The leap from Rheingold to Turkle (revised)

There is an intimate connection between Howard Rheingold’s The Virtual Community from 1993 and Sherry Turkle’s Alone Together from 2011. Rheingold envisioned a utopic future, in which people with similar interests and experiences could find each other. Turkle lamented the tradeoffs that resulted from this connectivity.

Indeed, the Internet has resulted in a possible “CMC (Computer Mediated Communication)-triggered change” on a “person-to person interaction” (xxvii) as Rheingold envisioned. For example, millions date through the Internet. However, with greater unity on the Internet, users found less time in their interactions outside of cyberspace. In fact, a recent article in The Atlantic suggests that even in the midst of a relationship, people are often distracted by their online dating cites, such as OKcupid.com. The temptations of connecting online often outdo the importance of connecting with those nearby in the real world. 

The Internet also came to the professional world, and email helped move us even closer to a 24/7 culture. With this greater speed and connectivity come greater expectations, as well. I remember when I was in my Tween years, my dad's Blackberry suddenly allowed him to work productively anywhere at anytime. As a result, when we would travel together, for example, it would often be hard to get his attention or talk with him because he spent all of his time on the phone.

The mobilization of the Internet augmented the changes resulting from greater connectivity. For example, Rheingold most likely did not envision Turkle’s example of a parent focus on email on a smart phone rather than a child being picked up from school.  Indeed, every decision has benefits and costs, and perhaps what few anticipated was the sheer amount of time invested in the Internet that would become such a cost. 

The debate of whether or not technology actually improves our lives goes back a long way. Sigmund Freud, for example, thought the telephone was a wonderful way to communicate with his son, but he wondered if it hadn't been for the technology of the locomotive, his son would be so far from him.