Alone Together, by Sherry Turkle

December 2nd, 2011

by Meredith Nudo

By this point, ruminations on how technology shapes communication and promotes isolation — particularly those involving anecdotes about families at the dinner table clicking away at smartphones instead of talking to one another — have grown into something of a "KIDS TODAY!!" cliché. Although Sherry Turkle's Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other covers the exact same territory, she sets herself apart from the wistful nostalgia by offering up scientific studies regarding how people process currently shifting technological paradigms. And, of course, the ethical, psychological, sociological, and communication issues arising behind them. In that, her book reads more like a 21st century The Lonely Crowd or a Bowling Alone with adorable baby harp seal robots. Which makes perfect sense, considering she's the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT. 

Overall, Turkle's attitude towards the swelling role robotics, social media, smartphones and other emerging or rapidly evolving devices appears highly ambivalent. She freely acknowledges that neither "triumphalist or apocalyptic narratives" (294) contribute to the discussion, as contemporary communications technologies hang suspended in a shade of grey, neither wholly positive nor wholly negative. But it'll take what she calls "realtechnik" (294) to maneuver the more frustrating questions and discover beneficial ways "find[ing] a way to live with seductive technology and make it work to our purposes" (294). That means striking a comfortable balance between the "profound therapeutic potential" (9) of interpersonal relationships and the potential for less abuse or mistakes that robots provide. At least until we start living in The Matrix or Skynet starts being a thing or something.

She's very open about how she believes sociable machines such as Paro, My Real Baby, and AIBO, particularly when used in elder care or childcare situations, deny vulnerable demographics who "need the most…human attention" (108). According to her sociological inquiries, the more Uncanny Valley 'bots out there only provide superficial connections — even in individuals who find their nonjudgmental, nonliving confidantes the most comforting companions. Turkle heavily dissuades relying on sociable robots as a "cure" (109) for isolation and depression, believing them a threat to the empathy and compassion needed during particularly tumultuous times.

However, I don't think she did more than only lightly touch upon how families and professionals can use these available machines as supplements rather than definitive replacements. The closest she gets to exploring this lay in the story of a man who visits his institution-bound mother several times a week. He undeniably loves his mother, but obviously can't give her every moment in every day. Since her nursing home houses a Paro (provided by Turkle!), she feels much of the loneliness and isolation assuaged during his absences. Yet the author still approaches this particular usage – which hews seemingly close to her realtechnik concept! – with trepidation. Her example of Tim and his mother Miriam illustrates exactly what she wants technology to do for us as a species. Not take our place, but act as our helpmates to be called upon when needed.

In the end, though, Alone Together stands as an entirely accessible, tantalizingly thought-provoking read. Because so many of the devices sprouting up and constantly changing at a quicksilver pace, myriad questions regarding their role in human society form at roughly the same rate. Books like this and researchers like Turkle lending their expertise to the debate are absolute necessities when it comes to making sense of what's available, what might be to come, and different approaches towards processing such a puzzling milieu. Not blindly follow what they say, of course, but learn from it and forge our own decisions about what works for us and what might work on a comparatively more macro level.

Bibliographic Information

Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. New York: Basic, 2010.

Alone Together was suggested by Rob Greene of Going Greene through the Crowdsourcing the Canon project, so big thanks to him! If you have any suggestions for future book reviews, feel free to contact me at mnudo (at) oedb (dot) org! I'm emphasizing reads about college and college life, so try to stick with those particular themes. Thanks!

One Response to “Alone Together, by Sherry Turkle”

Leave a Reply