Summary Of Growing Up Tethered By Sherry Turrkle

Reader Response Essay
In the essay, “Growing up Tethered,” written by Sherry Turkle there are valid points that we use our cell phones for everything. Even though many would disagree with the conclusion that our lives revolve around our cell phones, there is evidence to support her premise that our cell phones are a priority and they have a lot of control over our lives. Cell phones benefit us greatly in many ways, but they cause us to be less independent and more dependent on our cell phones.
Our lives tend to revolve around our cell phones and sometimes put us in danger. “These young people live in a state of waiting for connection. And they are willing to take risks, to put themselves on the line.”1 The young people are the generation who never knew what it was like without having a cell phone; therefore it is hard for them to disconnect- they don’t know how to. If this generation hears their phone buzz or hear a notification, they feel as if

they ‘have to’ check it, no matter what they are doing.
“Based on previous research, it appears that adolescents distinctively use technology to satisfy their social, emotional, and developmental needs.”2 They are attached to their phones and always have to feel connected.

There is no such thing as being alone, there is no privacy, and the word separation has a whole other meaning. “Adolescents don’t face the same pressure to develop the independence we have associated with moving forward into young adulthood.”2 Things have changed.
Before technology and cell phones the only way to socialize was talking and information was in books that you had to go find. Cell phones are used for many things that we have right at our fingertips, but they carry disadvantages. “Complexity of cell phone addiction stems from multiple factors, such as educational, cultural, economic, mental health, and social factors, which could impact cell phone addictions.”2 Cell phones are used at all times of every single day for any reason possible. With the cell phone, we have the world at our

fingertips.
Teenagers feel the need to always be connected, whether it is through social media or a simple text message. Some even use their phones to express their emotions. It’s hard to discover your feelings if you’re more focused on talking about it without actually understanding them first. We focus on staying connected, rather than discovering ourselves. Being connected all of the time is the new norm with having to have constant support from others. Most relationships are embedded in our cell phones and communication is more through a cell phone than face to face.
“We expect more from technology and less from each other.”1 Why should we put in the work, when our cell phone can do it for us? It is used to stay connected, but it is used for the simple advantages of having it right at our fingertips to do what we want, whenever. Our cell phones have become a priority and are used more than they should be. We rely on our cell phones more than we rely on ourselves. Cell phones can do a huge amount of work, that we could also do manually, which causes us to rely more on our cell phones.

Alavi, Seyyed Salman, et al. "The Survey of Personal and National Identity on Cell Phone Addicts and Non-Addicts." Iranian Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 13, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 15-21. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=128085106&site=ehost-live.
Turkle, Sherry. “Growing Up Tethered.” Rereading America.