Siri-ously Alone Together

During Sherry Turkle’s TED talk, she stated that “human relationships are rich, and they're messy and they're demanding. And we clean them up with technology.” It has come to my attention that we have fallen victim to technology; mainly our phones and the Internet. We were once able to survive through dinner without the need to check our phones or check our emails, but now our phones manage to secure a spot in front of us next to our food. Our phones seem to hold content, in which individuals become completely engrossed to the point where they feel as the phone itself is a person to laugh and make jokes with.

The iPhone gives smartphones even more of a persona because of Siri. Some people hold actual conversations with Siri, which separates them from their actual friends. This reminds me of the concept of being “alone together” because we become focused on our phones, and not on our friends’ presence. We have let technology take over our lives causing us to be physically alone in the real world. Now that I’m aware of this, I can try to stop it for me. The next time I go out to eat with my family or friends, I will suggest that we all put our phones away. It’d then be possible for a full on conversation without technology distracting us.