Draft #1 (400-300 words)
All people seem to have different views on technology, some think it’s helpful, some think it’s ruining our brains and others have mixed feelings about it. For myself, I have mixed feelings about technology but lean more towards the fact that it’s ruining our brains and taking over basic human functions. Nicholas Carr in “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, believes that it is affecting our brains in a negative way. Possing the question is technology affecting our ability to concentrate on long pieces that don’t interest us. The complicated feeling on technology seems to resonate with writer Emerson Giella, as she also believes there is good and bad to technology. On the other hand, in Lilyan Blood’s piece she says she has never liked technology, believing that it has made her life harder.
I believe technology has affected our brains, along with how we think. In Carr’s words, The Net is “chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles.” While I believe our brains have now been wired to enjoy and take in quick snippets of information, Blood makes the point that “there are so many events and stuff on the web but half the time you don’t even know what is true vs false.” Although our brains like taking in information quickly, the information we get isn’t always very accurate. We want the quick facts and to move on. Which is how the internet now operates, especially social media, but most people don’t stop to think if it is true or not.
Draft #2 (800 words)
All people seem to have different views on technology, some think it is helpful, some think it is ruining our brains and others have mixed feelings about it. For myself, I have mixed feelings about technology but lean more towards the fact that it is ruining our brains and taking over basic human functions. Nicholas Carr in “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, believes that it is affecting our brains in a negative way. Possing the question is technology affecting our ability to concentrate on long pieces that do not interest us. The complicated feeling on technology seems to resonate with writer Emerson Giella, a student at the University of New England. She also believes there are pros and cons to technology. On the other hand, Lilyan Blood, also a student at the University of New England, says she has never liked technology. She believes that it has made her life harder. Although technology has many positives, I believe that the negatives have started to outweigh them, leading us to a need for change.
I believe technology has affected our brains, along with how we think. In Carr’s words, The Net is “chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles.” While I believe our brains have now been wired to enjoy and take in quick snippets of information, Blood makes the point that “there are so many events and stuff on the web but half the time you don’t even know what is true vs false.” Although our brains like taking in information quickly, the information we get is not always exactly accurate. We want the quick facts and to move on. Which is how the internet now operates, especially social media, but most people do not stop to think if it is true or not.
Humans’ urn for constant connection, the immediate stimulation to our brains. That may be scrolling through social media, talking to a friend, or just playing a game. While that may be true, it also allows us to escape from what is happening in front of us. Disconnecting us from the world and the people around us. If we are bored, technology surely has something to keep us occupied. Gillea makes the point that “heavily relying on technology to feel better might just be what is making it worse.” Technology lets us escape from boredom or anxiety without letting us find ways to properly cope with it. We throw some earbuds in and watch a show or play music while walking to class to keep the anxiety at bay. But that has made us reliant on it, because what happens if we don’t have that quick escape. We feel safe knowing that we can get in touch with family or friends if needed. But we aren’t able to just relax and enjoy life because for most people not having their phones on them can lead to stress and fear. We want connection but also want to be disconnected at the same time. Connected to the false reality that social media gives us, or a friend a call away, but don’t want to have that conversation in person or live your life without taking the perfect picture first. Blood points out that “it’s almost like people are trying to make a connection with feds on instagram or whatever they’re watching on their phones” instead of connecting with what is around you.
In contrast to that, technology has kept me connected to my family and friends. Agreeing with Giella that “technology can be extremely valuable when considering connecting with loved ones who are far away. It is still possible to have meaningful conversations with them this way. My phone allows me to connect with my loved ones, read, and write, all at my fingertips.” I’ve been able to keep many relationships with technology. Throughout covid all we had was technology to connect to each other, it kept the conversation and connection going. It has allowed for easier long-distance relationships. Although they could always be a possibility, being able to Facetime and seeing someone’s face helps to feel those connections, along with reading the person’s body language. Texting can be very difficult when it comes to reading tone, but as technology has evolved, we have emojis, snapchat, which consists of sending pictures with words back and forth, and of course all sorts of video chat apps. “The Internet, an immeasurably powerful computing system, is subsuming most of our other intellectual technologies. It’s being our map and our clock, our printing press and our typewriter, our calculator and our telephone, and our radio and TV.” (Carr 4,5)Technology, along with the world is evolving, and this may be something we have to adjust to. Adjusting to the fact that technology isn’t going away, but that some things need to be changed, and some boundaries need to be set.
Ultimately, I and these other three authors and I’m sure many more can agree that while technology can help us stay connected to those long-distance friends and family, it also comes with its own struggles and challenges. Technology is here to stay, and we can’t change that, but we can change how we use it. Instead of letting it consume us we need to learn how to use it properly, sometimes just taking a step away from it. We can learn other ways to cope without it, even connecting with people without it. Maybe writing a letter or having a tech free day where you and your friends, family, or partner just go enjoy the outdoors. But what it all comes down to is will you make the change we and the generations after so desperately need?
