Running Head: Three Chairs and Technology in Schools 1

Three Chairs and Technology in Schools

Stephanie Galczynski

Loyola University

ET 690 601

Dr. Amy McGinn

Why has technology become such an integral part of our lives? Sherry Turkle’s,

Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, discusses how technology effects

our daily life, especially in education. The world is calling for 21st Century visionaries.

Technology is changing daily and we as teachers and students need to keep up. In school,

collaboration and creativity foster a culture where students feel comfortable experimenting and

investigating, but Turkle causes us to pause and consider how technology is affecting our lives

and how we learn.

One Chair: Solitude

Sherry Turkle referenced Thoreau’s three chairs concept from his writing in Walden. In

his book, he wrote, “I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for

society.” To many, solitude is the idea of being alone. But what effect does solitude have on

people? To ponder objectively, many words and emotions come forth. Solitude could make

people feel scared, peaceful, relaxed, overwhelmed, futile, and motivated. Thoreau is not alone

in his solitude. He explains that loneliness can occur even amid companions if one’s heart is not

open to them. It is not that he is giving up society, but rather that he is exchanging the

insignificant society of humans for the superior society of nature (“Sounds and Solitude”, 2019).

Can this be translated and progressed from the idea of superior society of nature to

superior society of technology? We see almost everyone with a cell phone these days, even

elementary and secondary students. Students share the use of technology keeps them from

feeling lonely or suffer from boredom. Their natural drift to technology keeps them from

building relationships and feeling empathy for others. A physiologist wrote about her recent

Friday night plans. She originally had plans with friends, but schedules changed and her
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thoughts transitioned to loneliness. She absentmindedly began to scroll through social media

feeds to see what everyone else was up to. Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and it all went

downhill from there. She began questioning why she did not have anyone to hang out with or

nothing to do. As her mind transitioned, she came to the catastrophic conclusion… she must be

lonely (Saxbe, 2018). Students mistakenly think if they are “liking” and posting on social media

and receiving feedback, it is a replacement for meaningful relationships. As we think back to

Turkle’s ideas about solitude, she observes how some students lack the ability to hold a

conversation and provide constructive feedback, and how their ability to succeed in school

suffers. The educational system promotes peer interaction and meaningful collaboration. But

what we are seeing as schools promote the use of technology, is a disconnect from each other,

replaced by a connection to a machine.

To combat these disconnects, parents, schools, and students need to be involved. Parents

may place parameters on the usage and time spent with phones, social media, and video games.,

while students should be open to joining peer and community events. Schools could also offer

study hall sessions where students could work on priority-based work under the guidance of

faculty and staff. Reflecting on created work allows students time to evaluate their thoughts.

Turkle references the idea of rewards of solitude and its increase capacity for self-reflection. She

also reminds us the conversations we have with ourselves ignites the hope of greater insight

about who we are and want to be. Collaborating with others promotes empathy and supportive

conversations. Turkle also suggests therapeutic conversations work because they form

relationships in conversation. Overall, education needs to support the idea there is a purpose to

the use of technology. The use needs to be meaningful and it needs to reinforce making

connections in and out of the classroom.

Two Chairs: Communicating with Others

Communicating with others helps students build socialization skills, peer interaction

skills, discourse, and empathy. The younger generation is being pulled into an artificial

relationship. They are not fully involved in their physical environment. The idea of being

visible and in the room, but not fully involved promotes a lack of how to get along with people.

Turkle begins by sharing how family is integral in promoting conversation. It is the first

place they see others as different from themselves. Building empathy for others is key at this

stage in the framework for communication. What we consistently see with this generation is

how the cell phone takes the place of authentic conversations. Phones are out at eating times,

during lapses in transitional conversation, and family times. People are afraid to have a moment

to themselves. We see in education how every time there is a small transition in concepts,

students try taking their phones out to check social statuses. Some will even disconnect from an

engaging lesson because they feel a strong pull to check their phones.

Turkle also talks about how technology effects friendships. She says the quality of

empathy is strained. Social anxieties are partly relieved. Since students have time to compose

thoughts, it diminishes emotional engagement. Students can be seen in the same room talking

and texting each other at the same time. Some teens say it’s more exhausting having a verbal

conversation verses a text-conversation. Students want to avoid conflict and confrontation. It’s

easier. Such conflicts and paradoxes are well-known and being more connected helps sufferers

of anxiety but can also cause depression. We have more friends than ever with social media yet

some feel more isolated. Virtual reality opens a world of possibilities for sharing experiences yet

is essentially a solitary experience (Mann, 2017).

