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I have watched numerous Ted Talk videos on the internet, partly because it is required. But as I continue to watch these kind of videos on YouTube, I have grown interest, and I actually enjoy watching Ted Talk videos now. The title of this Ted Talk is “Connected, But Alone”? and this was Sherry Turkle’s second Ted Talk. She went on restating her initial view of technology and how it has the effect on the psychological state of a person.
The first point Sherry discussed in her talk is the “Goldilocks Effect”.
This means that since the advancement of the digital age in our society today, customizing conversations have been made easily available. In simple term, this means that we can connect with other, not too much, not too little but just right. When people want to avoid face-to-face confrontations, they tend to use their phones instead. They send a text to that specific person, without having to express their feelings and emotions physically.
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“ Thank you so much for accepting my assignment the night before it was due. I look forward to working with you moving forward ”
I agree with her on this point, and to be honest, I have done this to some people. I find this as my “flight” response when I know I cannot face them directly. I am afraid that I will not control myself and cause more harm than good. An example of this is when I want to express my care to a person but I am afraid that he or she will reject my expression, I can easily send a text without having to face them.
Turkle also mentioned in her Ted Talk that people tend to hide behind online communication. I also agree with Turkle in this point. There are people who tend to become insecure and lonely because of this. Basically the human person is detached but they try to make it a full conversation. You can receive a sweet text from a special someone and you will smile as soon as you read it but it is nothing compared to when that special someone will say that text in front of you personally. Furthermore, Turkle discussed how different technological devices have used up our time. It has come to the point that when we feel alone or vulnerable, we just grab our phones to regain that connection. It’s like we are losing our connection to the real world. She also pointed out that we ruled out the time for real solitude. Back then when I want to reflect on something I have done, I go to a place where I am alone to think.
Nowadays, this concept drastically changed. When others want to reflect, they do not go to a peaceful place to think and meditate, they go to social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to distract themselves and that became their solution. Come to think of it, we really are losing our connection to the real world because we are too busy building our new connection in this virtual world. “It’s time to talk”, this line struck me the most in her talk. She said that people today are like young lovers, that they are afraid of too much talking because it might spoil the romance. People are always busy with their phones and this causes them to avoid physical conversations entirely. They are so used to talk to other people online and when the time comes that they need to converse with one another face-to-face, they freeze up. Same goes to other families whom the parents let their children be addicted to their phones. Fortunately, in our family, we do not have that problem because my parents taught me and my brother how to value communication within the premise of our household. One example of this is that whenever we are at the dining room and eating, no one is allowed to hold their phones or to check their messages on their laptops. We made the dining room a “sacred place”. We call this place sacred because this is the time wherein we, as a family, communicate to one another in a different level. We keep the things that might distract us away, and we cherish our bonding by talking to one another personally and this is very important for us.
The digital world has made our way of communicating with others easy, fast, and reliable. It can help us contact a person from the other side of the planet with just an internet connection and a device and the message will be received within seconds. Come to think of it, this innovation is amazing, but after hearing and learning from Sherry Turkle’s Ted Talk, and realizing the negative effects of this innovation I started to realize something. I started to think that we truly are connected but alone. We are connected in the digital world, but in the real world where it matters we are stuck with ourselves. Don’t get me wrong, being alone is not a bad thing, sometimes I want to be alone to enable myself to think clearly, but nowadays, people are just immersed into these different social media platforms and they forget their essence in the real world. I stand with Sherry Turkle, I want to find and share the ways on how technology can help turn this problem around and lead us back to our own normal lives.
Analysis of the Ted Talk Video Connected, but Alone: The Impacts of Technology on Real Life Communication. (2024, Feb 11). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/analysis-of-the-ted-talk-video-connected-but-alone-the-impacts-of-technology-on-real-life-communication-essay
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