Name: Jean Karl B.

Galias GEC 15: Purposive Communication

Year&Section: II-BSABE-I Date: November 5, 2019

Across the Borderline: Social Media

Today’s technological advances have changed the world of communication. Not only has it made

communicating with other people faster, a lot easier and more convenient but it has undoubtedly brought

the world closer to each other.

Modern technology has created a bridge that connects people from different parts of the world.

Being on the site, being fed audio, presented with a steady stream of faces and bodies means you can

experience a sense of continual connection. But it's a misleading connection in that when it ends, it leaves

you feeling even lonely than before. To escape the loneliness, you retreat into the screen again looking

for another hit of what passes for connection, and the cycle is reinforced. The isolation deepens. Turkle

paraphrases Shakespeare in describing the cycle: we are consumed with that which we were nourished

by.

Throughout the last couple of decades, our ability to connect with people around the world, with

the existing of social media platforms, we are able to connect with other people all around the globe,

anytime and anywhere we want. Although modern technology unarguably made a big impact on the way

we communicate today, it has also brought unfavorable aftermaths as to how we socialize with other

people. As Sherry Turkle discussed in “Connected but Alone” technology has made a rather critical impact

when it comes to our social lives. For the most part, I would agree with her, but for some, there are points

that I would like to disagree with. It may be true that technology has declined the essence of

conversations, but technology should not be blamed solely, we are the ones who hold a greater impact

on the changes that have happened in our society. We are the ones who are responsible for these

changes. Technology and social media have opened a new way of communicating with other people. This
has brought more convenience when it comes to connecting with other people. Ironically this had resulted

in people having less face to face conversations, which I think is the most significant.

People have neglected or has forgotten the value of true conversations. Now people spend more

time on their devices rather than talking or communicating with other people. It’s like what is supposed

to connect us is actually what’s keeping us apart. In my opinion, Sherry Turkle has made a great job of

pointing out how these devices have hindered us from the essence of a true conversation. She effectively

delivered her message through strong points she presented which were supplemented with examples.

One of the things she pointed out is how we are now used to being “alone together” which means being

together but at the same time elsewhere. This is one of the things that I would agree with her. Based on

my observation this is something that is very evident in our society, you can be with people but be alone

at the same time. This can be observed anywhere, at a meeting, at school, and even at family dinners

which she also gave as her examples.

Back then when people are together they spend their time talking, laughing, expressing their

feelings and actually having true conversations with one another. Now when people are together their

faces are just glued on each of their devices. We are too occupied by these gadgets that we neglect the

presence of the people that we are with. Most of the time we are too distracted by these devices that we

somehow forget to socialize with the people that are actually with us. There are some reasons though

that could explain why people tend to be on their devices rather than communicating with the people

they are with, one of which is what Sherry Turkle called the Goldilocks effect. One of the reasons why

people often put their attention to their devices rather than to other people who they are with is that

social media enables us to keep other people at distances we can control, “not too close, not too far, just

right”.
 Through social media we can be what we want, we can be how we want people to see us. We are

able to present a different, modified version of ourselves. This just goes against the essence of

conversations. This just makes you realize the beauty of face to face conversations.

Through face to face conversations, it is hard to fake ourselves, our emotions, and our personality.

It is through face to face conversations that we expose ourselves, we become true to ourselves thus

revealing intentions and truly seeing sincerity that we cannot really feel or see from virtual conversations.

Another reason why people resort to social media based on Sherry Turkle is that it provides automatic

listeners. Many people feel as though “no one is listening” that is why they resort to social media because

it somehow makes them feel as if someone is listening to them.

So now when people is going through something, they don’t share it with their friends, they post

about it on their social media accounts. Personally, I can relate to this because I have experienced this.

There too was a time that I felt like no one was listening to me and social media became my way of

comfort. Through tweeting and posting status on facebook somehow made me feel a sense of comfort,

someone was actually there to listen. But that’s all in the past. I have come to realize that that was just an

illusion created inside my mind. Listening to Sherry Turkle’s talk actually made me feel nostalgic through

the way I can relate to what she’d said. But I don’t think we should blame these devices for somewhat

being a cradle of comfort for some people. This is the part where I would like to disagree with her. It is

not because we have lost the confidence that we, the people, will be there for each other that pushes us

to rely on these devices or technology for comfort because I think that’s just how it was even before.

Even when there were no cellphones or other gadgets some people depend on other things for

comfort. An example of this is that people express themselves through inanimate objects, there are those

who talk to their dolls or stuffed toys and there are also others who express their feelings through their

pets or with a plant. That is why I don’t think technology made us expect less from other people. Because

even before there were technologies we have been seeking other things for comfort. Another point
though given by her is that our devices have turned to be alone into a problem that can be solved. It seems

that we’ve developed this sort of feeling inside of us that keeps us drawn into connecting with people

through our devices.

With spending so much time on these devices it became a habit to keep exploring the cyber world

and connect with other people losing our sense of solitude in the process. As she described it, solitude is

the capacity to be alone. People nowadays don’t know how to be alone. People have developed this

notion that being alone would make them feel lonely thus creating reliance from these devices which I

think is not good. One line stood out the most for me and it was “If we don’t teach our children to be

alone, they will know only to be lonely.” In my opinion, the fear of being alone is what keeps people stuck

with their devices. People should realize that being alone doesn’t mean being lonely. People should start

teaching other people and themselves the sense of solitude. Then again I disagree that it’s the devices

that should be blamed for people’s reliance on these devices for not developing solitude, it may be a

factor but there is always an underlying reason for it. And I think it is because of our human nature, our

fears, our emotions, and our needs for companionship.

To sum it up, technology has its pros and cons when it comes to communication. Through it, we’ve

developed new ways of communicating with other people but at the same time made us less drawn to

face to face conversations which are most important. Society has changed a lot since then and technology

has become one of the factors that contributed to these changes. Given so I don’t think technology should

be blamed for these changes. As to what I have said earlier, it is us that holds greater responsibilities for

these changes. Given that, it is also us that holds the power to bring back what has been lost. It’s not too

late to bring back the old days, so instead of blaming technology and other things, I suggest that we start

acting and become the solution to what we see as problems. So as Sherry Turkle said, look up, look at one

another, and go start a conversation, go start crossing the borderline of technology.

Reference:

TED. (2012, April 3). Connected, but alone? | Sherry Turkle [Video file]. Retrieved on October 25, 2019,

from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Xr3AsBEK4&t=44s