Analysis

Self

                In terms of one’s relationship with oneself, Harris comments on the lack of absence in the most serious chapter throughout the book. He describes the way in which the digital generation uses online forums and social media as a diary or a sort of (supposedly) one-ended therapy session. Where young people used to jot down their hopes, fears, depressions and elations in their own journal as a way of expressing themselves, they now go to the more comfortable online world, where they feel that someone is listening like a faceless psychologist. Harris wonders how much “we all subvert our emotional lives into our technologies; how much of the pain and suffering we each live with is now funneled away from traditional outlets and towards an online network that promises solace.” (Harris, p. 51) This backfires, however, in the exact way you would expect: other people become involved in a person’s personal life, and some nameless people use these outlets to mirror their own insecurities onto other people. This is where today’s major issue of cyber-bullying comes from. People are ruthless through their online masks, and as our real life selves become more and more intertwined with our online selves, we are affected by those things which people say about our online avatars. People who have grown up in the digital age take these comments to heart and it changes their entire concept of self-worth.

Harris follows the heartbreaking story of Amanda Todd, who committed suicide live on the Internet after years of online abuse. Her entire emotional livelihood was in the hands of her technologies, and all that she thought of herself came from what she learned online. This lack of self-exploration through creative, independent activities has led to digital natives forming their self-worth through the things they share online and the feedback they receive. Finding yourself is not so easy when there are (literally) billions of people watching and capable of swaying your own opinions of who you are and who you strive to be.

source: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/10/22/amanda-todd-video-bc-classrooms-students-lambert_n_2001881.html

Work

Harris alludes to his own work life somewhat frequently throughout “The End of Absence”. His main argument about the lack of absence in the workplace is anchored in the fact that since we have meshed our professional lives and our social lives and free time into the same digital devices. He recounts sitting at his work desk, multitasking his to-do list, editorial work, reading articles (for his own pleasure) and chatting with coworkers and friends via instant messenger and text. As a magazine editor, most of Harris’ entire work day is spent on a computer, whereas in the past it would have been split between various rooms and filled with paperwork, proofs and hard copies to read over and correct in print. Now, Harris explains, our work data is entered right in next to our personal and social data, allowing for endless distraction throughout one’s work day. Thus, this absence of distraction that was present when communication and information technologies did not exist is completely gone, and we are constantly lured by the knowledge and entertainment that is just clicks away.

source: http://www.womensadvancementcompact.com/2013/08/work-distractions-more/

Social

                The “end of absence” which Harris says has effected most significantly our social lives is extremely similar to, if not the exact idea of, “absence-in-presence” described in S. Craig Watkins’ “The very well connected: Friending, bonding, and community in the digital age”.  Watkins describes how a cousin was at dinner with family “in body but not in spirit” because she was on her phone the whole time (Watkins, p. 48). Harris alludes to both of these ideas in the novel, first complaining about when a friend, who he was out having a drink with, was constantly checking his phone and replying to texts (or emails, social media, etc.) Harris sees this lack of presence as rude, and he also uses the example to portray that in today’s society, personal relationships and face-to-face contact are no longer values the way they used to be. We no longer lack the ability to talk to friends whenever we want, so our time spent together in person is less valuable.

source: http://www.studylockapp.com/

Intimacy

On the subjects of love and sex, Harris describes a lack of absence of authenticity which comes from the emergence of today’s “hookup culture” which is augmented by mobile applications which promote casual sex and no-strings-attached relationships. He focuses mainly on the gay community, who has trail blazed the nature of casual relationships with the popularity of apps such as “Grindr” and “Manhunter”. Harris states: “if I’m sitting in a sun dappled park ... and suddenly take up the idea that I’d like some action right now, it’s only my own starched manners that will stop me” (Harris, p. 167). These apps are wonderful for the sake of the gay community being able to come together in a sort of “third place” (Watkins, p. 58) of their own where they feel free to be themselves and express their feelings. However, the immediacy of results dissolves the courting and relationship building which formed a strong structure for relationships before hook-up apps and online dating.

Harris then goes into a study of online dating, where he applauds the lack of loneliness which the Internet has created, but also warns against the dangers of allowing algorithms to determine who someone should be matched with. Algorithms, as described in Tarleton Gillespie’s “The relevance of algorithms”, create “shadow bodies” of users, which accentuate some traits and ignore others, basically creating the person who the website wants them to be, not who they actually are (Gillespie, p. 174). They are then matched with those users whose traits similarly match through the algorithms. One of the highest factors in these matching algorithms? Income. Dating sites have found that people in similar classes tend to have longer lasting relationships, so they match them together in the first place. By allowing these matches to continue, we are allowing “social sorting”, or discriminating between groups that are classified differently using personal data (Lyon, p. 449). This is not only unfair and discriminatory, but also hurtful to humanity. Harris pushes that this lack of mystery and lack of determination to woo a partner takes the excitement out of dating. However, there is also this emerging lack of feeling alone and loveless in the world, which is a beautiful step for mankind. 

source: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread1017501/pg1