As much as I regret to admit it, I’m attached to my phone. I’m constantly reaching into my pocket to check the time, make sure I haven’t gotten a new update, or to send a message. I do this even when I’m not talking to anyone! It’s become an addiction, having to make sure I’m not missing anything, and I'm not the only one who has this problem. Seventy-five percent of the world population has a cell phone, and that number will only increase. With the creation of new technology portions of life have become easier. Technology has changed the way we go through life. It’s made talking to people easier, as well as keeping up with the lives of others. However, the effects have affected the aspects of our lives that don’t include technology.
There are some people that feel technology use has helped to improve our society, and in many ways it has. The improvement of the technology over the last few years is astonishing. There are so many things the small device in your pocket can do for you. Do you want to connect to friends and family over social media, video chat, search where the nearest Italian Restaurant is? There are apps for all of those things and more.
Focusing on the world around you is hard to do when your face is in a screen. The world just doesn’t seem as exciting as what’s going on in your phone, because there’s always a new update or notification. Nicholas Carr, author of What the Internet is doing to Our Brains, believes, “The Net’s influence doesn’t end at the edges of a computer screen, either. As people’s minds become attuned to the crazy quilt of Internet media, traditional media have to adapt to the audience’s new expectations. Television programs add text crawls and pop-up ads, and magazines and newspapers shorten ...
... middle of paper ...
... 2014.
Carr, Nicholas. “What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.” Atlantic. Atlantic Online. July 1, 2008. Web. February 23, 2014.
Oppenheimer, Mark. “Technology is Not Driving Us Apart After All.” The New York Times. Jan. 17, 2014 Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
Reid, Donna J., and Fraser J.M. Reid. "Text Or Talk? Social Anxiety, Loneliness, And Divergent Preferences For Cell Phone Use." Cyberpsychology & Behavior 10.3 (2007): 424-435. Business Source Complete. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
Richtel, Matt. “Attached to Technology and Paying the Mental Price.” The New York Times. 6 June, 2010. Web. 26 Feburary, 2014.
Skaržauskiené, Aelita; Tamosiûnaitè, Ruta; Žaléniené, Inga. "Defining Social Technologies: Evaluation Of Social Collaboration Tools And Technologies." Electronic Journal Of Information Systems Evaluation 16.3 (2013): 232-241. Business Source Complete. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.
Carr, Nicholas G. The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. Print.
The argument that the web is to blame for making us dumb by Nicholas Carr convinces his audience that they might succumb to becoming braindead due to excessive online clicking. Hopping from link to link never fully understanding the content. While Michael Rosenwald points out that we are slowly molding the brain to only skim and search for key words to put together. With these two programed ways our brains work soon libraries and book stores will cease to exist. Or will they? Clay Shirky challenges this thought by saying that among the cat videos and conspiracy theories there lies true gold within the websites of the internet. The gold consists of scientific journals and a place to discuss anything and everything. A community to share ideas and culture. Has the internet changed your brain for the
Before technology and cell phones the only way to socialize was talking and information was in books that you had to go find. Cell phones are used for many things that we have right at our fingertips, but they carry disadvantages. “Complexity of cell phone addiction stems from multiple factors, such as educational, cultural, economic, mental health, and social factors, which could impact cell phone addictions.”2 Cell phones are used at all times of every single day for any reason possible. With the cell phone, we have the world at our
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.
Our modern day society depends on technology for everything, can anyone imagine a life without their phone or computer? Probably not, social media and other popular applications have become so ingrained into our daily lives. Not only can we connect with people anytime throughout the day but we also have so many useful applications that help us on a daily basis. Thinking back to when I was eight years old, I couldn 't wait for sixth grade because my parents had promised to get me a cell phone, I remember counting down the days till the summer of fifth grade was over because I already knew which cell phone I wanted. Once I got it I couldn’t stop showing my mom all of the cool things it could do. Which looking back at it today, it really couldn
In the articles, “How Facts Backfire” and “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, Keohane and Carr explain the cognitive blocks we are faced with in society. Keohane explains how we can be misinformed because of our beliefs. These beliefs can cloud our judgement of what is true and what isn’t true. Carr focuses on how the internet has changed the way we think. Carr includes how the internet can distract us, making tasks harder to complete. Both Keohane and Carr show us the negatives side effects of cognition.
