Has the modernization of the twentieth century made us smarter or has it hindered our brains to think in 140 characters or less? In the article, “Brain Candy”, Steven Johnson argues that the “steady upward trajectory” in global I.Q scores is due to what we thought was making us dumber: popular culture. However, this romantic critic is too rooted in his technology- age ideology. While Johnson claims that everything bad is good for us, family themed-programing is being replaced by fabricated reality television shows and channels specialized in selling, video games are hindering our reading and writing skills, and books are becoming things of the past. Johnson insists that popular culture is making us smarter, but is stupid the new smart?
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Video games do not make us more intelligent. They may however, make us more prone to violence and sex. Video games are preventing us from screening out distractions and making thinking deeply a difficult task. Our brains become overwhelmed when multitasking. Moreover, Johnson states “... a modern video game can take forty hours to complete”. Forty hours keep kids from homework and as Rachael Rettner states in livescience, “The results show that boys given a PlayStation II are slower to progress in their reading and writing skills and have more learning problems reported by their teachers than those not given a system”. The sole reason studies come back positive for video games being productive is due to the fact that they test a regular video gamer with a non-gamer. Regular video gamers will do better in the study because the more they play, the better they get. Not many realize the effect of these “fully realized imaginary worlds”, it is making it harder for people to differentiate their virtual life with their real
“The Dumbest Generation” is a title no group of people want to behold. Nonetheless, people under age thirty have been given this belittling title. To those who go off questions about obsolete general knowledge rather than the ability to take in and evaluate knowledge, this title may seem quite fitting. However, Millennials aren’t quite as dull as they’ve been perceived to be. The ability of Millennials to absorb information, rather than know general facts, and their use of contemporary technology as reading and writing resources has proven that they are quite an innovative and bright generation.
In “Cultural Illiteracy,” a preface to the novel The Dumbest Generation, Mark Bauerlein critically evaluates how technological distractions affect the younger generation. Bauerlein states that “digital diversions” are cutting the younger generation off from culturally enhancing mediums and is in turn making the younger generation less intelligent. Though Bauerlein is correct about the increase of peer pressure due to technology, he is mistaken about how technology is making the younger generation unintelligent.
Nicholas Carr, a periodic writer on issues such as technology and culture, wrote the article called “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” (743) In this, he discusses the way that not only Google, but also the advancement in technology, especially computers and computer engines is slowly altering our brain, along with the way we take in information. The process started back in the 1970’s and 1980’s when technology got a jump in society. For example “television was our medium of choice” says Carr (747). From then on it has been a slow decline for the way we process information. Throughout this essay Carr backs up the reasons why he feels the way by using different types of figurative language, deductive reasoning, plus the use of logical fallacies that can strengthen or may even weaken his argument.
The author claims that the working of a human brain is deeply affected by the technological advances of the current age. Closely administered behavior of Digital Natives reveals that they have sharper cognitive skills as compared to the Digital Immigrants of the previous generation. She begins by quoting Palfrey and Gasser as her counter-argument, who acknowledge the difference between the current and previous generations, thus: “These kids are different. They study, work, write and interact with each other in ways that are very different from the ways that you di...
The internet is our conduit for accessing a wide variety of information. In his article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” Nicholas Carr discusses how the use of the internet affects our thought process in being unable to focus on books or longer pieces of writing. The author feels that “someone, or something, has been tinkering with [his] brain” over the past few years (Carr 731). While he was easily able to delve into books and longer articles, Carr noticed a change in his research techniques after starting to use the internet. He found that his “concentration often [started] to drift after two or three pages” and it was a struggle to go back to the text (Carr 732). His assertion is that the neural circuits in his brain have changed as a result of surfing endlessly on the internet doing research. He supports this statement by explaining how his fellow writers have had similar experiences in being unable to maintain their concentrations. In analyzing Carr’s argument, I disagree that the internet is slowly degrading our capacity for deep reading and thinking, thereby making us dumber. The Web and Google, indeed, are making us smarter by allowing us access to information through a rapid exchange of ideas and promoting the creativity and individualization of learning.
In the article Mind Over Mass Media, Steven Pinker claims that the use of technology enhances our intelligence, despite what critics say, when used in productive ways. Pinker supports his claim by explaining that if electronic media were hazardous to intelligence, the quality of science would be plummeting and that philosophy, history and cultural criticism, are flourishing will the use of the Web. The author’s purpose is persuade readers that new media is allowing mankind to locate information at a faster rate, in order to prevent readers from believing that technology is hurting us. The author writes in an informal tone for technology users.
