Human Communication And Modern Technology Essay

Human Communication And Modern Technology - Essay Example Turkle says mobile phones, the Internet and the virtual world have caused people to live their lives in a paradox. I have to partially agree with the author’s position. First I will present a summary of her thesis and then evaluate her ideas. â€Å"Always On† of Sherry Turkle’s book Alone Together is presented in five different parts. In the opening paragraphs, the author likens MIT researchers she met in 1996 to cyborgs as they were constantly walking around with their electronic devices. She describes how these young people felt more comfortable around others thanks to the gadgets that were on them. Later in the section, Turkle explains how the generation of today has become ‘cyborg-like’ with their smartphones and technological devices, becoming what used to be considered alien in 1996. In â€Å"The New State of the Self: Tethered and Marked Absent†, Turkle (143) explains that people of today cannot be separated from their devices. Everyone is tethered or attached to their lives and activities even if far away from home. Thanks to connectivity through mobile phones and e-mails, people feel at a loss if they are not able to check the Internet or receive text messages. Another point Turkle presents in this section is that people who are busy on their devices are truly not in the space they are occupying because their minds are on the conversation on their mobile phone, the e-mails, their avatars, etc. The next section â€Å"The New State of the Self: From Life to The Life Mix† discusses how some people live their real life while simultaneously discovering and living another life on the Internet. Life mix, according to one of Turkle’s subjects, is the combined online and offline life of an individual. (Turkle, 148) The author shares how people who develop or create a virtual life do so to escape from the disappointments they have in their real-life.