Sherry Turkle
American sociologist, born 1948, of people's relationships with technology.
At a glance
Main ideas
The second self, Identity online, Relational artifacts …
See all 4Books to start with
The Second Self, Life on the Screen, Alone Together …
See all 5Connections
Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Turkle is the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT.
- She studies the psychology of human relationships with technology, especially computers, robots and phones.
- Her books trace a path from The Second Self (1984) and Life on the Screen (1995) to Alone Together (2011) and Reclaiming Conversation (2015), which warn about technology's effects on relationships.
Why it matters
- Her work is a leading reference on how screens and social robots change intimacy, conversation and the self.
Key facts
- Born
- 18 Jun 1948, Brooklyn, New York1
- Education
- Radcliffe College, BA in social studies (1969); Harvard, MA in sociology (1973) and PhD in sociology and personality psychology (1976)1
- Position
- Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology, MIT1
- TED
- "Connected, but alone?" (February 2012)1
Main ideas
-
The second self1
Computers are part of our psychological lives, changing how we think, not just what we do.
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Identity online1
Life on the Screen explored taking on different identities in virtual worlds.
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Relational artifacts1
Social robots that simulate emotion may devalue authentic relationships.
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Reclaiming conversation1
Face-to-face conversation and solitude are the roots of empathy.
Books to start with
The line under a date fills as it gets older: empty when new, full at 2 years.
Connections
Links
Sources
Last checked against its sources today
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The line under a date fills as time passes: empty when new, then one equal share each for a day, a week, a month and a year. For episodes and other items it is full at 2 years; for "last checked", at a year. A striped line means the date is known only to the month or year.