Draft one:
Jack Thurmond
Professor Jesse Miller
ENG 110
Mar 8, 2024
Essay two- draft one
Everyone tends to have their own options on modern technology, some say This is too much or that technology is ruining society. Others are on the opposing side and just want whatever new technology it is. However, Kevin Kelly, an author with many pieces on technology, and Sherry Turkle, a professor at MIT as well as an author share similar views. Their texts Technophilia and The Empathy Diaries both focus on the shared topic of technology and its issues. Their shared concerns about technology and how it affects our society are ideas that I value and agree with. Both texts shared the concern of how technology can negatively affect our society. They both share a fear of technology consuming us and negatively changing our society. There are some different ideas between the two texts but they share the same main ideas. A Lot of problems both authors bring up are things I have experienced or watched a friend experience. These experiences make it easy for me to agree with both authors and further understand why technology can be such a problem. A very important idea to me is the idea of a balance created with technology to minimize the negatives we can experience.
Both authors agree that technology has capabilities like nothing we have ever seen before. Not only does it do the obvious like distract us or as Kelly says “in any wakefulness, to chat is to live”(1), but it also has far more serious effects that we may not even realize, even when they are affecting us in daily life. Most people would agree that technology can consume that at some point but, people do not realize the full extent. Both authors reference this idea of technology consuming us at points. Sherry Turkle first states the idea that “we are forever elsewhere” and then continues to say “We pay attention to what interests us and when it doesn’t, we look to our devices to find something that does” (344). Kelly agrees with this and advances this idea “… the internet is closer to the technological equivalence of a place. An uncharted territory where you can genuinely get lost”(5). Both quotes share the idea that technology has the ability to put us elsewhere and engulfs us inside it. This idea is something that I have experienced a significant amount of times. I have opened my phone or computer to watch a quick clip about a soccer game, and all of a sudden it is hours later. I have watched five or six videos and am on a completely different game. Or I go on social media to look at one post and spend an hour scrolling through a friend’s page. Whatever it is, I experience this idea of getting “lost” or being “forever elsewhere” and it is scary when you realize how often and easy it is to occur. Recalling these experiences makes it easy for me to agree with both author’s points. This is a clear moment of agreement between the two authors as they share the same concern over losing ourselves in our technology.
essay two draft two(800 words)
Jack Thurmond
Professor Jesse Miller
ENG 110
Mar 8, 2024
Essay two- draft one
Everyone tends to have their own options on modern technology, some say This is too much or that technology is ruining society. Others are on the opposing side and just want whatever new technology it is. However, Kevin Kelly, an author with many pieces on technology, and Sherry Turkle, a professor at MIT as well as an author share similar views. Their texts Technophilia and The Empathy Diaries both focus on the shared topic of technology and its issues. Their shared concerns about technology and how it affects our society are ideas that I value and agree with. Both texts shared the concern of how technology can negatively affect our society. They both share a fear of technology consuming us and negatively changing our society. There are some different ideas between the two texts but they share the same main ideas. A Lot of problems both authors bring up are things I have experienced or watched a friend experience. These experiences make it easy for me to agree with both authors and further understand why technology can be such a problem. A very important idea to me is the idea of a balance created with technology to minimize the negatives we can experience.
Both authors agree that technology has capabilities like nothing we have ever seen before. Not only does it do the obvious like distract us or as Kelly says “in any wakefulness, to chat is to live”(1), but it also has far more serious effects that we may not even realize, even when they are affecting us in daily life. Most people would agree that technology can consume that at some point but, people do not realize the full extent. Both authors reference this idea of technology consuming us at points. Sherry Turkle first states the idea that “we are forever elsewhere” and then continues to say “We pay attention to what interests us and when it doesn’t, we look to our devices to find something that does” (344). Kelly agrees with this and advances this idea “… the internet is closer to the technological equivalence of a place. An uncharted territory where you can genuinely get lost”(5). Both quotes share the idea that technology has the ability to put us elsewhere and engulf us inside it. This idea is something that I have experienced a significant amount of times. I have opened my phone or computer to watch a quick clip about a soccer game, and all of a sudden it is hours later. I have watched five or six videos and am on a completely different game. Or I go on social media to look at one post and spend an hour scrolling through a friend’s page. Whatever it is, I experience this idea of getting “lost” or being “forever elsewhere” and it is scary when you realize how often and easy it is to occur. Recalling these experiences makes it easy for me to agree with both author’s points. It also led me to realize how much unnecessary time I waste being “elsewhere”. This is something I would really like to reflect on. This is a clear moment of agreement between the two authors as they share the same concern over losing ourselves in our technology.
