The Technological Sublime

As we learned earlier this semester, the technological sublime overlooks history and it is overly optimistic that technology can fix society and make society a better and smarter place. Sherry Turkle supports this definition of the technological sublime when she states, “I think that we live in techno-enthusiastic times. We celebrate our technologies because people are frightened by the world we've made. The economy isn't going right; there's global warming. In times like that, people imagine science and technology will be able to get it right.”

Turkle goes on to mention how before 9/11, young children did not have cell phones because they did not need one. However, shortly after 9/11 parents began purchasing phones for their children so they could contact them instantaneously. These parents thought that if their children had a cell phone, they would be able to contact them if anything went wrong. This is another terrific example of how people think technology (in this case cell phones) can solve all their problems no matter what, but in reality, shortly after 9/11 children wanted to play games, text and call their friends, and listen to the different ring tones that were available rather than contacting their parents and letting them know they were alright.

Turkle continues to talk about how people prefer texting rather than calling somebody because “talking for them involves too much information, too much tension, too much awkwardness.” Turkle is concerned because she believes adolescents are growing up without some basic skills (for example: communicating with people face-to-face). I agree with Turkle, but I also think high school and college students are experiencing the same problems because they are so used to communicating via their cell phone or lap top computer. A lot of individuals our age have trouble talking with people face-to-face, especially our superiors (teachers, coaches, parents, advisors, employers, etc). Synchronous communication is quickly becoming an afterthought, and I think it is hurting many people in our society.