Cause: Using technology and letting it take people places we don’t want to go.
Effect: Use of the virtue world by people to learn about themselves and identity
Effect: Devices and online personas are redefining human connection and communication.
Turkle asserts that for the past 15 years she has studied people, both the young and old, about their plugged-in lives. From the study, she discovered that the “little devices” in people’s pockets are psychologically powerful that not only do they change what they do but also change who they are. Some of the things done nowadays with these devices could have been perceived as odd or disturbing in the past few years but have quickly come familiar. For instance, people send text messages or emails during corporate board meetings, shop and go on Facebook during classes, presentations, and other meetings.
The above-mentioned examples of how the use of devices affect the way we do raises concerns. Turkle says she is concerned for she thinks people are setting themselves up for trouble in relating to each other and even individually in terms of the capacity for self-reflection. It is actually a new way of being alone together that people are now getting used to. People want to be with each other but also elsewhere connected to all the different places they want to be. They want to customize their lives in that they want to go in and out of places they are because having control over where they put their attention is what matters most to them.
The fact that people have each other is one of the greatest chances of success if they recognize their vulnerability. People are being drawn to virtual romance, computer games that seem like worlds to the idea that robots will someday be their true companions. At times, instead of going to the pub with friends, people are spending their evenings on the social network. These fantasies and substitutions have come with a cost. Turkle concludes by saying people need to focus on the many ways in which technology can lead them back to their real lives in all aspects.
Part 2: Jessica and Lahey “How Loneliness Wears on the Body”
Cause: Loneliness
Effect: Vulnerability to illnesses
Effect: Inability to fight viral infections
In their article, Jessica and Lahey pointed out that social isolation is detrimental to physical health in accordance with research done. A study carried out by researchers for the Universities of California and Chicago aimed at assessing data gathered from 141 elderly people pertaining to their social isolation. It was discovered that people suffering from viral isolation are vulnerable to inflammation and less able to fight viral infections. Also, some experiments conducted revealed that that there was a connection between genetic changes and social isolation. People who had new social exposures, as opposed to those who did not have, had higher numbers of immune cells.
Loneliness and social isolation, unlike a few decades ago, are now among the psychological and social issues which are often considered to be among the causes of mental illness. In as much as having good health care and nutrition is plays a key role in older people, social connections also serve to be of great importance.
Works Cited
Ted. “Connected, but alone? | Sherry Turkle.” YouTube, 3 April, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Xr3AsBEK4
Lahey, Tim, and Jessica Lahey. "How Loneliness Wears On The Body". The Atlantic, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/12/loneliness-social-isolation-and-health/418395/. Accessed 9 Oct 2018.
