Envision you are at the perfect family dinner. The aura of a warm, ambient light pairs with the aroma of your favorite dish. Family stories follow genuine smiles. Laughter radiates. You are entranced by the simple pleasure of being home with your loved ones. Now over time, the cold, sterile glow of technology begins to emanate from its screens, one year after another, replacing the nuanced hues of authentic interaction. As the screens flicker, and continue to flicker with synthetic luminosity, technology begins to mask the truth of genuine emotion around your dinner table. You find yourself caught in a digital world where echoes of ulterior motives and agendas persist. Insecurities creep in, and genuine aspirations become overshadowed by an insatiable craving for more.

Sherry Turkle’s “The Empathy Diaries” offers readers an exploration of modern communication and education, encouraging them to reflect on the social complexities of the current age, especially about fostering the education of our current youth. This passage will advance the perception of this text, exposing the societal implications of modern-day reciprocity, and uncovering its detrimental impacts on the world around us. The harsh contrast between the world in front of us and the world around us highlights the importance of this very discussion. 

Let us follow the dinner scene a bit further. You may be asking yourself: “Well, why is this relevant to technology?” or, “What insecurities are creeping in now?” Well, as Sherry Turkle seamlessly mentions, “…We like to hear (these) positive stories because they do not discourage us in our pursuit of the new… and we like to hear them because if these are the only stories that matter, then we don’t have to attend to the other feelings that persist—that we are more lonely than before…” (Turkle 349). When moments of difficulty exist, we often pull ourselves from ourselves, delving into an algorithm of positivity or lightheartedness. For example, distracting ourselves from an awkward or boring situation by scrolling through social media is a common implication. I know I am guilty of this, and chances are, you have likely experienced this as well. Escaping into oneself feels easier than navigating social interactions during challenging moments— that’s been my experience, at least.

Although the utilization of coping with difficult situations through technology provides to be a very efficient method, there are very serious implications. The fact that the modern world embraces the idea of deflecting feelings has become very detrimental to the nature of human discussion…