Alone Together By Sherry Turgle Analysis

Human connection is a vital need for all people. In today’s modern world, virtual connection is more preferred among young generations than face-to-face connection. Human nowadays are thinking how to find and achieve the meaning of the life. In fact, science and nature played an important role in the process when people are seeking the meaningful life. Science and nature can help those people who have just gone through something bad get out of sadness and find a new belief. In “Alone Together”, Sherry Turkle describes it today as a corporate trap, a ball, and chain that keeps us tethered to the tiny screens of our cell phones, tapping out trite messages to stay in touch. She summarizes her new view of things with typical eloquence: “We expect

Emotions are best felt or understood in the presence of the other. Turkle tells of a young woman that she met in Paris who tries to stay in contact with her grandmother back home through Skype. "Ellen's multitasking removed her to another place. She felt her grandmother was talking to someone who was not really there. During their Skype conversations, Ellen and her grandmother were more connected than they had ever been before, but at the same time, each was alone" (Turkle, 275). Also in Turkle's essay, she questions virtual intimacy and questions if it “degrades our experience of the kind, and indeed, of all encounters of any kind” (Turkle, 273). In the quotation she mentions encounters of “the other kind”, one may come to the conclusion that she is talking about interactions with humans and other living beings. We see evidence of such in Ellen’s interaction with her Grandmother. Instead of cherishing those few moments with her grandmother and devoting her full attention to the conversation, she decided to multitask and do her email. Now, even though they are not physically present with each other, they are in full control of their actions. If Ellen was in the physical presence of her grandmother, she would never email during their conversation because that would be disrespectful. That’s why harmony in the robotic moment isn’t possible, because robotic devices take away from our ability to have complete control over our interactions and relationships. On the other hand, when Goodall goes to the forest to escape society, she longs for the company of the chimps. “I felt very much in tune with the chimpanzees, for I was spending time with them not to observe, but simply because I needed their company, undemanding and free of pity” (Goodall, 146). Being in the forest amongst the chimps, she was physically present