Sherry Turkle

Ihave a heretical confession to make: I find the Internet boring and a waste of time. Not the subject of the Internet. I mean the thing itself. Mind you, I have been at this for a long time. I started writing about computers in 1977; I got my first personal computer in 1978 (a Radio Shack Model 1), and I have upgraded four or five times since. My current computer is one I built myself. I have been online since the mid-'80s.

I suspect parents will greet last weekend's report that Facebook may officially open a version of its site to preteens the same way their kids would: with an eye-rolling whatever. After all, more than half of parents with 12-year-olds said in a recent survey that their child already has an account and most had lied about their kid's age to help them open it. Acknowledging that reality, Facebook says, will provide a legitimate "on-ramp" that would (in addition to boosting its rolls)

Ever get the feeling that a thumbs-up on Facebook just isn't the same as seeing a friend? Ever feel like you want more than 140 characters from someone? Author and social scientist Sherry Turkle, in her newest book, "Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other," explores our growing tendency to rely on technology above human interactions. The first part of the book focuses on robots ? why we would use them, and how it could be dangerous to allow robots to replace human interaction.

Ever get the feeling that a thumbs-up on Facebook just isn't the same as seeing a friend? Ever feel like you want more than 140 characters from someone? Author and social scientist Sherry Turkle, in her newest book, "Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other," explores our growing tendency to rely on technology above human interactions. The first part of the book focuses on robots ? why we would use them, and how it could be dangerous to allow robots to replace human interaction.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates looks at the Internet and sees a transformation in the way we get information. MIT sociologist Sherry Turkle looks at the Internet and sees a transformation in the way we view ourselves. Despite all the hype and babble about the information superhighway, Turkle says, most people actually have underestimated the coming knowledge revolution. When we log onto a bulletin board, chat room, forum or other cyberspace sites, she says, we are entering a world of possibility.

Merlin is a toy, a computer toy that little Jimmy has forsaken his teddy bear for. Fearful of the psychological consequences of sleeping with a green plastic computer, Jimmy's mother gave him a kitten. Jimmy likes her too. Now his emotional allegiances are divided between Merlin and Melissa, the cat. He plays tick-tack-toe with Merlin, and unwind-the-ball-of-yarn with Melissa. Now I wonder, is he more closely related to his cat or to his computer?

Merlin is a toy, a computer toy that little Jimmy has forsaken his teddy bear for. Fearful of the psychological consequences of sleeping with a green plastic computer, Jimmy's mother gave him a kitten. Jimmy likes her, too. Now his emotional allegiances are divided between Merlin and Melissa, the cat. He plays tick-tack-toe with Merlin, and unwind-the-ball-of-yarn with Melissa. Now I wonder, does he relate more closely to his cat or to his computer?

I suspect parents will greet last weekend's report that Facebook may officially open a version of its site to preteens the same way their kids would: with an eye-rolling whatever. After all, more than half of parents with 12-year-olds said in a recent survey that their child already has an account and most had lied about their kid's age to help them open it. Acknowledging that reality, Facebook says, will provide a legitimate "on-ramp" that would (in addition to boosting its rolls)

The term "opting in" suggests a matter of choice. But as the thoughtful and spirited documentary "Terms and Conditions May Apply" makes chillingly clear, choices are few for netizens. It's nearly impossible to function online without signing away privacy rights and basic protections. Sounding an alarm about those ubiquitous "I Agree" check boxes and the legalese that nobody has time to read, the film examines the many ways that typical Digital Age contracts are anything but free for the user.

A weekly roundup of Southland graduation ceremonies. Wednesday Otis Arts Institute of Parsons School of Design conferred degrees on 163 graduates at its 34th commencement, with 154 receiving a B.F.A., six an M.F.A. and three an A.F.A. degree. Conceptual artist John Baldessari (San Diego State, 1953) delivered the keynote address.

Ihave a heretical confession to make: I find the Internet boring and a waste of time. Not the subject of the Internet. I mean the thing itself. Mind you, I have been at this for a long time. I started writing about computers in 1977; I got my first personal computer in 1978 (a Radio Shack Model 1), and I have upgraded four or five times since. My current computer is one I built myself. I have been online since the mid-'80s.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates looks at the Internet and sees a transformation in the way we get information. MIT sociologist Sherry Turkle looks at the Internet and sees a transformation in the way we view ourselves. Despite all the hype and babble about the information superhighway, Turkle says, most people actually have underestimated the coming knowledge revolution. When we log onto a bulletin board, chat room, forum or other cyberspace sites, she says, we are entering a world of possibility.

Merlin is a toy, a computer toy that little Jimmy has forsaken his teddy bear for. Fearful of the psychological consequences of sleeping with a green plastic computer, Jimmy's mother gave him a kitten. Jimmy likes her, too. Now his emotional allegiances are divided between Merlin and Melissa, the cat. He plays tick-tack-toe with Merlin, and unwind-the-ball-of-yarn with Melissa. Now I wonder, does he relate more closely to his cat or to his computer?

Merlin is a toy, a computer toy that little Jimmy has forsaken his teddy bear for. Fearful of the psychological consequences of sleeping with a green plastic computer, Jimmy's mother gave him a kitten. Jimmy likes her too. Now his emotional allegiances are divided between Merlin and Melissa, the cat. He plays tick-tack-toe with Merlin, and unwind-the-ball-of-yarn with Melissa. Now I wonder, is he more closely related to his cat or to his computer?

If you'd been in Anaheim last week, you could have either a) rubbed shoulders with thousands of vacationers waiting in really long lines to go on really short theme park rides, or b) rubbed shoulders with thousands of chemists discussing recent advances in polyesters. Sounds like a tossup, doesn't it? But at the American Chemical Society's annual spring shindig, you would have also learned all kinds of stuff about things we love to eat and drink.

On a recent bright and fresh spring day, my daughter and three girlfriends shut themselves up in her room with provisions and their favorite pastimes: hair, makeup and flirting online. Shrieks of gaiety floated down the hall, along with conversation bits such as "Do you have any pink eye shadow?" Occasionally one would emerge with a question of etiquette: "Can we use profound language?" What she meant was, could they use swear words to put down someone who is offending them.