Analysis Of Reclaiming Conversation By Sherry Turkle
In the Congressional Hearing about Syria in 2013, “Senator John McCain found himself feeling restless ... So he played poker on his iPhone to escape the feeling.”(Turkle 39). In Sherry Turkle’s book, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, the author depicts an individual that succumbs to boredom and alleviates it through the use of technology. This occurrence happens in our everyday lives. We attempt to relieve our boredom mainly through the use of computers and phones. After endless cycles of boredom and relievement, we begin to associate it as a normal occurrence in life and question whether it serves a purpose in life, making it have a negative connotation. Despite believing that boredom is pointless, we need to recognize
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Cynthia D. Fisher, who held a PHD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, mentioned that boredoms stems from two different elements: internal and external causes. Internal causes deal with the human nature; a person’s habits, state of mind or personality. External causes deal with environmental factors and influences such as the subject matter or location of the task. Researchers began to further define the factors. E.C. Daschmann, T. Goetz and R.H. Stupnisky, three researchers of psychology, determined that “being over-challenged, being under-challenged, being bored by an unchanging routine, not finding meaning in learning, having better things to do ..., disliking the [individual], feeling uninvolved, and being bored in general [caused boredom]”(Daniels). These factors are intertwined with the fact that the brain needs stimulation to function. Each of these factors causes the levels of stimulations that the brain receives to increase or decrease. Being over-challenged increases the stimulations that the brain receives. Whereas, the other seven factors lowers stimulation to the brain. The human brain needs a specific level of stimulation, unique to each person, to enter flow, or the zone. It is a mental state which heightens an individual senses, increases engagement and boosts enjoyment. If a person were to receive too much stimulation and exceed flow, they would feel overwhelmed by it and causes anxiety. The brain simply responds by finding ways to lower the stimulation by drawing attention away from the
Cynthia D. Fisher, who held a PHD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, mentioned that boredoms stems from two different elements: internal and external causes. Internal causes deal with the human nature; a person’s habits, state of mind or personality. External causes deal with environmental factors and influences such as the subject matter or location of the task. Researchers began to further define the factors. E.C. Daschmann, T. Goetz and R.H. Stupnisky, three researchers of psychology, determined that “being over-challenged, being under-challenged, being bored by an unchanging routine, not finding meaning in learning, having better things to do ..., disliking the [individual], feeling uninvolved, and being bored in general [caused boredom]”(Daniels). These factors are intertwined with the fact that the brain needs stimulation to function. Each of these factors causes the levels of stimulations that the brain receives to increase or decrease. Being over-challenged increases the stimulations that the brain receives. Whereas, the other seven factors lowers stimulation to the brain. The human brain needs a specific level of stimulation, unique to each person, to enter flow, or the zone. It is a mental state which heightens an individual senses, increases engagement and boosts enjoyment. If a person were to receive too much stimulation and exceed flow, they would feel overwhelmed by it and causes anxiety. The brain simply responds by finding ways to lower the stimulation by drawing attention away from the