Turkle And Wesch: Allies or Opponents?

 

At first it was difficult to decide if Turkle and Wesch were allies or opponents. But as I went back and reviewed my notes I saw them as allies. Sherry Turkle’s Ted Talk,Connected, But Alone? , discusses how she is still excited about technology but “we are letting it take us places that we don't want to go”.  Turkle mentions how back years ago we used what we learned in the virtual world about ourselves and our identity to live a better life in the real world.  Now in this day in age technology is changing the way we are.  That we are alone but together because we are controlling where we put our attention to and hide from people.  Wesch talks about technology as a resource for students to use to engage them into learning and use it as their strength since they are youths in a digital world. 


I associate them as allies because both Turkle and Wesch  worry about a person's significance. Turkle wants people to connect with each other and have conversations instead of hiding behind a computer screen or smartphone.  I  think she knows the importance of technology but it should be utilized in a more educational way.  Wesch wants youth to explore any tech resources to find answers by “talking to one another and grappling with interesting questions.”  Both Turkle and Wesch want people to communicate, collaborate and  have face to face dialogue with technology   as a resource.  


Also, both Turkle and Wesch acknowledge we live in a “media-saturated world”.  I see  it with my own son and his friends being saturated in SnapChat, Tick-Tock, texting, and streaming nonsense  videos while they are watching television or when they are hanging out.  I always saw technology as a learning network to search and find information that I need, never to be on it while I am with friends and families.  Turkle says it perfectly… "it’s time to talk!!!!" Enough with social media, streaming, Tick-Tocking when you are around others.  Socialize, Engage, and Be In The Moment!!  Leave technology for exploring information and to educate. 

Comments

  1. Saskia SchulteJune 30, 2022 at 3:01 PM

    I like the way how you explain the connection between Turkle and Wesch, where Turkle wants to connect with people in person and Wesch wants learning to happen by making connections with each other.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJune 30, 2022 at 5:21 PM

    Elena, I agree that both Turkle and Wesch want technology to be used for educational purposes. I think we learned a great one today (pixton)! I also agree that we need to be in the moment. The phones need to be put away for authentic conversations to happen.

    ReplyDelete
  3. John BrennanJune 30, 2022 at 5:22 PM

    I agree with you Elena. Just because Turkle warns us about technology, I do not believe she would disagree with the way Wesch uses it. She is warning us of disconnecting from real relationships, while I think the way that Wesch uses it actually helps foster these relationships in his classroom. I think they would be perfectly fine with each others ideas. Thanks for sharing your ideas, and I really liked your post.

    ReplyDelete
  4. GinaJune 30, 2022 at 6:41 PM

    Hi Elena, I think Turkle and Wesch are allies too. In our media-saturated world, it might be a better idea to have balance with phones/social media and being present in face-to-face interactions. I understand some people like to multi-task, some people prefer to text than talk, but being fully present in the moments of your life is worth it. I enjoyed your post.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jennifer B BlogJuly 1, 2022 at 5:17 AM

    I like how you summarised their connections to each other. I also saw them as non-opposing. I would love to watch a conversation between the two of them. I think there is a lot of meaning in what each of them are saying.

    ReplyDelete
  6. HannahJuly 13, 2022 at 6:01 AM

    I like how you showed how they're both different in their philosophy but similar in their intentions. They both just want people to connect with each other, even though they have different ideas about how to accomplish that. I originally agreed with the notion that students can't have deep connections through technology, but after reflecting further I realized that actually technology can allow students to have more vulnerable conversations because they feel more comfortable behind a screen than face to face.

    ReplyDelete

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