Technology has been steadily growing in the past few decades and has largely been put into good use by well-known entrepreneurs such as Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, as well as Bill Gates. Smartphones are an example of advancement in technology and this could be seen through its evolution from the once bulky mobile phones operated in the eighties to the touch screen phones that are now considered a norm among the society. However, Ron Friedman, in his article, “Is Your Smartphone Making You Dumb?”, mentioned that the mere presence of a cell phone has the power to interfere with complex cognitive activities. According to Friedman (2015), the experiments carried out had overall similar results: the presence of cell phones, whether in use or not, …show more content…
When this happens, most students would shift their priorities towards opening up the notifications, instead of focusing on the task at hand, which is to concentrate on the lecture. One who is concurrently reading and replying to a text during lectures will fail to absorb what is being taught as their attention is diverted by their smartphones (Grinols & Rajesh, 2014). They might think that they are being productive by multitasking but in reality, their brain is actually functioning inefficiently. This might be one of the reasons why many students of the present generation have been experiencing deterioration in test scores. Thus, it can be affirmed that smartphones are gradually causing individuals to become dumb as it weakens performance when one is …show more content…
In this regard, the presence of smartphones is potentially harmful as many people often use applications such as WhatsApp or Viber to communicate virtually instead of face-to-face. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to find families, or even couples, sitting together at the dinner table with complete silence surrounding them as they are too engrossed with their respective smartphones in hand. According to Turkle (2011), people are only increasing their connections in the superficial sense as they are getting closer to mobile devices and further apart from human beings. Although they are keeping in touch with friends through their smartphones, stronger bonds that are fostered through direct communications will cease. Hence, interpersonal relationships will be hindered as many people can’t afford to put away their smartphones just for a few minutes. In addition, present relationships may also weaken as people are neither motivated nor interested in maintaining the intimacy between their loved
In the article,“Multitasking is actually kind of a problem for kids and adults” by Hayley Tsukayama the author went into detail about how parents and their children view their personal media habits. One of the ways that the parents and children viewed their media habits as was feeling the need to respond to texts and notifications immediately. “More than 1,200 parents and teens surveyed, 48 percent of parents and 72 percent of teens said they felt the need to respond to texts and notifications immediately, almost guaranteeing distractions throughout the day” (Tsukayama). This article can be connected to “The Epidemic of Media Multitasking While Learning” both of the articles discussed the different factors of media multitasking among individuals. The article from The Washington Post website gave great insight on multitasking and rather it is bad for students when it comes to learning. I believe that the issue being discussed is very relevant because if students are easily distracted by technology while in their learning environment it results in them not learning
Nicholas Carr wrote ‘How Smartphones Hijack Our Minds’ published in the Wall Street Journal in 2017. Carr believes that as the brain becomes reliant on smartphones the intellect diminishes.
In a technologically increasing world, individuals find themselves surrounded by devices that are created for the purpose of making daily life easier. One of the most commonly owned devices is the cell phone. The cell phone has the ability to provide almost all the services of various other devices through applications. Ironically, cell phones were created for the purpose of supporting communication at a distance, and cell phones have become a cause of distance in human relationships. Cell phones are enabling disconnection in communication, dependency on technology, and a weakened sense of humanity.
Owning a smart phone in today’s society has become the norm. In fact, landlines are on the verge of becoming obsolete since smartphone sales have been on the rise throughout this past decade. The PEW Research Center (2018) has found that approximately 95 percent of Americans own a smartphone (Mobile Fact Sheet, para.2). Owning one of these technological gadgets may seem convenient, but spending too much time on them can actually be damaging. There are many dangers to spending too much time staring into these screens. Over usage of our time on these devices interferes with the development of social and communication skills. Smartphones are especially harmful for the younger generation. There are numerous negative effects of smartphones and the use of them should be
Electronic devices, such as computer or cell phone, are crucial to proceed their business in the workplace because it allows people to be connected for sharing information efficiently, but people actually want to be connected anywhere which means not only in the workplace but also in the private life. Because of the desire to be connected anytime and anywhere, it becomes the problem of addiction. Turkle claims that “whether or not our devices are in use, without them we feel disconnected, adrift. A danger even to ourselves, we insist on our right to send text messages while driving our cars and object to rules that would limit the practice” (277). People have to focus on face to face relationship when they are staying with others but they tend to miss authentic relationship because they focus on their personal networking. It makes the loneliness in the crowd. Also, for instance, people have to focus on safe when they are driving but their electronic connection makes them to think about other things which are not important than safe. Like this, efficient technology connection causes addition which could be a dangerous problem for people’s lives. Slater also illustrates another problem from technology development which could be the controversial issues among the people. In Slater’s article, Cosgrove said, “We don’t
This article discusses the distractions and effects of mutli-tasking and using our electronic devices constantly. "Multitasking is never a good idea if you really need to get something done" (p. 26). When we get a text message or look at our phones an addictive chemical called dopamine is released into our brains. Laptops, mobile devices, and interruptions hinder our learning and focus. Although technology can be very helpful, it has caused many negative situations such as car accidents, poor grades, and bullying.
