Name: Reading Homework for The Digital Divide Selection: \"The End of Solitude\"
ID: 3467888 • Letter: N
Question
Name: Reading Homework for The Digital Divide Selection: "The End of Solitude" by william Deresiewicz Before You Read: Why do you think solitude is important in our lives? Do you think we have less moments of solitude now than we did 10 years ago? 1. As You Read/After You Read: 1. Annotate the text thoroughly. Type up 200 word reading response to the chapter. There's no specific prompt here; simply respond to what you read in your own words. Did you enjoy the article? Did you dislike it? Do you find similarities to your own experience? Etc. Use this as a chance to come to class prepared to talk about the reading. 2.Explanation / Answer
The power of solitude should not be underestimated and one must differentiate between solitude and loneliness. While solitude helps in introscpecting who we truely are , loneliness on the other hand pushes us away from reaching our real self. In this capitalistic society, where one thrives and struggles to work hard, earn their daily bread and keep up with the intense competition to survive, solitude help us restore and balance the stress cycle. It reinforces the idea of attaining balance within ourselves. While it is crucial to interact and collaborate with the society to become a functional member , it is equally important to focus on our internal state of spiritual and psychological well being and bridge the gap between our 'real self and ideal self'(Carl Rogers). We , certainly have less moments of solitude as compared to what one experienced 10 years ago. Although the advancement in technology and communication (multiple social network platforms) have made our lives easier, but in return it has dissociated us from our ideal self. We have multiple channels to communicate and connect to the world, but ironically we have lost in touch with our own essence. Much of the sel-reconfiguring occurs in the presence of solitude which provides us mental clarity. Unfortunately, it is absent in today's world. For example, the idea of going for a evening walk in the luscious green field , while enjoying a melodious tune is deemed as a waste of time in today's society. We place much value on our relationship with the material and tangible objects, rather than the relationship we have with our own-self . This itself is a primary cause of psychological breakdown.
The article talks about identities; how fragmented is our ideas about our own identity and how we associate self worth with others perception of us. Our identity is assembled by the bookmarks and the virtual objects which is associated with the search engine on our desktop. We have begin to adapt to, and adopt the norms of social networking, which has created an abnormal dependency of social networks , thereby eroding us from the mental capacity for any non social concepts.For example, we prefer congratulating a friend on his accomplishment via his Facebook profile, rather than in person. There is a constant pressure to be recognized, be popular, than to 'just be'. Technology has provides us with the capability of continual stimulation, but it has eroded us from us. Psychoanalytic school of Object-relation explains how we have encorporated multiple voices within our self during our sociological development, which in return has silenced our own voice. For example, the ultra pressure of attaining a socially desirable body image within women , has resulted in an abnormal creation of a unattainable dentity and has completly dissociated them from their own essence. The persona which an an individual creates for himself and project to others, has distant him from his authentic self (Carl Jung). The importance of solitude seeps inn here.Solitude demands internal exploration , a kind of activity that can be uncomfortable but once achieved , can turn into the most healthy relationship anypne can ever have - relationship with oneself. Remember what Rumi said, 'what you seek is seeking you'. Seek aunthencity, seek solitide; as it is seeking you.
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