them to areas they do not want to go to. Because they have a strong
desire to design their lives, they may bounce in and out of wherever they are because
control over where they spend their attention is the most valuable thing. They're so
engrossed in their own world that they've lost touch. Connecting in sips may be
effective for gaining discrete bits of information, such as texting to communicate how
they are feeling at the time, but it is ineffective for comprehending and knowing each
other. They don't know if the person who texted them truly felt that way or if they
were just pretending.

What I thought of Sherry Turkle's article was that she depict the obvious
concern about utilizing technology as a real form of communication when it is not. At
some point, I completely agree with her article, which was about using technology to
keep ourselves at manageable distances from one another. Social media platforms
allow us to shape ourselves into who we want to be by masking our flaws and only
showing our flawless selves; that connection to the internet functions as a symptom
rather than a cure because it only helps us temporarily and not permanently; It is
appealing to have social media because it provides automatic listeners, such as
Discord, where strangers from the internet listen and comfort you more than the
people who are right in front of you; listening to one another personally, even the
boring parts where we hesitate, stutter, go silent, and cannot control what we’re going
to say; makes communication pure while also revealing ourselves to one another;
when people expect more from technology than from each other. Most people
nowadays rely on technologies or equipment much more than their fellow individuals.
This is due to the benefits of using technologies that obviously outperform human
abilities and contributions. Even though I agree with many of her views, there are a
few statements that I disagree with. The first thing that I came across while reading
the article was the statement, "Researchers around the world are busy inventing
sociable robots, designed to be companions to the elderly, to children, to all of us."
That statement, I believe, is their possible solution, which I strongly disagree with
because it will not solve the problem; rather, it will exacerbate it because as people
become more comfortable with technology as a companion, they will become more
distant from one another, have no trust in one another, and true communication will
be practically nonexistent. My suggestion is to use technology as a medium for
awareness, informing them about the problem and encouraging them to communicate
without depending on technology. What I appreciate about the article is that it gives
us an in-depth understanding that communication is not a connection that people
misunderstand.

Technology has made such significant advances or contributions to our society.

However, certain parts of daily life cannot be achieved through internet
communication or technology. We believe, and strongly urge, that face-to-face
contact should be prioritized in our lives before we lose the ability to communicate
with others in person. Technology is attempting to redefine human connection; how
we care for one another and ourselves; but it also provides us with the ability to affirm
our beliefs and our course. We have everything we need to get started, including each
other, and we have the best chance of success if we realize our vulnerability and listen
when technology tells us that anything complicated will need something simpler.
Instead of going out to a pub with friends, we spend the evening on social media. Our
dreams of substitution, however, have cost us dearly. Now we must all focus on the
various ways that technology can reconnect us to our own lives, bodies, communities,
politics, and planet. They require our help.