Summary Of Growing Up Tethered By Sherry Turkle

In “Growing Up Tethered,” Sherry Turkle argues that many of today’s young people are growing up bound to their technology and online presences, from which they are unable to escape. To illustrate this point, she uses many different types of evidence, ranging from personal stories to the theories of renowned psychologists. I believe that “Growing Up Tethered” makes strong, but more importantly, valid claims and supports them well. In addition to the aforementioned personal stories and expert opinions, Turkle interviews many teenagers to learn how they viewed their connections to things like social media, phones, and the online experience. Thus, the reader receives a variety of different opinion that range from MIT professors to high school students. However, the author does not only focus on the negative aspects of this connection. Turkle acknowledges that being connected has its advantages, such as getting a hold of someone in an emergency. Even so, she is not quick to jump on the bandwagon of social media and 24/7 connections.

She referred to many people who are, or were, specialists in their field; for example, Erik Erikson. Furthermore, as a professor in the Program of Science, Technology at MIT, she is more than qualified to be writing on this subject. Her use of emotion throughout this writing is minimal. There were hints of sadness or despair in some parts, but for the most part, this was very objective. Finally, the author uses a moderate amount of logic in this excerpt. Much of what was written was anecdotal or hypothetical; however, there were parts that utilized logic as a means of communicating with the reader, such as when the author describes how constant connection with peers or parents affects the teen’s