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Solitude Summary Final

The document summarizes key points from Sherry Turkle's book Reclaiming Conversation about the importance of solitude for children's development. Turkle argues that children's reliance on screens, internet access, and social media is hurting their ability to engage in solitude, imagination, and self-reflection. She believes solitude is important for children to become comfortable with themselves and develop a sense of identity. Turkle urges parents to enforce rules limiting screen time and technology use, allowing children to experience boredom which can spark imagination and self-reflection. Dedicating time to solitude, Turkle claims, is important for children's communication skills, relationships, and mental well-being.

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223 views3 pages

Solitude Summary Final

The document summarizes key points from Sherry Turkle's book Reclaiming Conversation about the importance of solitude for children's development. Turkle argues that children's reliance on screens, internet access, and social media is hurting their ability to engage in solitude, imagination, and self-reflection. She believes solitude is important for children to become comfortable with themselves and develop a sense of identity. Turkle urges parents to enforce rules limiting screen time and technology use, allowing children to experience boredom which can spark imagination and self-reflection. Dedicating time to solitude, Turkle claims, is important for children's communication skills, relationships, and mental well-being.

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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Allen, 1

Gabrielle Allen
Professor Pleydell
English 101, Section BL08
17 September 2017
Turning Off the Screens and Turning into Oneself

Dr. Sherry Turkle explores the significance of solitude in the development of children in

her book, Reclaiming Conversations: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age. Turkle opens her

discussion by firstly defining the word solitude. She claims that the word indicates a personal

period where one invests time solely into themselves. However, Turkle immediately addresses

the fact that time for solitude has been compromised by the overwhelming influence of

technology. Turkle tackles this drastic change in society and examines how it affects the

individual and its relationship.

The author begins the chapter by describing a time where children were ultimately reliant

on the powers of television. Gradually, Turkle shifts to today, where children and adults are

completely dependent on their cellular devices. She claims this reliance hurts the practice of

solitude, Its the time you become familiar and comfortable with yourself. (Turkle 61). Turkle

argues that solitude and self-discovery are threatened by addictions to social media, internet

access, and everything that involves a screen.

Turkle follows this argument by applying it to the children of this society. Her viewpoint

is that children have lost their ability to trust their own imaginations due to their dependence on

screens. Healthy children require a good, thriving imagination because it creates a place of

comfort and wonder. Unfortunately, Turkle has noticed that this aspect in children has gotten lost

behind a screen. Giving a child a phone to quiet them down or simply because they want one has
Allen, 2

become the new norm according to Turkle. She believes that the dependency on technology

affects the way children communicate and interact with others. She urges that computer games

and social media provide kids with weak communication skills, while also damaging the process

of identifying who they are. Instead they get lost behind a character of themselves, rather than

digging to the root of what makes up their identity.

Turkle follows her argument up with a solution. The author encourages children to

dedicate acute attention and respect towards a solitude nature which entails, to express the

glory of being alone (Turkle 65). Despite what parents may think their kids need, Turkle

explains that all children need downtime, which may at first include boredom, but then ignites

imagination. Downtime allows for kids to just sit in peace and be alone with their thoughts.

Turkle ensures that downtime can help with feelings of anxiety and lack of concertation that trap

children today.

Dr. Sherry Turkle concludes her argument with the idea of self-reflection. She reminds

her audience that children need to develop the capacity for solitude, while also suggesting that

kids should first embrace a time without their phones or tablets. This is where the author

demands that the parents enforce these rules and allow their kids to be bored. Turkle connects

the feeling of boredom to the process of self-reflection, where one can ignore the outside

distractions and spend quality time with the person they see in the mirror daily.
Allen, 3

Works Cited

Turkle, Sherry. Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age."New

York: Penguin Press, 2015. Solitude pgs. 168-170. Print.

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