Atlantic journalist Nicholas Carr confesses that he feels something has been “tinkering with his brain.” The internet, he fears, may be messing with our minds. We have lost the ability to focus on a simple task, and memory retention is steadily declining. He is worried about the effect the internet has on the human brain, and where it may take us in the future. In response to this article, Jamais Cascio, also a journalist for the Atlantic, provides his stance on the issue. He argues that this different way of thinking is an adaptation derived from our environment. Ultimately, he thinks that this staccato way of thinking is simply a natural evolution, one that will help to advance the human race.
Carr, Nicolas (2008 Jul-Aug). The Atlantic Magazine. Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/
These two articles are similar in the sense that they agree that the internet and computational objects are reshaping our brain’s structure by changing our neural circuit. By using examples from their personal experiences to identify a trend in technology use, the authors illustrate that the more we bury ourselves in technology the more we are unable to understand material which leads to loss of concentration and the ability to think for ourselves. As an author, Carr finds the internet a beneficial tool, but it’s having a bad effect on his concentration span. Carr points this out by stating “Immersing myself in a book or lengthy article used to be easy, now I get fidgety, lose the thread and begin looking for something else to do” (39). He is no
How much can technology impact your social life? Who would of thought that technology would affect life in such a major way? Little did people know that technology can impact the way humans interact with each other. While listening to music and playing games on their mobile devices, how many people actually get to know one another while standing right next to each other? A small ride on a metro or bus ride will show you just how little interaction goes on in a humans life do to the amount of use on their mobile devices. The role technology plays in socializing has a great impact on people’s interaction. People can be standing right next to each other with out saying one word to one another. While waiting for the next class to start or even during the class, people tune out the rest of the world and this can lead up to social isolation. Technology has had a bad impact on the way humans socialize because it causes people to be less interactive. Social isolation is a health condition that can become very severe and lead up to depression, anxiety, despair and many other things. Social isolation can be avoided if technology is limited to use at only appropriate times as when bored, alone or incase of an emergency you would use cell phones.
Cell phones have changed from an item of luxury to an everyday necessity for some people. Twenty five years ago, a phone was just a way to contact someone. Mobile phones have become one of the most common tools of communications for both young and old. Cellular devices have redefined relationships and social conduct, and transformed the daily lives of many individuals. Cell phones no longer function just as a communication device. Today it has many other uses. Cell phones are used for games, calculators, texting, calendars, social sites, and pictures. In addition, there are many apps that one can download on a phone. Mobile phones help us keep track of our lives.
The opinions of many people vary on technology and the effects it has on today’s society. Some say that it’s more beneficial than anything, others completely disagree, and some have mixed emotions. Would you rather read out of a book, or play online learning games with a possible risk of eye problems? It’s about taking matters into your own hands. 71% of people believe technology has improved their lives. 76% of people completely disagree by saying that technology creates a lazy society and that is distracting and corrupting. Daily life with technology is also another huge issue in society. According to a survey taken in January 2013, people feel their work productivity has dropped 8% in the last year. They also felt that their relationships with their family at home dropped 4% in the past year. The opinions vary, but they are needed to show how technology is affecting different people.
The over-use of technology is creating an impatient society and it is also diminishing once-valued personal interaction with others. More often now days, people would rather let a machine take a message instead of answering a call; missing the opportunity to have a personal conversation. Many of us would rather have the instant gratification of watching a movie instead of reading a book or sending a text or instant message instead of meeting with a friend for coffee and conversation. Therefore, society is becoming increasingly impatient and impersonal with interactions. Those types of behaviors create lonliness in our lives despite our “constant connection” with others through things like cell phones and Facebook®. This way of life is also more common with the younger generations within our society.
Like the rest of the world, I cannot go a day without my phone. Try leaving your phone at home for a day and let me know how you feel. With the growing technology my phone is like my arms and legs. It is my must- have- can’t live without phone. It is my connection to the outside world. It is my connection to other people’s lives and theirs to connect with mine. The “cell phone” started out as a form of communication via calling and then it exploded with text messaging. Now it seems that most people would prefer texting then calling someone.
Technology has impacted our society in a positive way it has also brought on many challenges which lead to loss of human interaction. Technology has allowed many people to do everything they need with just the touch of a button. This takes the pressure off of people to remember important numbers and dates. It has given humans the availability and opportunity to connect with friends and family all over the world, which makes it easier to maintain long-lasting relationships and stay connected no matter the