Alone Together During Thanksgiving

Today marks the start of the holiday spirits. The upcoming weeks will be filled with warm family and friend reunions involving hearty foods such as turkeys with stuffing, pumpkin pies, mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberry sauce and casserole. Sadly, we live in the age of the digital and technology era and these will unavoidably disrupt the holiday festivities with not only children and teenagers but also adults grappling the tiny devices in their hands instead of catching up and talking to one another. Thus, Sherry Turkle’s book, Alone Together comes into play here in the Thanksgiving scene as displayed in the below image.

(Image Source: isys6621.com)

What does it mean to be “alone” together? Basically, what Turkle is saying in her book is that although technology is constantly virtually connecting us with each other, it is difficult for us to experience alone time. I think Turkle is right in the sense that people are losing the tangibility and authenticity of genuine human interactions with the rise of technology. I agree with her that although new technology may alleviate certain anxieties but it also create new ones as well. After reading Sherry Turkle’s book, Alone Together and watching her TED Talk video, I immediately thought of the movie “I, Robot” with Will Smith in which robots take over the world as humans rely on them to accomplish their day to day activities.

Of course, I am definitely not saying that robots will take over our world in the near future just as in the movie, but I do feel that people have become quite dependent on technologies. I see people being active on their phones checking on their Facebook during Thanksgiving lunch and dinner, a period when we are supposed to relish in family gatherings.

Even though I proclaim myself to be a social media aficionado, I must say that I agree with Sherry Turkle that we hide behind these social media platforms instead of face-to-face conversations due to covering up our vulnerabilities. I can edit and control what I want to say with texting and Facebooking. However, it frightens me that in a real-time conversation, I have no control whatsoever. Therefore, the irony of “alone” together. Nonetheless, although technology has in a way, made it hard for us to be in solitude, it has definitely not annihilated human interactions. To me, technology, if used correctly and appropriately, is an incredible tool that can empower human beings.