The Failure to Communicate

As I began reading Chapter 2, "The Flight From Conversation," of Rhetoric and Civil Life a chord was immediately struck. The author focuses on how the younger generation, my generation, has become obsessed with their phones. It seems all they want to do is stay in their own little bubble and keep the rest of the world at a comfortable distance away from them. While I have always admitted that my generation, myself included, loves technology- specifically our phones, it never dawned on me to the extent that we feel we need them and will never leave them alone. The author helped me realize this by explaining what she observes on her trip to Cape Cod- everyone staring at their phones instead of observing the beautiful landscape around them (16).

Since I read this chapter, I have tried my best to realize when I am becoming one of these people from Cape Cod and seem to be unable to put down my phone. This is when I chose to put down my phone and watch what is going on around me. I have realized lots of interesting things happen when you put down your phone on a walk to class. People watching here at Penn State can be quite interesting.

Now that I have realized how I need to put my phone down and observe the world around me, I am starting to realize how much damage being absorbed in your phone can be and the lasting effects it can cause. The analogy the author included from a senior partner in a law firm that compared the set up of technology by the young lawyers to the pilots of a cockpit really set this realization up for me. Just as the atmosphere created by being the lawyers when we use technology obsessively we create "a quiet that does not ask to be broken" but that needs to be (14). 

In order to preserve this quiet we seem to want, we chose carefully who we want to talk to and in what depth. Most of the time the conversation is very shallow and created just because we want to feel connected. "We are tempted to think that our little "sips" of online connection add up to a big gulp of real conversation. But they don't" (14).

There is one last point Sherry Turkle, the author, brought up that definitely needs to be noticed by the public- the main reason we use our phones is our fear of being alone. I found it fascinating that Turkle called connection via technology a "symptom" rather than a cure (16). This made me realize how much of an issue it could potentially be in my life later on when I won't be able to sit alone for a few minutes or maybe not have a face-to-face conversation because I may become to dependent on my phone.

Recently, in addition to putting down my phone and observing the world I have been trying to fight the urge to pick up my phone when I'm sitting somewhere alone. While it is often very difficult for me and feels awkward at times I'm glad every time I do it. I feel like it will help me be a better participation in the world rather than a piece of the game.