We are all cyborgs now – Sherry Turkle in Alone Together.

“A cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction.” (Haraway, 1991 p149)

We have all become a bit robotic in our lives.  We can have completely digital conversations and never hear each other’s voice or see each other’s face.  Our handheld devices allow us to live full time on the Net – always on call.  I can interact with other cyborgs through Twitter, Facebook, email, and SMS. We maintain multiple, asynchronous conversations.  We wander in the real world, but our affections and attentions are in another.

We have become robotic in our relationships.  Our emotional and psychological well-being have become robotic, and hearts are hurting because of it.  You can continue to feed your cyborg identity, but don’t lose the ability to be “human.”