This document discusses how our relationship with technology is evolving and changing over time. It explores how technology is becoming more integrated into our daily lives and how we use technology to stay connected constantly. However, this constant connection through technology can negatively impact our real-world social relationships and interactions. The document also discusses perspectives on whether technology will ultimately improve our ability to connect or if it could damage human intimacy and relationships.

1. What Will Our Relationship With
Technology Look Like in the Future?
By Monique Ling
Photo by Gloson via Flickr CC

2. We have a desire to always be connected
And that desire is continuing to grow
Photo by Photosteve101 via Flickr CC

3. Some people call this FOMO--
Fear of Missing Out--but by
choosing to not miss out on
their virtual social world they
are missing out on their real
social world right in front of
their face. – Dr. Larry Rosen
Photo by Luca Rossato via Flickr CC Dr. Larry Rosen, Huffington Post

4. Photo by Shadow Viking via Flickr CC Dr. Larry Rosen, Huffington Post

5. Our screens illuminate our lives
An electric feeling of companionship
Photo by Japanexperterna.se via Flickr

6. They are our eyes, ears, and even…
Photo by Mr.TinDC via Flickr CC

7. Friends?
Photo by Annamaria Rizzi via Flickr CC

8. Indeed, many people tell me they hope that as
Siri, the digital assistant on Apple's iPhone,
becomes more advanced, ''she'' will be more and
more like a best friend -- one who will listen when
others won't. – Sherry Turkle, The Flight From Conversation
Photo by Yuri Yu. Samoilov via Flickr CC

9. We take them everywhere, and share with them
everything
Photo by –HGabor- via Flickr CC

10. We are never alone

11. But when we finally look up, who will be there for us?
Photo by Origine1 via Flickr CC

12. The friendships we used to value
Photo by M @ X via Flickr CC

13. Frayed by technology
Photo by Point d’appui National ANT via Flickr CC

14. According to a poll conducted by Pennsylvania State
University and Brigman Young University in Utah.
“62% of women
claimed that technology
interfered with time
spent with their partner
and almost one third
of respondents said their
boyfriend has looked at
his smartphone while
they were talking”
Photo by Terrell Woods via Flickr CC Sarah Griffiths, Daily Mail

15. Photo by Official GDC via Flickr CC
In 2012, 34% of Canadians owned a smartphone.
In 2013, 47% of Canadians owned a smartphone and numbers are growing
We are so focused on staying connected that we struggle to give our attention to
a single person at one time. Rudeness is becoming institutionalized, and it’s only
getting worse with growing smartphone usage.
Leah Eichler, The Globe and Mail
“We may be
institutionalizing
rudeness with our
gadgets, but
increasingly it’s a
more productive
way to work” – Leah
Eichler

16. We have become so accustomed to
documenting our lives. We put
everything on pause and we stop
reflecting on our surroundings and
ourselves.
Photo by Don Shall via Flickr CC
“Don't people know that sometimes
you can just look out the window of
a car and see the world go by and it
is wonderful.” – Sherry Turkle, The
Documented Life

17. “Technology is seductive when what it offers meets our human vulnerabilities. And
as it turns out, we are very vulnerable indeed. We are lonely but fearful of intimacy.
Digital connections and the sociable robot may offer the illusion of companionship
without the demands of friendship. Our networked life allows us to hide from each
other, even as we are tethered to each other. ” – Sherry Turkle, Alone Together
Photo by Jeremy Keith via Flickr CC
“We’d
rather
text
than
talk”

18. “This new wave of technologies could force online friendships to more closely resemble the ones we
cultivate in real life: more intense, less numerous, and open to a broader range of emotions. In other
words, our online relationships might start to resemble actual friendships again.” - Kyle Chayka
Photo by Alexander Rentsch via Flickr Kyle Chayka, New York Magazine
But maybe it’s not so bad. Improving technology is also increasing our ability
to become more intimate with each other through video and live interaction.
Could this be the future of friendship?

19. Photo by Susanne Nilsson via Flickr CC Genevieve Bell, BBC News
“I think this means we can
look forward to our
interactions with digital
devices maturing into
something more
like a
relationship, and a
little less like a lot of hard
work.” – Genevieve Bell

20. But just how far are we willing to go?

21. “The ultimate smartphone might well be a
bio-electronic device, perhaps a neural
implant, and might even derive its power
from our own body chemistry. At that point,
we could potentially be connected to the
Internet, and hence each other, at all times.” –
Islam and Want
Photo by A Health Blog via Flickr CC

22. “How deeply will we allow/do we desire for technology to penetrate into our lives? When
previously unthinkable or disturbing fictions become our reality, will we even notice or
care?” - Jordan Bates
Photo by Michael Cordedda via Flickr CC Jordan Bates, Refine the Mind

23. Works Cited
• Bell, Genevieve. "Viewpoint: AI Will Change Our Relationship with Tech." BBC News. N.p., 8 Mar. 2012. Web. 10 June
2015.
• Chayka, Kyle. "The New, Improved Online Friendship." New York. N.p., 24 Mar. 2015. Web. 12 June 2015.
• Eichler, Leah. "Sorry to Be Rude, but My Smartphone Needs My Attention." The Globe and Mail. N.p., 4 Oct. 2013. Web.
11 June 2015.
• Jordan Bates. "Spike Jonze’s Film ‘Her’ Brilliantly Addresses Our Relationship to Technology." Refine The Mind. N.p., n.d.
Web. 10 June 2015.
• Islam, Nayeem, and Roy Want. “Smartphones: Past, Present, and Future.” IEEE Pervasive Computing 13.4 (2014): 89-92.
Web. 12 June 2015
• Rosen, Dr. Larry. "Our Obsessive Relationship With Technology." The Huffington Post. N.p., 17 Oct. 2014. Web. 11 June
2015.
• Sarah Griffiths. "Are You 'in Love' with Your SMARTPHONE? 75% of Women Admit Devices Are Ruining Their
Relationships." Daily Mail. MailOnline, 08 Dec. 2014. Web. 12 June 2015.
• Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. New York: Basic, 2011.
N. pag. Print.
• Turkle, Sherry. The Documented Life. New York Times 16 Dec. 2013: A25(L): Academic One File. Web. 12 June 2015.
• Turkle, Sherry. The Flight From Conversation. New York Times 22 Apr. 2012:1(L): Academic One File. Web. 12 June 2015.
Photo by Un Ragazzo Chiamoto Bi via Flickr CC