In our culture, technology serves as an instrumental aspect of our lives. Regardless of where you turn, you are constantly surrounded by technology. Whether it is our cellphones that spend their entire lives within an arm’s reach of us, our computers, or the newest wave of technology that is moving us towards tablets, much of our life is lived in front of screens. With these advancements comes the notion that there is an application that can solve every life problem we may have. Thanks to technological advancements like text messaging or social media networks, there are plenty of ways a relationship can be sustained for a significant period without personal contact. Unfortunately, most people have a misconstrued belief that these resources are a great substitute for personal time in relationships that have periods of long distance separation. Scientists and relationship experts debate the usefulness of technology in relationships and many do not share the above mentioned belief. They debate if technology helps sustain relationship or helps ruin relationships. Just as social media can be a great way of keeping up with others while they are away, it can also be used to spy on others and assume an intimate connection between anyone who posts on your significant other’s wall often.
Social relationships are essential for one to function properly within today’s society. Cell phones have affected social relationships by changing them from social conduct to contacting someone through a text message. “ Research in human interaction using communication technology like text messages and phone calls could deepen an understanding on how society manages their everyday life” (Rippen). Cell phones have become such a necessity in everyday life that cell phone users rely on a device to manage their everyday social relationships. Cell phone users can manage their social relationships with the touch of a screen. The user can access facebook, send a tweet, send an email, text, or call anyone anywhere in the world. As of lately cell phone users seem to be driven by their own need to be connected to anyone with in seconds. Some people find it overwhelming when it comes to manage their social relationships and have issues when confronted with human contact.
The smartphone is not only a phone but a computer itself which allows us to access social media sites and the internet whenever it is convenient for us. In 2011 the smartphone companies sold over one million of these devices, which means that four out of every ten people have a smartphone. Us as human beings are social animals and we crave the need and sense of communication and the technology based smartphone just intensifies that craving. (Bousaid) But, what are we really doing to ourselves when we are constantly worried about our smartphones? We have went from a world of in person communication to always wanting to communicate through our smartphones, but this is destroying our ability to communicate with other human beings in a face-to-face conversation. But, our communication styles are not the only thing that is suffering from the newest technology. In an education based field, children are becoming more distracted and distant causing a decrease in the learning that is being done (Bousaid). NBC News reports, “people who are interrupted by technology score 20 percent lower on a standard cognition test. A second demonstrated that some students, even when on their best behavior, can 't concentrate on homework for more than two minutes without distracting themselves by using social media or writing an email”(Sullivan). In the career field the smartphone 1 also hurts the productivity that is being done, research has been conducted that shows that only eleven minutes of work can be done before the employee becomes distracted by their smartphone, which means that these employees are constantly distracted by their smartphones. The decline in our education, communication and career choices can all be linked to smartphones and the constant evolution of our
In the news article Smartphones Don’t Make us Dumb the issue of smartphones and what they are doing to our attention spans is brought up. It is believed that smartphones aren’t destroying human memory, but is taking away their desire to focus. Today people spend hours on their technology, and what most people see when they spend so much time on the technology is playing fast pace games, and short videos. This is causing the brain to get into a habit of faster paced activities, but it’s not damaging humans attention. Technology has remove the want to learn or pay attention because people know there is something better to do with their time just at their fingertips. The reality is, human’s attention spans are the same as they were 50 years ago.
Walters, Conrad. "Are Smart Phones Making Us Stupid?." Sydney Morning Herald 21 Nov. 2010, n. pag. Print. .
...r phones update our minds suffer another loss. People are slowly losing their independence to think for themselves and the ability to rely on their own intelligence instead of a computer`s. When this happens, it can endanger the proper development of the personality and hamper the social relationships needed for life together in society. The more we succumb towards technology, the less personality we are capable of retaining. It`s come to the point that the smaller our devices get, the smaller our brains get as well. Technology has vastly improved over just a short amount of time, and societies` dependence on it is strengthened more and more with every day that passes. Yes, it makes life "easier", but the easy way out isn`t always the best way. People don`t just depend on their technology for help anymore. It has come to the point where they depend on it to survive.
Smartphone could be expressed as “an extension of us, an important limb to our body” (1stwebdesigner). We take these all-in-one devices everywhere with us, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They are used not only at workplaces or at schools but also at parties, on dates and even during sex. In this manner, humankind’s way of living, behaving and communicating is definitely influenced.
Social isolation may not be a huge threat at this point of time, however teenagers are taking their mobile and online conversations out of the home and into public areas. The terms interproximate and interkinesic communication are used to describe a mobile user who is in two places at once (Omotayo, Yiefeng, and Shyam, 2008). For example, you can be physically with the person, interproximate, but at the same time be on your mobile communicating with another person, interkinesic. In this case the person you are physically with will most likely be negatively impressed by the lack of enthusiasm for interaction. Through observation researchers were able to show that mobile phone users are using their devices as a “retreat” from the real world. While the researchers claimed that the use of mobiles in public places is exclusion, or isolation. A reason for that mobile users are engaging in interproximate and interkinesic communication comes from feeling the need to satisfy the us...
People may think that digital devices have changed our life a lot, and they can use these digital devices to communicate with each other immediately at the same time. It is true that digital devices are more convenient and faster than traditional communication methods like writing letters. However, these digital devices will influence interpersonal relationships, and people do not know how to talk effectively. Many people spend more much time on digital devices than friends, relatives, and children. Personally, I have dinner with my friends on every Sunday night, but some of them always look at their cell phones while we are eating or sharing interesting stories. It is very impolite, and my interest in this dinner gradually decreases. Moreover, there is a phenom...