Sherry Turkle and Jon Ronson attempt to show how the transit into a technology-driven society will transform the nature of human conversations

Sherry Turkle and Jon Ronson attempt to show how the transit into a technology-driven society will transform the nature of human conversations

Technology has become a crucial aspect of our daily lives in the sense that it has revolutionized how we conduct our daily activities. For instance, changes in technology have made it possible to have instantaneous communication with people located in different geographical locations. Other aspects of our lives that have benefited from improved technology include the transport sector, health, education, and production industries.

In spite of the benefits associated with such changes, there are still significant downsides associated with the advancements in technology. Social media, a result of technological advancements, is one way through which the effects of technology can be explored. Traditionally, people would physically interact with each other physically and make the best of their time. However, with the advancements in technology, such interactions have become less frequent. This discussion is, therefore, based on essays authored by Sherry Turkle and Jon Ronson in an attempt to show how the transit into a technology-driven society will transform the nature of human conversations both positively and negatively.

To begin with, a wired society would make it easier for people to express some aspects of their lives, which they would typically be unable to do under given circumstances. For instance, in cases where individuals are suffering from psychological breakdowns due to traumatic encounters and would like to preserve their anonymity, wired forms of communication can prove to be helpful to them. Through anonymous channels, such individuals would be able to air out their problems and subsequently end up receive counseling and any other form of help which they may require without compromising their identity. Also, this aspect of social media connections makes it possible for individuals to select the critical attributes of their personal lives, which they want to be known, therefore protecting their privacy even more. According to Turkle, she describes this as the Goldilocks effect where an individual can select just what they want the external world to know regarding their lives.

Another positive transformation that will result from our transit into a technologically driven society will be the power of online conversations in areas such as politics and commerce in the future. With the growing number of people connected to online sites, entrepreneurs will be compelled to use social networks for advertising their services and products to potential customers. This move is aimed at reaching a broad audience without spending much on the adverts. Politically, social media sites contribute significantly to how political agenda is spread, and therefore hopeful politicians can achieve their intended objectives using such platforms. Turkle also supports this by saying that politics, commerce, friendship, and romance all have their place in social media.

While society may benefit from communication platforms built on technology, it is also essential to bear in mind the fact that there are various downsides associated with online-based communication. To begin with, the evolution of social media has generally led to the rise of a community of individuals who are less empathetic and sympathetic to people in need. This lack of human touch is mostly brought about by the fact that communication through social media is conducted behind screens and keyboards. Therefore people are less likely to be held accountable for the messages they pass across. Ronson states that compared to their early days, Twitter and Facebook, some of the leading social media sites, are less empathetic today. This, therefore, jeopardizes the harmony in society since people are much more likely to spread hatred in a community without having any thoughts about the future implications of their actions.

Another downside associated with social media connections is that it eventually leads to a degradation in the quality of physical interactions in different environments. The reliance on social media and other online forms of communication has been found to lead to physical detachment since people gradually lose their ability to express themselves physically. The use of social platforms has associated rewards such as likes and followers that provide a sense of accomplishment to their users. The lack of these rewards in physical forms of communication, therefore, makes individuals lose their morale for such interactions since the online platforms provide them with more instances of approval that they so desire.

In conclusion, as much as social media has its associated downsides, it is essential to embrace the fact that the world is undergoing a technological revolution that cannot be avoided. Besides, modern society is also significantly different from those of the past epochs, because the current societal needs have become more complicated. Therefore, the only way to ensure that constant communication is achieved in such a dynamic world is by embracing the wired forms of communication. The associated downsides can, however, be addressed in several ways. For instance, the duration spent on social media can be limited by dedicating certain days in various institutions as social-media free days. This would ensure that individuals in organizations or families get an opportunity of physically interacting with each other and therefore maintaining their physical connections.