Communication will always be a part of everything that we do, from the moment we

wake up to the moment we say our prayers before we sleep at night we communicate.
Communication seemed to be everywhere and is attached to us since the moment we were
brought into life. When we were still a baby, we cry to communicate with our parents. Our
crying for them is a message that we may be hungry, thirsty, or in pain while their action is the
response to our crying. Communication is a two way process wherein we listen and respond
because our response is a cue that we are really communicating with each other.
Nowadays, technology is omnipresent, that every single person own not just one, two or
three but “a lot” of it. Smart phones, digital watches, laptops, earpods, or any other things that
bring effortless comfort to a person can be considered as technology. According to
YourDictionary, technology is a science or knowledge put into practical use to solve problems or
invent useful tools. The words ‘solve problems’ caught my attention because for what I have
understood from the video this technological advancements or gadgets created a problem that
needs to be solved. It created a gap between people and the natural world when I say ‘natural
world’ is we are in the right state of our minds that we live in reality not in the virtual world
where we put and focus all of our time. The problem in today’s generation is that we are very
clouded by the excitement and felicity that technology brings into our life and failed to reflect its
real purpose.
The idea of Sherry Turkle about being ‘alone together’ drew an image of me and my
mom sitting together but totally engaged in our own world inside our smartphones. It hit me
deeply because we are physically present beside each other but our emotional connection as
mother and daughter was totally blocked by our own virtual worlds. We rely more on the other
world not knowing that we can make our own world together by conversing with each other that
me as a daughter should ask my mother how’s her week, her work, her health, is she doing fine
living only with my dad every time we have to leave for school. I failed my responsibility to
connect with mom I did not realize that I should grab all the opportunities to talk with them and
to be with them because not all the time that they will always be there for us.
We expect from technology and less from one another. That’s the reality I see today. We
are being manipulated by our environment; we let the social world dictate the things that we
must do. If someone has a new phone, admit it yourself that you also want to have one where the
features are more upgraded so that you can be ‘in’ with the new trend. Socializing today requires
a medium, unlike before that all you have to do is to secretly leave your house because your
mother told you to sleep but you, as a hard-headed kid, you disobey just to be with your
neighbour, friend, or cousin. You leave your house just to play, to have weird conversations, and
to brag with your playmate that your dad is taller, that you have a pink pencil case filled with
crayons, then your friend invents imaginary things just to get along because she doesn’t want to
lose the bragging game. How I miss the good old days that technology has not yet invaded our
world, that we find happiness not into material things and engaging to virtual world but instead
to get our hands dirty and exercise our imagination and mouth to converse with people.
The idea of posting birthday messages or greetings on social media also bothers me
because why do they have to post it online while in fact they practically live together. Your
birthday message is not for everyone to read but a personal message to the person who you are
greeting. Just like what Sherry Turkle have said that have we lost our confidence to be there for
one another? Do we really need social media to send our message? Have we not realize that
Mendoza, Estrelle Ninna P.
BS Psych 1B
telling it personally makes it more intimate because of our emotions and affections toward the
person.
Sherry Turkle wants us to understand that we can communicate without a gadget, that we
can be happy having nothing but a connection with someone that we are talking to. Relationships
fail because of the absence of connection; friendships fail because of lack of connection;
misunderstandings between parents happen because of connection. We fail to connect with each
other because we never listen. That is why according to Turkle, “it is so appealing to have a
Facebook page or a Twitter feed — each provides so many automatic listeners.” This brings me
to the moment that we are being alone together with my mom. I really failed to listen and have
an eye contact with her and now I wonder how she felt at that moment.
Communication is really an important matter because with this, we build connection to be
able to truly understand each other. So now is the time to reflect with the real use of technology.
Technology was innovated to facilitate our needs, not to hindrance our face-to-face interaction
with the people we love.
This time we must realize that technology will always be there. It may improve or
change, but it is still technology but the people that we missed to talk with because of technology
will not always be by our side. Technology changes to suit our needs but people change because
they feel unneeded. Now, the choice is yours.

Mendoza, Estrelle Ninna P.

BS Psych 1B