Another point of focus is what this technology is doing to our young generation. Both Authors agree that technology is an addiction for most young people. They also both believe that technology has changed the conversation. Both talk about how kids have strayed away from technology in favor of texting, snapchatting, or some other form of conversation via technology. Kevin Kelly recalls hearing about his friend’s teenage daughter who “… spends her day texting her friends, abbreviating her life into 140 character hints”(1) He also talks about when a punishment was given out to the girl when her phone was taken and “Immediately the girl became physically sick”(1). Both of these quotes show the change or lack of conversation in our youth, this is also something that Sherry Turkle references when talking about patterns in our youth. She mentions that “ even children text each other rather than text face to face with friends”(344). This new reality of our children has been noticed by both authors. Both agree on the fact that children turn to technology to communicate with their friends rather than speak to them face to face. Throughout both texts, the authors try to emphasize the importance of this issue and explain why it is such a problem. This conclusion that the authors have come to is one that I agree with. The reality is kids these days will text their friends from across the room instead of walking over to talk to them. This causes a real lack of social interaction which leads to a lack of social skills. I have watched two people in the same room text each other instead of communicating face-to-face. This is the new reality of how our kids communicate. Due to this, they lack many important life skills that would benefit them in the future, for example in the working world where professionalism is important.
Jack Thurmond
Professor Jesse Miller
ENG 110
Mar 8, 2024
Essay two- draft three
Everyone tends to have their own options on modern technology, some say This is too much or that technology is ruining society. Others are on the opposing side and just want whatever new technology it is. However, Kevin Kelly, an author with many pieces on technology, and Sherry Turkle, a professor at MIT as well as an author share similar views. Their texts Technophilia and The Empathy Diaries both focus on the shared topic of technology and its issues. Their shared concerns about technology and how it affects our society are ideas that I value and agree with. Both texts shared the concern of how technology can negatively affect our society. They both share a fear of technology consuming us and negatively changing our society. There are some different ideas between the two texts but they share the same main ideas. A Lot of problems both authors bring up are things I have experienced or watched a friend experience. These experiences make it easy for me to agree with both authors and further understand why technology can be such a problem. A very important idea to me is the idea of a balance created with technology to minimize the negatives we can experience.
Both authors agree that technology has capabilities like nothing we have ever seen before. Not only does it do the obvious like distract us or as Kelly says “in any wakefulness, to chat is to live”(1), but it also has far more serious effects that we may not even realize, even when they are affecting us in daily life. Most people would agree that technology can consume that at some point but, people do not realize the full extent. Both authors reference this idea of technology consuming us at points. Sherry Turkle first states the idea that “we are forever elsewhere” and then continues to say “We pay attention to what interests us and when it doesn’t, we look to our devices to find something that does” (344). Kelly agrees with this and advances this idea “… the internet is closer to the technological equivalence of a place. An uncharted territory where you can genuinely get lost”(5). Both quotes share the idea that technology has the ability to put us elsewhere and engulf us inside it. This idea is something that I have experienced a significant amount of times. I have opened my phone or computer to watch a quick clip about a soccer game, and all of a sudden it is hours later. I have watched five or six videos and am on a completely different game. Or I go on social media to look at one post and spend an hour scrolling through a friend’s page. Whatever it is, I experience this idea of getting “lost” or being “forever elsewhere” and it is scary when you realize how often and easy it is to occur. Recalling these experiences makes it easy for me to agree with both author’s points. It also led me to realize how much unnecessary time I waste being “elsewhere”. This is something I would really like to reflect on. This is a clear moment of agreement between the two authors as they share the same concern over losing ourselves in our technology.
