Journal

Journal Entry: How not to be Alone al affiliation Journal Entry: How not to be Alone Summary The article “ How not to be Alone” by Jonathan Safran Foer tells the impacts of technology in getting the world further from peoples’ hearts yet bringing getting the world at peoples’ fingertips. As more advanced technology gets into people’s life, necessary attention to the needs of others disappears and human emotional computation and corporeal compassion fades off. Consequently, people no longer risk giving their attention or providing words of comfort to those crying in public and whose solution is undivided attention or just intense empathy. Foer concludes by saying that “ Being attentive to the needs of others… is the work of life” (Foer, 2013, p. 3) since attention can freely be given and obtained to prevent death.
My Own Opinion
I liked the article very much and was pleased with Foer perception of technology on modern human values. I saw myself in Foer’s confusion as a human on whether or not to interject into the life of the crying girl or just forget and respect boundaries (Foer, 2013). I also saw myself in the girl’s shoes as she tries to, probably, make up with her mother but avoids a face-to-face conversation with her. in both cases, I imagine the input to human computing needed to come up with the best decision and realizes that modern day humans place more emphasis on speed while forfeiting the intensity of our actions. Consequently, the relationships developed based on speed are a misery since little or no attention is needed to keep in touch regardless of the distance without necessarily requiring immediate response like is the case with answering machines. I agree with Foer that by getting used to saying little, with the help of technology, humanity is tending towards feeling little, and the future does not promise otherwise given technological advancement and adoption in each generation (Foer, 2013).
References
Foer, J. S. (2013, June 8). How not to be Alone. The New York Times, pp. 1-3.