Smartphones Are Making Us Stupid

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As asked by the English alternative rock band Muse in their famous song “Screenager,” “Who’s so phoney and always surrounded?” This song perfectly depicts the effects of technology on America. People are engulfed by different types of technology everywhere they go and even carry around technology such as phones, laptops, and iPods. These items may seem like a blessing, but they are potentially dividing America. Every day, eight to eighteen-year-olds watch four and a half hours of TV, listen to two and a half hours of music, use the computer for an hour and a half, and spend two and a half hours on their cell phones, two hours for texting and one half hour for talking. This adds up to eleven hours dedicated on the media per day (Crawford). In addition, people visit an average of forty websites a day. Technology can cause stress and make it hard to remember and focus on tasks. As stated by Matt Ricthel in Attached to Technology and Paying a Price, “our ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information” (Richtel). Steven Johnson has a different approach to the interest in technology flooding the United States. In his book Everything Bad Is Good for You, Johnson says, “the most debased forms of mass diversion-video games and violent television dramas and juvenile sitcoms-turn out to be nutritional after all” (Johnson 21), because they improve visual memory skills (Johnson 23) and analytical skills (Johnson 33). Others say our brains are adapting to technology (Walters), but nothing can make up for the damage electronics can cause. All aspects of the health of Americans, including physical, social, and mental health are being impaired by entertainment technology. Bullying is a tremendous problem brought about by technolog... ... middle of paper ... ...ess Study Shows Pervasiveness of Cyberbullying, Digital Discrimination and Sexting." Entertainment Close-up. 30 Sep. 2011: n. page. Print. . Fernandez, Elvina. "Teaching Families about Dangers in Cyberworld." New Straits Times [Kuala Lumpur] 12 Oct. 2011, n. pag. Print. . "Study Reveals Text Dangers." Nottingham Evening Post 7 Oct. 2011, n. pag. Print. . Ramachandran, Priya. "Is Technology Killing Your Love Life? [Man-Woman]." Times of India 16 Oct. 2011, n. pag. Print. . Walters, Conrad. "Are Smart Phones Making Us Stupid?." Sydney Morning Herald 21 Nov. 2010, n. pag. Print. . Johnson, Steven. Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Toda'ys Popular Culuture Is Actually Making Us Smarter. New York City: Penguin Group, 2005. Print.

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