Are We Slaves to Technology?
Eliane Mitchell

07 June 2018

Smartphones are everywhere. In 2017, more than67 percent of Americans owned a smartphone, and researchers expect that percentage only to increase over time. But how might this phenomenon, of always having our phones and access to social media at the tips of our fingers, impact the experience of being human? Should we be at all wary of technology's rapid rise?

Sherry Turkle, a sociologist at MIT, thinks so, arguing that technology is "transforming what it means to be human." In thisinterview with Vox, Turkle worries that our extensive use of technology might make us less empathic. This degradation results from two aspects: that social media and texting often replaces face-to-face communication, and that on sites like Facebook, users put out a "curated" version of themselves that excludes the imperfections of their lives. In this way, technology might actually get in the way of people's ability to forge "authentic" connections, since "being empathic" demands that we step outside of ourselves.

But what do you think? Do you suspect that technology is making us feel more alone and isolated too — and to our detriment?

Read Turkle's interview with Vox here:

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/3/27/17085282/technology-fac...

Comments(2)

Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Thursday, June 7, 2018 -- 1:13 PM

奴隶技术?Slavery

奴隶技术?奴隶制通常被认为是未经同意或其他类似评估的奴役。智能手机现象很难说是奴隶制，因为如果人们不想要它，他们就不会买它(同辈压力，尽管如此)。上瘾是一个更好的描述。像香烟。毒品。酒精(一些)。所有这些都为吸毒者创造了财富，也为吸毒者带来了痛苦。所以我们就按照我们看到的来称呼它吧…

BG's picture

BG

Friday, July 20, 2018 -- 10:07 AM

I agree with the first

I agree with the first comment about consenting to technology use, in opposition to slavery. Yet, my own observations and research reveal accelerating (exponential) technological change, and consequent information overload. Such changes limit our ability to adapt to the environment since changes in the environment occur at an ever faster rate than our ability to keep up. Eventually, self-control is increasingly limited.

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