Kayleena Calm

English 110

Jesse Miller

30 Oct 2023

Living In the Real World

Technology has impacted many people and who they are in today’s society. The potential it has to affect people even more in the future is huge.  The effect that technology has on people is seen as negative[JO1]  by many. [JO2] There are two authors who have different opinions on technology. The first person is Sherry Turkle, who wrote an introduction to her book called “Empathy Diaries.” She believes digital technology stops people from having actual relationships and conversations by distracting them. The other person is Sam Anderson. He wrote an article called, “In Defense of Distraction.” In the article, he talks about how he believes that technology is not at fault and people are to blame for how we interact with technology. Of course, technology such as phones distract people, but I do not believe they distract us from living in the real world.[JO3]  Even though Turkle and Anderson do not agree on everything, they do agree on some negative aspects about digital technology[AG4] . They both believe that distractions come with having phones. Although Anderson argues that phones can be distracting, humans are at fault for how they react. [JO5] 

 For these last few years,[EM6]  neurology labs have diagnosed absence in more children every year.[NM7] [AG8]  That means that kids have been getting distracted by different devices such as phones or tablets. Turkle agrees that phones distract people from having an actual conversation. Turkle even quotes a dean of a high school saying, “Students don’t seem to be making friendships as before. They make acquaintances, but their connections seem superficial.” [JO9] What that quote is saying is that kids are so distracted by phones, that they do not actually get to know people well enough to make relationships with these people. Instead, they talk to people for a minute but never actually get to know them, and then just go on their phones when they cannot come up with anything to talk about. [JO10] . In addition, she says,[EM11]  “We are being silenced by our technologies- in a way, “cured of talking”[NM12] .” She believes that technology is not allowing us to talk, and again have conversations with people. While digital technology is distracting us, Anderson does not necessarily think it is technology’s fault. Anderson even quotes an author, Winifred Gallagher, saying, “If you continue to just jump in the air every time your phone rings or pounce on those buttons every time you get an instant message, that’s not the machine’s fault. That’s your fault.” The quote is saying that humans are at fault for how they get distracted and it’s not the machine’s fault. Even though they both believe digital technology has distractions, Turkle puts the full blame on technology, while Anderson does not. I agree with both Turkle and Anderson, in a sense that digital technology is distracting. I will admit that I get distracted by technology at times especially while in class and I cannot see the time, I just always want to be checking it to see how much longer I have. I do not agree with the fact that digital technology is to just blame for our distractions. I agree with Anderson saying that humans are also at fault for how they react to phones. I do not agree with Turkle when saying that friendships are more of acquaintances these days, and that we are being silenced by technology. There are so many people that I talk to and l[JO13] ove to get to know more about[AG14] . I always get to know people before I call them my friends, and I am lucky enough to have people here and back home that I get to call my friends. There are many times where I do not go on my devices with my friends, there will always be times where I do, but more so than not I am not on my phone while being with them. The next point is that I do not think that people are being silenced by technology. Of course, there are times where people go on their phones while talking with others but there are other ways that technology is not silencing us. Ever since the internet has become huge, I have noticed more people speaking out about problems around the world. There are now so many people who will stand up for what they believe in. There are so many horrible things happening in the world and we are able to see that because of technology and social media. [JO15] Because of this people cannot stand to see injustice in the world and spread awareness[EM16] . [JO17] 

Some find that we are always somewhere else because of digital technology. Turkle is one of those people. She says, “We are forever elsewhere.” What she means is that we are forever connected to our phones are always wanting to check it. Anderson questions if that time is actually wasted. He says, “Sometimes I wonder if the time I’m wasting is actually being wasted. Isn’t blowing a couple of hours on the Internet, in the end, just another way of following your attention.” I have to agree with Anderson. Is my time actually being wasted by going on technology? One of my favorite hobbies is reading. I have a kindle which allows me to read almost any book. If I forget a book, this can be really helpful. Not only that, but the books on kindle are a lot cheaper. Even though I love to collect physical books, I also need to save money for other things, so having a kindle can really help. Technology has really helped me enjoy my hobbies, while saving money. Therefore, I do not think my time has been wasted while going on technology and it is just a way of following our attention. Even though I agree with Anderson, I also agree with Turkle saying we are forever somewhere else. I admit that I always check my phone especially if I am bored and am always messaging people and looking at videos. So, I will say that I am partially somewhere else. That does not mean that I do not live in the real world. I also can go awhile without checking my phone especially when I am with my friends and family or if I am reading. Just because I am on my phone, does not mean I am not in the real world.

There are many times where people agree and disagree in life. One of those times is when people talk about digital technology and how distracting they are. Anderson, Turkle, and I, all agree on some aspects while disagreeing on others. We all believe phones can be distracting, but Turkle believes that it is all technology’s fault while Anderson and I both cannot just put the blame on the technology, but on the people too. Turkle believes we are not living in the real world, while being on technology. Which I can agree on with some of it, but I do not fully agree that we are living in a separate world preventing us from living in the real world. I agree with Anderson, when he questions if that the time on the internet is actually being wasted, since we are doing something that we enjoy while following our attention. Therefore I do think that digital technology, such as phones, are distracting, I do not think it is preventing us from living in the real world, and in another way, our mind it just following our attention.

Works Cited

Anderson, Sam. “The Benefits of Distraction and Overstimulation — New York Magazine – Nymag.” New York Magazine, 11 Apr. 2019, nymag.com/news/features/56793/. 

Turkle, Sherry. 2021. The Empathy Diaries: A Memoir. New York, Penguin Press.

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