Computer Holding Power

"The computer's holding power is a phenomenon frequently referred to in terms associated with drug addiction. It is striking that the word "user" is associated mainly with computers and drugs. The trouble with that analogy, however, is that it puts the focus on what is external (the drug). I prefer the metaphor of seduction because it emphasizes the relationship between person and machine. Love, passion, infatuation, what we feel for another person teaches us about ourselves. If we explore these feelings, we can learn what we are drawn to, what we are missing, and what we need. The analysis of computational seductions offers similar promise if we drop the cliche of addiction and return to the forces, or more precisely, the diversity of forces that keep us engrossed in computational media." Sherry Turkle, Life on the Screen, 1995: 30.