Oskar Wirga
[Pun on Facebook] The habit of thought is one which identifies our clouds of emotion as fact, as something to be interpreted with the utmost diligence, and often time our habits detract from living in the present. Social media has been playing an important role in how we view the world, our friends, and ourselves. It has also created new habits of ours, such as manicuring our profiles to be perfect, over-sharing or letting everyone know the most minute details of our lives, or it manifests itself differently - sharing nothing at all. The evils which inhibit social interaction have been around for ages, only under different names. Books, television, computers, video games, and now mobile phones have all been scapegoated as tearing …show more content…
Let’s Talk”, Turkle explores the implications that social media and mobile phone usage has on youth. Turkle’s overarching thesis is that the quality of interaction has declined as a result of mobile phone usage. She cites a study by the University of Michigan in which she explains college students have had “a 40 percent decline in empathy” over a 30 year period with “most of the decline taking place after 2000” (Turkle 7). Turkle shows how innovations like Facebook have made it easier for us to escape into a virtual reality, one without the discomforts of pauses in conversation, awkward subject matters, difficult realities, and as a result, meaningful connection which strengthens our emotional intelligence. Not only are students becoming more disconnected from each other, but we are becoming more isolated from ourselves as well. Turkle cites a study in which “student subjects opted to give themselves mild electric shocks rather than sit alone with their thoughts” (Turkle 18). Turkle presents an uncomfortable trend of how people are being coerced by their addiction to technology - addiction driven by a lack of connection, empathy, and ability to be alone. Smith would absolutely not be surprised as the shift in the 2.0 mindset of the younger generation also includes a shift in how 2.0 people see others. They become engrossed in their friends, their thoughts, their plans on how to change the world which ends up resulting in very passionate, driven people who fail to
[Pun on Facebook] The habit of thought is one which identifies our clouds of emotion as fact, as something to be interpreted with the utmost diligence, and often time our habits detract from living in the present. Social media has been playing an important role in how we view the world, our friends, and ourselves. It has also created new habits of ours, such as manicuring our profiles to be perfect, over-sharing or letting everyone know the most minute details of our lives, or it manifests itself differently - sharing nothing at all. The evils which inhibit social interaction have been around for ages, only under different names. Books, television, computers, video games, and now mobile phones have all been scapegoated as tearing …show more content…
Let’s Talk”, Turkle explores the implications that social media and mobile phone usage has on youth. Turkle’s overarching thesis is that the quality of interaction has declined as a result of mobile phone usage. She cites a study by the University of Michigan in which she explains college students have had “a 40 percent decline in empathy” over a 30 year period with “most of the decline taking place after 2000” (Turkle 7). Turkle shows how innovations like Facebook have made it easier for us to escape into a virtual reality, one without the discomforts of pauses in conversation, awkward subject matters, difficult realities, and as a result, meaningful connection which strengthens our emotional intelligence. Not only are students becoming more disconnected from each other, but we are becoming more isolated from ourselves as well. Turkle cites a study in which “student subjects opted to give themselves mild electric shocks rather than sit alone with their thoughts” (Turkle 18). Turkle presents an uncomfortable trend of how people are being coerced by their addiction to technology - addiction driven by a lack of connection, empathy, and ability to be alone. Smith would absolutely not be surprised as the shift in the 2.0 mindset of the younger generation also includes a shift in how 2.0 people see others. They become engrossed in their friends, their thoughts, their plans on how to change the world which ends up resulting in very passionate, driven people who fail to