Another focus point is what this technology is doing to our young generation. Both Authors agree that technology is an addiction for most young people. They also both believe that technology has changed the conversation. Both talk about how kids have strayed away from technology in favor of texting, snapchatting, or some other form of conversation via technology. Kevin Kelly recalls hearing about his friend’s teenage daughter who “… spends her day texting her friends, abbreviating her life into 140 character hints”(1) He also talks about when a punishment was given out to the girl when her phone was taken and “Immediately the girl became physically sick”(1). Both of these quotes show the change or lack of conversation in our youth, this is also something that Sherry Turkle references when talking about patterns in our youth. She mentions that “ even children text each other rather than text face to face with friends”(344). Both authors have noticed this new reality of our children. Both agree that children turn to technology to communicate with their friends rather than speak to them face to face. Throughout both texts, the authors try to emphasize the importance of this issue and explain why it is such a problem. This conclusion that the authors have come to is one that I agree with. The reality is kids these days will text their friends from across the room instead of walking over to talk to them. This causes a real lack of social interaction, leading to a lack of social skills. I have watched two people in the same room text each other instead of communicating face-to-face. This is the new reality of how our kids communicate. Due to this, they lack many important life skills that would benefit them in the future, for example in the working world where professionalism is important. They also failed in crucial years of development and I have also seen this in kids my age. In classes, kids are too shy to raise their hands and speak up even if they have the right answer or a pressing question. I would argue that this is also taking away from their ability to learn and grow as people. With such an important skill I believe it is really important we take it seriously.
Both authors also share the opinion that we are easily attracted to technology and quickly can’t get enough of it. They both agree that humans get this one-sided love or friendship with technology and easily get attached. Kevin Kelly brings up how “…The roughest ready smile on an otherwise obvious metal machine can make a person melt before it. Even feel bad about turning it off”(9).
final draft:
Jack Thurmond
Professor Jesse Miller
ENG 110
March 29, 2024
Technology’s Grip On Our Society
There are many different views on modern technology, some may say that technology has taken over and is ruining society. Kevin Kelly, an author with many articles on technology, and Sherry Turkle, an author and a professor at MIT, share similar views. Both authors focus on issues related to technology, such as how it can negatively affect society. Similar issues both authors discuss in their texts “Technophilia” and “The Empathy Diaries” are problems I have experienced or watched firsthand. These experiences led me to agree with both authors and further understand why overconsumption of technology is an important problem. Both authors agree and use their texts to prove that overconsumption and the overuse of technology is a real problem in our society. Their shared concerns about our overconsumption of technology and how it affects our society are ideas that I value and agree with.
Both authors agree that technology has capabilities like nothing we have ever seen. Not only does it distract people from daily tasks or as Kelly says “in any wakefulness, to chat is to live”(1), but it also has far more serious effects that we may not realize. Sherry Turkle demonstrates the full extent of how technology consumes society, which has previously been overlooked. Turkle states the idea that “we are forever elsewhere” and then continues to say “We pay attention to what interests us and when it doesn’t, we look to our devices to find something that does” (344). Kelly agrees with Turkle and advances this idea “… the internet is closer to the technological equivalence of a place. An uncharted territory where you can genuinely get lost”(5). Both quotes share similar ideas that technology can put us elsewhere and consume us without realization. They both show examples of overconsumption which leads to overuse when people are “lost” in technology, which I have experienced many times. In the past, I have opened my phone or computer to watch a quick soccer game clip, and suddenly hours have passed by, not realizing I watched several videos and soccer games. I also have gone on social media to look at one post but get distracted looking at a friend’s page. Whatever it is, I experience this idea of getting “lost” or being “forever elsewhere” and it is scary when you realize how often and easily it occurs. Recalling these experiences makes it easy for me to agree with both authors’ points. It also led me to realize how much unnecessary time I waste being “elsewhere”. This is something I would like to reflect on. This is a clear moment of agreement between the two authors as they share the same concern over losing ourselves to the overconsumption of technology.