Videogames are amazing they promote creativity, team-work and social interaction. Video games actually work to increase how good your eyesight is. One study done by scientist’s Daphne Bavelier and her team found that playing five to fifteen hours of action games (e.g., Call of Duty) a week increased how good the participants vision was in two ways "The first way is that they 're actually able to resolve small detail in the context of clutter… The other way that they are better is actually being able to resolve different levels of grey”. Sure games have violence in them but honestly what doesn’t, films and TV are chock full of it, heck even Tom and Jerry promote violence and animal abuse plus there is a reason that those big shiny red “18” stickers are put on games so that it is clearly shown that children aren 't supposed to be given access to these specific types of game. As for the “waste of time” nothing is really a waste of time if you gain something from it such as
He feels as if critics need to take a reality check, “When comic books were accused of turning juveniles into delinquents in the 1950s, crime was falling to record lows, just as the denunciations of video games in the 1900’s coincided with the great American crime decline.” He feels that the advances in technology has no affect on our brain’s cognitive functions feels there is no evidence on disabling our learning capabilities. Pinker’s disposition on the positive outcome of technological advances is so profound, he feels it is even correlated with the rise in IQ”s in the modern years. He acknowledges that access to mass media is a powerful tool that can engulf one’s life. Pinker just feels that all humans have self-control and are able to put their phone down when the time is
“Most reported effects of videogames – particularly in the popular press – appear to centre upon the alleged negative consequences… Research has consistently shown that playing computer games (irrespective of genre) produces reductions in reaction times, improved hand-eye co-ordination and raises players’ self-esteem,” (Griffiths p. 47), states Mark Griffiths in his article, “The educational benefits of videogames”. When people think of video games, they often tend to think about the negative side effects that video games can have on a person. Will Wright in his article, “Dream Machines” also defends video games by providing positive effects that video games have on those who play them. Wright presents
Video games have been connected to raising a range of skills. within the article “Video Games lead to faster decisions that are no Less Accurate” a study created by the University of Rochester, tested a variety of eighteen to twenty five year olds that aren't video gamers, one group competed in a quick paced action game, whereas the opposite group contended with a slow moving strategic game, they then had to accurately answer questions about the action that was happening on the screen. The result found that the action gamers were twenty five percent quicker at creating choices than the individuals who were strategic gamers. This shows that gamers who played action games were ready to create decisions quicker and more accurately than non-gamers. This may additionally facilitate with daily activities like multitasking, driving, reading tiny print, keeping a look out of friends during a crowd, and traveling around places.
By far the largest concern of technology today is video games. There have been so many experiments and studies to try and figure out if video games have a negative or positive effect on our children. A growing body of research is linking violent video game play to aggressive cognitive, attitudes and behaviors (D.A. Gentile, 2004). Video games can obviously be dangerous for our children causing aggression, bad performances in school and obesity. Although we cant blame all of these problems on the use of video game...
When it comes to the topic of television, most of us would readily agree that watching television is a waste of time. Where the agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of “are there shows that increase our intelligence?” and what pleasure do some television show bring to us? I would say there are some great shows that increase our intelligence. Shows like “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?” this kind of show puts the brain to work; thinking. There are some other shows that tend to convince us that watching television seduces our mind. I find Johnson’s argument about his article “watching television makes you smarter” confusing because he was not actually picking sides in the article and Steven’s “Thinking Outside The Idiot Box” argument about how “it’s really good at teaching you to think… about the future episode” (Steven, 296). Although I agree with the author of “Watching Television Makes you Smarter” Johnson to an extent, I cannot accept that he overlooks how much time people spends each day watching television.
Since the Early 70’s video games have been giving a bad name. Parents state that video games rot the minds of children and are influencing them do be violent. These accusations are far from the truth. In my research I found that there are many positive effects of gaming. Some of these effects are increased skills, creativity, general knowledge, and also help those in need. Parents can also take proper precautions and look into a game before buying it to see if it meets the criteria discussed in this paper.
Eighth graders who played video games and watched television the most did the worst at school (Beckham 1). “Playing a video game significantly increased heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen consumption in a group of people ages 16 to 25” (Segal, 4). Subjects who played aggressive video games were more excited than those who didn’t. After playing the video games, the subject would act out with more aggression towards others (Anderson 5). College students that played video games, compared to those who did not, showed signs of changes on class attendance and on their grades. Some of these changes included a drop in grade average and attendance (Kardaras 1).
Nowadays, video games are frequently accused of having detrimental effects on children and adolescents. The main arguments against video games are that they lead to addiction, that they provoke violence, and that they impair social development. Whether or not such claims are true has not been determined with certainty as scientific studies have produced contradictory results. Nevertheless, video games also have beneficial effects, which tend to be underrated, as they do not receive the same level of media coverage that adverse ones do, and are thus unknown to the general public. Some of the positive effects of playing video games on mental development include: stimulating analytical thinking, improving concentration, and encouraging planning and anticipation (“Video game controversies”).