Sherry Turkle: The Perception Of Multitasking

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Many individuals are excited when a new technology, such as the iPhone, tablets, and others become available in stores, but are these technologies really good for society? Most individuals perceive these technologies as positive for society however, many lack considerations for how human’s use of the technologies directly relates to its perceived value, positive or negative, based on the efficiency it creates. Some people, such as professor and proponent of technologies negative impacts on society Sherry Turkle, stress that user error from technology use directly degrades in-person and open communication. Although individuals may think they are gaining the ability to multitask or can have conversations in multiple locations, in reality, this…show more content…
Many individuals perceive multitasking as positive because an individual can complete more tasks in the same amount of time. Although this is a common ideology, present especially among teenagers and young adults, professor and author Sherry Turkle describes multitasking as negative because each individual task is being completed at a quality level lower than if worked on individually. She also discusses a parallel between multitasking projects and tasks with the effect on friends. Turkle points out that individuals are “[avoiding] voice communication … because it demands their full attention” and therefore individuals lose the ability to multitask (Turkle 375). Turkle brings Tara, a lawyer, who defends “I’m at the point where I’m processing my friends as though they were items of inventory… or clients” (375). Basically, Turkle emphasizes how technology encourages individuals to multitask, but the result of multitasking is convoluted written communication, the mere absence of verbal communication, and the degradation of relationships between individuals. The decision of individuals to multitask results in the completion of tasks at quality levels lower than if produced with focus and individually. There is a greater margin for error, meaning a greater likelihood of a task having issues or not working, because of an individual’s perceived sense that a job was completed as satisfactory as it always would be regardless of the decision to multitask. Individuals would then have to go back into systems or products to correct the errors and overall, require a larger amount of time to complete the task. Efficiency decreases because of individual’s incapability to focus and need to

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