Draft #3 (1200+ words)
All people seem to have different views on recent technology of smartphones and the internet. Some think it is helpful; some think it is ruining our brains and others have mixed feelings about it. For myself, I have mixed feelings about this technology but lean more towards the fact that it is ruining our brains and taking over basic human functions. Nicholas Carr in “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, believes that it is affecting our brains in a negative way. He poses the question is technology affecting our ability to concentrate on long pieces that do not interest us. The complicated feeling about technology also resonates with writer Emerson Giella, a student at the University of New England. She agrees that there are pros and cons to technology, as she uses it to connect and disconnect from the world around her. She thinks that while conversation can be held over the phone, it just needs to keep happening in person as well. On the other hand, Lilyan Blood, also a student at the University of New England, says she has never liked technology. She believes that it has made her life harder and more stressful trying to figure out all the ins and outs of technology and is also worried about the next generations. Although technology has many positives, I believe that the negatives have started to outweigh them, leading us to a need for change.
I believe that the internet has affected our ability to concentrate on long pieces, leading us to want quick information fast, and often leaving us with consequences of inaccurate information. In Carr’s words, The Net is “chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles.” (2) While I believe our brains have now been wired to enjoy and take in quick snippets of information, Blood makes the point that “there are so many events and stuff on the web but half the time you don’t even know what is true vs false.” Although our brains like taking in information quickly, the information we get is not always exactly accurate. We want the quick facts and to move on. This is how the internet now operates, especially social media, but most people do not stop to think if it is true or not.
Quick information fills humans’ need for constant connection, the immediate stimulation to our brains, but it also allows us to escape from what is happening in front of us. That may be scrolling through social media, talking to a friend, or just playing a game. This disconnects us from the world and the people around us. If we are bored, technology surely has something to keep us occupied. But Gillea makes the point that “heavily relying on technology to feel better might just be what is making it worse.” Technology lets us escape from boredom or anxiety without letting us find ways to properly cope with it. We throw some earbuds in and watch a show or play music while walking to class to keep the anxiety at bay. But that has made us reliant on it because what happens if we do not have that quick escape; the internet fails or our phones die? We feel safe knowing that we can get in touch with family or friends if needed. But we cannot relax and enjoy life because for most people, not having their phones on them can lead to stress and fear. We want a connection but also want to be disconnected at the same time. Connected to the false reality that social media gives us, or a friend a call away, but do not want to have that conversation in person or live our lives without taking the perfect picture first. Blood points out that “it’s almost like people are trying to make a connection with fe[e]ds on instagram or whatever they’re watching on their phones” instead of connecting with what is around you.
In contrast to that, technology has also kept me connected to my family and friends. I Agree with Giella that “technology can be extremely valuable when considering connecting with loved ones who are far away. It is still possible to have meaningful conversations with them this way. My phone allows me to connect with my loved ones, read, and write, all at my fingertips.” I have been able to keep many relationships with technology. Throughout Covid all we had was technology to connect to each other, it kept the conversation and connection going. It has allowed for easier long-distance relationships. Although these relationships were always a possibility, being able to Facetime and see someone’s face helps to feel those true connections, along with reading the person’s body language. Texting can be extremely difficult when it comes to reading tone, but as technology has evolved, we have emojis, Snapchat, which consists of sending pictures with words back and forth, and of course all sorts of video chat apps. These inventions and changes have helped to make life easier.
As mentioned above, technology is changing, but many things in the world are. “The Internet, an immeasurably powerful computing system, is subsuming most of our other intellectual technologies. It is being our map and our clock, our printing press and our typewriter, our calculator and our telephone, and our radio and TV.” (Carr 4,5) Technology, along with the world is evolving, and this may be something we have to adjust to. Currently we have started to allow technology to do all the basic functions, from writing an essay or email for us to letting it be our friend, therapist, or doctor. We have given so much power to our phones, leaving us to not have to think. We have allowed it to parent our children, affecting how our kids think and act, which I believe is where the real problem lies. If we do not set these much-needed boundaries these kids will not know how to function or act. We must adjust to the fact that technology is not going away, but that some things need to be changed. This new way of life will not only affect the children but the people who live in it when they are the ones running it.
Ultimately, I and these other three authors and I am sure many more can agree that while technology can help us stay connected to those long-distance friends and family, it also comes with its own struggles and challenges. Technology is here to stay, and we cannot change that, but we can change how we use it. Instead of letting it consume us, we need to learn how to use it properly, sometimes just taking a step away from it. Not allowing it to parent our kids and they have free range of everything and anything on the internet. This can cause major effects on said kids, while not being able to connect to people or being able to cope with the things they see. Along with that many young adults and teens rely on it to cope, which we need to learn how to do without it, even connecting with people without it. Maybe writing a letter, doing some art, a night filled with board games, or just having a tech-free day where you and your friends, family, or partner just go enjoy the outdoors. But what it all comes down to is will you make the change we and the generations after so desperately need? This problem is not going away, and I believe it is time to step up and make a difference.
