Sherry Turkle’s Connected but Alone

ENG 350: Sherry Turkle’s “Connected, but Alone?”

In Sherry Turkle’s TED Talk, “Connected, but Alone?” she states, We expect more from technology and less from each other. And I ask myself, ‘Why have things come to this?’ And I believe it’s because technology appeals to us most where we are most vulnerable. And we are vulnerable. We’re lonely, but we’re afraid of intimacy. And so from social networks to sociable robots, we’re designing technologies that will give us the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship. We turn to technology to help us feel connected in ways we can comfortably control. But we’re not so comfortable. We are not so much in control. Write a fully-developed essay that responds to the following tasks in chronological order: • Discuss how “technology appeals to us where we are most vulnerable.” • Discuss how are we “lonely, but afraid of intimacy.” • Explore the ways in which “we turn to technology to help us feel connected in ways we can comfortably control,” but how “we are not so much in control.” Purpose: In this essay, you will demonstrate your understanding of particular points from Sherry Turkle’s argument and synthesize her thoughts with your thoughts. You will draw from what she argues and explains, but you will also provide your own view for how what she claims is true.