How We Are Cyborgs

Friend or Foe?

In the article "Can You Hear Me Now?" Sherry Turkle discusses how people in general have become dependent on technology and how it has permeated our lives. Now it is common place to see people walking down the street e-mailing or texting away. Our culture now uses technology to make childhood safer, but that could also damage their independence when the children get older. Our culture now uses technology to provide companions and to define us. To contrast, in the article "Gin, Television, and Surplus" Clay Shirky argues that because or technology we now have the time and the ability to be a part or the media. Shirky Believes this is better than merely watching it.

"Can You Hear Me Now?" has a negative tone to it, as if technology would soon become the bane of our society. From her viewpoint technology is bad, but Shirky thinks it is grand. Shirky is positive toward technology and thinks it is better than the alternative.

I believe that Turkle does the better job of arguing her point although I agree more with Shirky.