Turkle also references how technology effects romance. People expect others to get right

back to them when texted. If they do not respond immediately, the sender feels rejected. Their

thoughts jump to negative conclusions rather than allowing for wait time and consideration for

others’ responsibilities. This rejection may feel greater if it’s taking place on social media. It’s

all out there for the world to see. Social media viewers may not be taking the time to investigate

someone’s interests when they can easily swipe left and right and move onto the next person.

Three Chairs: Society

Being able to communicate at a global rate is incredible. With the infusion of

technology, individuals need to be able to communicate with society to productively navigate

and function in their lives. People are texting and emailing rather than calling and creating an

authentic connection. This quickened rate of change is encouraging us to complete more tasks,

but at what cost?

In education, Turkle writes how students are texting during class, disconnecting from

lessons and content material. Some students may feel it is ok to disconnect so they may share a

thought with a friend or neighbor. This threatens an ability to create and maintain a connection

with the world around us. Students are losing out on peer and teacher interactions. We learn so

much using discourse in the classroom. If students are shying away from discussion concepts,

they are losing out on how to listen and critique the reasoning of others along with the

development of the newly-learned material. There is a time and place for devices. Turkle shares

how in smaller classes, students are not only talking about the material but also about their lives

and how the concepts could affect them. The smaller groups are more intimate, and no devices

are needed.
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To combat this breaking-off action for students, some schools and classes are giving

students a few minutes to check their phones during class, generally at the beginning or end so

there was no interruption to instruction. Within Turkle’s findings, some teachers tried a device-

free class with a short break for students to check their phones. What they found was a more

satisfied student body. Discussions became more tranquil and cohesive and students were able

to listen and provide feedback to others. They were in tune with classroom conversations and

did not feel rushed.

Incorporated within society, Turkle wrote about how technology affects work. To be

productive at work, employees need to be up to date with how technology has changed the

world. They need to be able to function in a vastly changing environment where information is

flowing freely, and we do not have to talk with others as much as in the past. Turkle observed

the junior associates at companies tended to work alone, confined to their office. Some are

working from their computer and phone at the same time. There is no time to engage and reflect

if someone is jumping from one device to another. These junior employees are showing they

prefer to work alone, secluded in their offices, focused on their screens. Observers of junior

associates noticed they spent less time networking with peers, less time in community areas, and

less time building a sense of community in the workplace. There is a disconnect felt with

younger hires and many of them feel uncomfortable with face to face interactions.

Communication and relationships are suffering from device dependence. Many workplaces are

identifying there is a need to develop ways to support all employees along with their success.

Technology Framework in School

Turkle’s idea of the three-chair framework in schools can be supported by educators if

the use of technology is used appropriately and meaningfully. Teachers should be well-rounded

and versed in technology, along with how and when it should be utilized. Showing students, the

added value of discourse and listening to others creates well-rounded students. Teachers want to

support the use of technology, but without the laser view of this is the only way. We as teachers

must model communication, empathy, listening skills, and technology use so students learn how

to connect with peers and adults on individual and community levels. Showing them there are

more ways than one to solve a problem is essential for life, learning, and coping skills.

Effective Use of Technology

The effective use of technology stems from how it is implemented. Teachers want to find

and develop strategies for appropriate implementation. We cannot force the technology into the

classroom, we must find meaningful uses for it. Since technology can connect us locally and

globally, it creates opportunities for learning through authentic experiences and real-world

scenarios. Even though it has its benefits, its use needs to be monitored. Teachers,

administrators, resource offices, and county and state level executives need to be involved in

how it is being incorporated into education. To be more effective with technology takes a

framework. Turkle’s framework gives us a way to look at technology from an individual to

society standpoint. It incorporates the positive and negatives of technology along with ideas to

help support its effective use.

References

Mann, A. (2017, August 16). Future Friendships: How Technology is Transforming our

Relationships. Retrieved from https://idealog.co.nz/tech/2017/08/future-friendships-how

technology-changing-our-relationships

Saxbe, D. (2018). The Social Media Disconnect. Retrieved from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/home-base/201802/the-social-media-

disconnect

Sounds and Solitude. (2019, January 13). Retrieved from

https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/walden/section3/

Turkle, S. (2016). Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age. New York:

Penguin Books.