Stop Googling Let's Talk Analysis
In Sherry Turkle’s essay, “Stop Googling. Let’s Talk,” she discusses the evolution of face-to-face conversations over the years, and examines how this important function has been lost in today’s world. Turkle is a Professor of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and she obtained a Ph.D. in Sociology and Personal Psychology at Harvard University. She begins her essay by saying that she has been studying psychology for over thirty years, establishing her ethos, and that over the past five years, she has been mainly focusing on researching about a world where “ people say they would rather text than talk.” Throughout the course of the essay, Turkle utilizes pathos and juxtaposition in order to portray the significance
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She speaks about her observations in the decline of face-to-face interactions while visiting a college. When questioned about habits in the dining hall, many kids refer to the “rule of three;” a commonly known rule that says that “you have to check that three people are paying attention — heads up — before you give yourself permission to look down at your phone.” The result of this rule, and others that people among our generation do subconsciously, is that a conversation continues to flow with different people fading in and out, counting down the seconds until they can indulge in their phone and transition “elsewhere.” As Turkle discusses her research, and mentions examples such as this one, she is appealing to the emotions of her audience by giving them an idea of the reality of today’s world. Turkle explains that in face-to-face conversations, “we learn who we are” so by minimizing them, how are we supposed to learn? The author is also constantly juxtaposing human interactions in the past to those of the present. In doing so, she talks about some of the “unintended consequences of the technologies” in our modern day world, and how they have negatively affected face-to-face conversations. Turkle’s use of juxtaposition contributes to pathos in the sense that it evokes a sense of despair in the
She speaks about her observations in the decline of face-to-face interactions while visiting a college. When questioned about habits in the dining hall, many kids refer to the “rule of three;” a commonly known rule that says that “you have to check that three people are paying attention — heads up — before you give yourself permission to look down at your phone.” The result of this rule, and others that people among our generation do subconsciously, is that a conversation continues to flow with different people fading in and out, counting down the seconds until they can indulge in their phone and transition “elsewhere.” As Turkle discusses her research, and mentions examples such as this one, she is appealing to the emotions of her audience by giving them an idea of the reality of today’s world. Turkle explains that in face-to-face conversations, “we learn who we are” so by minimizing them, how are we supposed to learn? The author is also constantly juxtaposing human interactions in the past to those of the present. In doing so, she talks about some of the “unintended consequences of the technologies” in our modern day world, and how they have negatively affected face-to-face conversations. Turkle’s use of juxtaposition contributes to pathos in the sense that it evokes a sense of despair in the