Blog Post #2

Summary of “Connected, but alone.”

Sherry Turkle tackles the topic of technology and people in her Ted Talk “Connected, but alone.” Sherry says in her introductory statements she is a “central paradox.” She stood on the same Ted talk stage years ago claiming the profound and magnificent effects technology would have on humans and their relationships, but this talk was about her new take on technology. In her talk she speaks of the new direction technology is taking humans. It is taking us to a place where we can perfectly control and edit who we are to present to people with whom we want to connect, but rather, we are presenting only the best part of ourselves. We want so badly to not be lonely and to find solace in other people, but Sherry says, “We expect more from technology and less from each other.” She talks of how we are social in nature, and we have a need to heard and never be alone, yet somehow we believe we can also edit our lives in a way that filters out any unwanted conversation or content. Ultimately, Sherry Turkle is not against technology, but she believes we are relying on it to do our jobs; therefore, she says let us let “technology … lead us back to ourselves.”