Summary Of Growing Up Tethered By Sherry Turkle

Politician Christian Lous Lange once said, “Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master.” Even though Lange spoke these wise words over a hundred years ago, their truth translates into today with ease. To better understand today’s interpretation, Sherry Turkle’s essay “Growing Up Tethered” acts as a useful tool. Her use of qualitative evidence is easily relatable creating plenty of opportunity for discussions. As a clinical psychologist, Turkle brings in a perspective unfamiliar to most STEM students. For exploration of how recently developed technologies affect our lives, “Growing Up Tethered” by Sherry Turkle grants an intriguing first step. A world where every action, feeling, and thought originates from what people interpret

Turkle begins her paper with the shocking statement, “Roman, eighteen, admits that he texts while driving and he is not going to stop” (236). Not only does she use this as a captivating hook, she uses it to introduce the appalling dependency young people when it comes to technology. Even though everyone knows secretly how much they cling to their phones, Turkle talks about it freely. She opens the curtains and shines a light on the atrocious overuse of phones and social media. Through various interviews, the reader learns of how extreme social media affects day-to-day life, “‘Sometimes you don’t have time for your friends except if they’re online’” (237). Teenagers fall into a vicious cycle of not having time for friends because they go online to see their friends instead of logging off and seeing each other in person. With this is mind, Turkle uses her psychology background to analyze why staying online is so

Throughout the entire essay, Turkle backs up each of her claims with an interview from relatable sources. Lest having a lack luster read, Turkle’s use of relevant first-hand accounts allows for connections to the reader’s own life resulting in a growth of interest and debate. When describing the severity of cellphone use on a child’s independence from their parents, Turkle interviews a group of high school students who currently experience such events. Turkle notes that this specific topic “elicits strong emotions” (238). The responses that the boys give are not just something they are going through as each one agrees with what the other has to say. Again, when finding supporting her claims of “the collaborative self,” Turkle interviews a freshman who speaks for seemingly just herself but realistically, a generation. This freshman admits that if one of her friends does not understand her woes she will “‘call another’” (241) until someone does. Turkle expertly pulls in interviews from the generation of people she analyzes to illustrate her message. Rather than gathering evidence from professionals who have a lot to say on the matter, Turkle turns to the object of her research instead. It is so rare that one’s topic of enquiry can give their own insights and opinions but with Turkle, she embraces this rarity to boost her