Connection Vs

Sandhu, Simran
English 1
Anna Mavromati
Connection vs. Communication What is connection? Connection is a relationship in which a person, thing, or idea is linked or associated with something else; for example: two people connecting via Facebook. What is communication? Communication is the imparting or exchanging of information or news; for example: two people exchanging information to one another. In Sherry Turkle’s article, “The Flight from Conversation”, she explains how social media websites such as Facebook can hinder people from the physical and verbal realm of communication. Although Turkle backs her argument well, I disagree with her in the sense that social media acts as a villain in this case because Facebook helps friends and families to connect and communicate, it helps people say what they want to say and in some cases is a great way to get your voice heard on a higher platform. In “The Flight from Conversation”, Turkle tends to be a more one sided and bias towards her opinion without truly recognizing the pros of communicating and connecting through social media. Communicating via text message or through Facebook is certainly different from talking face to face; both methods of communicating will come with a different set of rules and principles which we try to develop to make better and better. Turkle demonstrates this through saying, “When we communicate on our digital devices, we learn different habits” (Turkle 3). When there is a new way of communicating other than a physical/verbal you have to learn and adapt to the new way of communicating. Turkle also makes it seem as if people nowadays aren’t even engaging in verbal communication and are just stuck to their phones. She states, “Connecting in sips may work for gathering discrete bits of information… but connecting in sips doesn’t work as well when it comes to understanding and knowing one another” (Turkle 3), and this exactly where I realized that Turkle doesn’t see the reason behind the convenience of communicating through Facebook. She tries to compare the two as if they are the same thing when in truth they are two way different methods which are used to communicate differently. Connecting online and talking via text can simply be more convenient is some cases and in others talking verbally is the way to go. In retrospect, I do believe that there is some truth to Turkles argument in terms of the fact that people nowadays do tend to get glued down to their phones and social media life that they forget how to truly have a physical and verbal conversation. Turkle makes a good point when she says, “In conversation we tend to one another. (The word itself is kinetic; it’s derived from words that mean to move, together.) We can attend to tone and nuance. In conversation, we are called upon to see things from another’s point of view” (Turkle 3), this, in other words, basically means that when two people are together and talking face to face it’s a completely different experience. Physical communication never tends to be bland, you converse using different expressions, gestures, emotions, and it really can’t compare to trying to hold a conversation via text. There is also virtually no room for error when texting or chatting online. Turkle points this out by saying, “Texting and e-mail and posting let us present the self we want to be. This means we can edit. And if we wish to, we can delete. Or retouch: the voice, the flesh, the face, the body. Not too much, not too little – just right” (Turkle 2). If you can edit what you say is it really an authentic conversation? In conclusion Turkle expresses a solid argument in her article, “The Flight from Conversation”. She explains how she believes Facebook and online connection are hindering us from the realm of communication. After thoroughly reading her article, in the end I disagree with Turkle and believe that social media is there to help people connect and communicate. It helps people say what they want to say and is a way for an individual to have their voice heard on a bigger platform in some cases.