Chapter 13- Anxiety

                As I sit listening to the teacher talking to the class, it doesn't take me long to see people quickly checking their electronic devices to see if there are any new messages that might be important. Of course, I have never seen anyone jump up from their seats and run out of the class, so I feel people feel the need to constantly check their devices so they aren't missing out on anything.

                Turkle explains in chapter 13 how people today feel that they must be able to get online to their Facebook, Twitter, email accounts otherwise they feel they are missing out on what could be important information. People see not having their phones with them at all time as a major stress level.  Technology is seen as a way of managing life’s stresses but at the same time can create anxieties of their own. The two are often linked. Turkle feels that many sacrifices are made in order to multi task between electronic devices and your work, “People would rather sacrifice quality in order to multi task” (Turkle p242).

                An example giving in the book is how Julia gradually lost contact with her dad over many years as neither wanted to be the first to contact the other as they had fallen out over a silly argument. Julia has to eventually contact her farther in order to get a signature for a school field trip, which as a result allows them to start contacting each other again. She explains how her farther adds an email address so they can start speaking via email. Julia is happy with this as she doesn’t feel comfortable enough to talk to her farther on the phone. Julia does explain how she knows her farther has a Myspace account, and that she doesn’t want to accept him or look at his wall. At the same time she doesn’t want him checking out her wall and profile. She explains how she is not ready to see what her farther has been up to, if he has a new wife, kids etc.  She feels that over time she will talk to him and then eventually meet him again.

                Julia explains that she feels being disconnected from her phone can cause anxiety. “If I get an text message, I will excuse myself from class just to go check it” (Turkle p244) Julia explains how while checking the text message, it will be from a friend simple saying “Hey” so as a result she feels silly for leaving class, but at the same time, feels she must check the text in case it’s an emergency from her friend or family. Julia recalls when 9/11 happened and every student in her school was taking to the basement. As she didn’t have a phone, she was scared and wanted to check on her family in case anything was wrong. Some of her school friends had flights that day or worked at the twin towers so were scared and worried for them.

                As a result from 9/11, more and more children were given cell phones in case of emergencies. Although parents give the children them in case of emergencies, the schools are trying to crack down on the use of phones whilst at school as they feel they are a big distraction to the children learning. Turkle explains that parents today are called Helicopter parents. They feel that their own parents were quick to push them out into the world and give them their own independence, which they do not want their children to have. They want their own children to not have to rush out into the real world.

                Another example Turkle uses is Hannah, who enjoys going on chat websites and speaking to either friends or random people around the world. Hannah has met a guy from England who she has been talking to for many years. They will often play games online or just generally talk for hours. She liked the fact that neither one knows what the other person looks like, so in a way they can just imagine. She does want to eventually meet him she says, but for now she is happy to just keep on talking to him. Hannah says that there are many down sides to talking to people online. “People can be vicious” (Turkle p247), I have been on chats with my friends and they will start saying nasty things to random people or even people they know. She explains that there are many cruel people out there, but at the same time there are many nice people just wanting to chat to someone.

                Today people spend hours searching pictures of friends and random’s, just seeing what their up to and what comments they have posted. It doesn’t take long to find out what that persons been up to and what pictures they have posted. The media today portrays young people as no longer caring about their privacy as everything is easily available with a few clicks of a button.  The word “facebook stalking or creeping” have as a result become a term now that doesn’t really mean what it does on the serious end. It as a result has made the serious side of talking more watered down in the public’s eye.

                Turkle feels that only now are people becoming aware of what they put on the internet can often land them in trouble in the future, whether it be a job searching your name or even parents seeing what pictures you have posted online. They are no longer able to just delete information so easily. If one person puts a comment or picture online, that picture could be copied and pasted somewhere else so easily are other people. Secrets will no longer be kept secret as the “internet is a permanent record”(Turkle p 462). People should not be afraid to post things online, but they should think about how those things they post could affect things in the future.

                I enjoyed reading this chapter, I often feel anxiety to check my email and Facebook whenever I am near a computer and I think that’s the generation we have become as a result of all this technology.