Another focus point is how technology is transforming our younger generations. Both authors agree that technology is an addiction for most young people. They also both believe that technology has changed the conversation. Both discuss how kids have strayed away from technology in favor of texting, snapchatting, or some other form of conversation via technology. Kevin Kelly recalls hearing about his friend’s teenage daughter who “… spends her day texting her friends, abbreviating her life into 140 character hints”(1) He also talks about the punishment of the daughter’s phone being temporarily taken away and “Immediately the girl became physically sick”(1). Both of these quotes show the change or lack of conversation in our youth, this is also something that Sherry Turkle references when talking about patterns in the youth. She mentions that “even children text each other rather than talk face to face with friends”(344). Both authors have noticed this new reality. Both agree that children turn to technology to communicate with their friends rather than speak to them face to face. Throughout both texts, the authors emphasize the importance of this issue and explain why it is such a problem, which I agree with. The reality is kids these days will text their friends from across the room instead of walking over to talk to them. Based on the author’s statements this is the new reality of how our kids communicate. This shows the issue of overconsumption and overuse, as they are too consumed with their technology to put it away and have a face-to-face conversation. This causes a lack of social interaction, leading to poor social skills. I have watched two people in the same room text each other instead of communicating face-to-face. Due to overconsumption, kids can lack important life skills that would benefit them in the future, for example in the working world where professionalism and work ethic are important. In classes, I’ve noticed some kids are too shy to raise their hands and speak up even if they know the right answer or have a pressing question. I would argue that this is also taking away from their ability to learn and grow as people. With such an important skill I believe it is really important we take it seriously.
Both authors also share the opinion that we are easily attracted to technology and quickly can’t get enough of it. They both agree that humans get this one-sided love or friendship with technology and easily get attached. Kevin Kelly brings up how “…The roughest ready smile on an otherwise obvious metal machine can make a person melt before it. Even feel bad about turning it off”(9). Kelly brings up this idea of how easily people get attached to their technology, Turkle advances this idea as she gives her take on why this may happen. Turkle feels that “… computers offer the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship… the illusion of friendship without the demands of intimacy”(346). Kelly brings up the concept of us almost becoming friends with our phones or computers, and then Turkle rationalizes this idea as she talks about how technology can feel like your friend without you having to give any effort. Both authors feel that it can be hard to escape or “turn off” this feeling. People are so consumed with their technology they feel it can be their friend. They argue it can give us the feelings of friendship without the effort needed for a typical friendship. Essentially it will feel like the computer cares about you but you don’t have the pressures of having to give any effort in return. This is easy and people like it easy. Again both authors share this idea and I agree with this claim. People desire companionship but real friendships are hard work and may not always last. In this way, people can feel the same feeling of companionship without having to do anything in return. In a world where everyone is becoming lazier and less social, this is an exciting concept for lots of the younger generation. I have seen friends who seem like they have a certain extra attachment to their technology. I feel this is dangerous as people forget what real friendship and companionship are when they fall for this illusion. To me, this is the most blatant example of overconsumption and overuse as people are so consumed with technology they get tricked into thinking that their technology cares about them. It leads to overuse because when people believe this is their friend they will turn to it in conflict.
In conclusion, both authors give examples of people’s overconsumption issues with technology that lead to numerous issues in our current society. People are too comfortable and attracted to technology which leads to them quickly getting consumed in it. This leads to our youth falling into overuse of technology because it is easy for them and they are too accustomed to it. The authors use examples of people choosing to communicate with technology even with friends being close by, people being lost in technology, and the issues that come when technology is taken away. These are clear examples where the authors agree on issues of overuse of our technology.
Work Cited
Turkle, Sherry. “The Empathy Diaries.” The Empathy Diaries. Excerpt originally
published in The Empathy Diaries,
Kelly, Kevin. “Technophilia.” Technophilia, pp. 1-8. Originally published in
Technophilia.
