SWA 2

Always-On/ Always-On-You reaches more than one stage in the stasis theory. The first stage that this article reaches is fact. Sherry Turkle writes about the usage of mobile electronic devices increasing. They are literally “always on” and close to the owner of the device. Not only that, but most people consume more and more of their time on them, which is affecting public social skills. She writes, “for the most part, our everyday language for talking about technology’s effects assumes a life both on and off the screen; it assumes the existence of separate worlds, plugged and unplugged (Turkle 136).” She later goes on to explain how we spend so much time on the devices by communicating to people, being on web pages, voice-mail, games, and artificial intelligences (Turkle 136).

Another stage that this excerpt reaches is quality. From this writing, Turkle believes that the communication devices are becoming a serious issue. However, a reader can be unsure if this issue is a good or bad thing because she uses a device as well. But, she does state that “the self, now attached to it device, occupies a liminal space between the physical reals and lives on the screen (Turkel 137).” This writing would also be the quality stage because Turkle is talking about our society learning a new communication style of sending and receiving speedy messages. For this she is left wondering if we are taking our time with anything anymore.

               Lastly, I think this excerpt would be causal because Turkle is talking about the long term effects that communication devices may have on the society we live in. She gives examples of what we are doing with these devices and how they contribute to our everyday lives. She also writes how these acts are affecting our lives on a daily and the time we may be wasting with them “always on” and so close to us. She uses the example of how a train station is no longer a communal space, but a space of social collection; tethered selves come together, but do not speak to each other (Turkle 137).