Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other

We live in a world of constant connections. With our mobile devices, we are always just a text message away from our friends, and can submerse ourselves in a virtual world anytime, anywhere. For a generation of young people raised with robotic toys, the connection with a less-than-human “being” is a natural one, altering long-held definitions of intimate, authentic relationships. We may have gained in accessibility and connectedness; however, we’ve lost something from our social lives. We have reached a point of inflection, where we can see the costs and we must start to take action to reclaim our concentration and our human relationships.

Speaker Details

Sherry Turkle is Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at MIT and the founder and current director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self. Professor Turkle received a joint doctorate in sociology and personality psychology from Harvard University and is a licensed clinical psychologist. She has been studying our changing relationships with digital culture for over three decades, charting how mobile technology, social networking, and sociable robotics are changing our work, families, and identity. She is a featured media commentator on the social and psychological effects of technology for CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, the BBC, and NPR, including appearances on such programs as Nightline, Frontline, and 20/20.

Date:
Speakers:
Sherry Turkle
Affiliation:
Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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