Eliana Dockterman The Digital Parent Trap Essay

In her essay, The Digital Parent Trap, Eliana Dockterman carefully builds her argument by using ethos, pathos, and by using purposeful word choice to strengthen her argument that there are benefits to early exposure to technology for children. She supports her claims with evidence by using quotes, and by citing data from research studies and interviews. She leaves out any fluff and unnecessary words which makes the words remaining even stronger.

In this document Eliana Dockterman writes about how traditional views of childhood consumption of technology with emphasis on “screen use” is outdated and technology usage should in fact be embraced by children. Dockterman is able to effectively portray this argument through the use of a variety of persuasive techniques.

In this brief editorial adapted by Eliana Dockterman, "The Digital Parent Trap" portrays the current battle between a child's world with and without technology. As many schools and parents are split between the two decisions, Dockterman finds a way to be the tie breaker through her persuasion and smooth rhetorical devices. Docktermon tries her best to convince the readers that technology is okay in moderation, and builds her argument through word choice. With the formality of her diction and her many reliable sources to persuade the reader, she seems to have everything she needs to get the job done.

Learning methods have also been transformed by technology. Before technology was incorporated in schools, essay writing was hand written, regardless of how long the essay was. Mathematical problems were solved mentally or calculated on paper until the solution was found. Handwriting skills in children was good, because of the amount of practice they had using it everyday in their school work. Furthermore, children developed a vast amount of book knowledge by using library resources from actual books. However, today it is not the norm. Almost every school issues students with devices like iPads or tablets from as early as kindergarten. It is important to realize that with the use of technological devices, children would prefer the quick action of iPads and tablets in contrast to handwriting or reading a book to find reference points. To put it another way, children will end up using mobile devices both in and out of school, leaving no room for outdoor forms of recreation. A Northlines article, “Information Technology and Children”, mentions that the availability of Internet connection on mobile devices is harmful, because they can use it negatively, giving children an uncontrolled source of entertainment and connectivity. Similarly, the availability of

He points out three different mistakes that can be created in a child’s life when they use too much technology. These three mistakes are not setting limits, not having enough family time, and the parents themselves become too involved with technology. Too much technology can cause an increase of arguments between parents and kids, due to the amount of information kids now have access to. Children can use technology in a way to avoid real world situations and basic communication. In severe cases, Grover explains that technology can become addicting and can take over one’s life.

In Eliana Dockterman's passionate article "The Digital Parent Trap", the author builds her argument to convincingly persuade her audience that there are benefits to early exposure to technology which will greatly affect future generations. The author effectively employs use of persuasive and argumentative techniques including factual evidence and research, appeals to emotion, and well-supported statements from professionals.

Many Authors vary their usage of multiple rhetorical devices to persuade their readers into looking at an argument from a different perspective. Dockterman uses these devices to persuade her readers that early exposure to technology has its benefits. The Digital Parent Trap is an article written by Eliana Dockterman published in 2013. In this article, Dockterman talks about how technology plays a valuable part in American schools and how it affects these families. Dockterman shares multiple points that support her argument, but she also talks about how parents feel about the technology that is used in schools.Through the use of Logos and Pathos, Dockterman persuades her audience that there are benefits to early exposure to technology

According to the article “What’s the Matter with the Kids Today”, many adults believe that new technology is consuming the minds of young people. Amy Goldwasser uses research from Common Core surveys as well as Doris Lessing’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech to create her argument. Goldwasser uses these examples to explain that if parents and teachers better understood the use of technology, students wouldn’t be punished for their overuse of technology today.

The accounts of parents telling the author they enjoy that their child or children are not so reliant on technology gives the positive emotional appeal to other parents. This appeal consists of non-Waldorf parents believing their children will be more involved in family life and engagement with peers rather than an addiction to social media. To most parents this is a bright outlook on what seemed to be a dark social media filled adolescent hood. However, there are parents whose emotions and personal ethics get in the way of the possible positivity of the Waldorf education. For example, Mr. Alan Eagle, mentioned previously with a positive response, said this about the lack of technological education about his daughter who "doesn't know how to use Google". She is in fifth grade. Mr. Eagle is a computer science degree holder from Dartmouth and works for Google himself, so an education in technology is important to him as it could be for other parents reading the article depending on their own outlook on technology in their own

There is a bias towards children’s access of technology use because of the amount of children that fully understand how technology works. This has resulted in a society adapting to access technology use. Child should be allowed to have technological devices, but not in the matter in which they have been. Reading a book, doing outdoor activities, or any from of play without the use of technology should still be achieved. Having too much technology in a child’s life has made it very vulnerable for them to experience adversities in their life. These two images were effective by addressing the issue of children’s access technology use. Even though children may actually know how to open a book, it helped portray that simple tasks are damaged by technology. Technology has become the bases in which children believe is a vigorous way to

Claim: Eliana Dockterman, in "The Digital Parent Trap" shows her persuasive tone in the essay on whether or not technology was a good idea to teach to young teenagers. Her purpose is to convince the readers that technology would be the right way to go in order for your child to not get left behind. Support 1: Dockterman begins her essay by emphasizing the statistics and facts on why technology would be a great path to pursue in a child's life. "This generation of American kids...27% of them use tablets, 43% use smartphones, and 52% use laptops. " This helps the author achieves her purpose by backing her stance up with hard facts.

Technology has almost no impact on student's engagement if it is presented in inappropriate manner; as a result of which students are not motivated to enhance their scope of knowledge and interaction with each other. Susan Pinker in her article “Can Students Have Too Much Tech” claims that mission of providing technology to children from low income class to improve their interaction in education failed because of low quality of gadgets, lack of adult supervision and teacher training with technology; consequently, students misused the gadgets, scored less grades, and isolated from peers and family. Despite the fact that certain questions remain unanswered, the author provides not only strong and connected arguments, but also references to experts in this field to support the arguments.

The current generation of children is completely different than the preceding ones. They are living in the digital age. “Technology has blended in with daily activity to become a way of life and children today take for granted all of which is automated. It is hard for kids nowadays to imagine a world that existed without all of the gadgets, electronics and seamless operations that computer technology provides.” (3) “Children in the United States devote some 40 hours a week to television, video games and the Internet.” (12) Many psychologists and researchers are concerned about the impact that technology has on children. Children, tomorrow’s future parents and leaders, are being consumed by the negative effects that technology had on their

Today’s technology has greatly impacted the young children’s everyday lives. Phones, tablets, and computers are all a form of technology that impact the way kids are influenced. Some children get phones or computers at young ages and it can cause kids to depend on it to entertain them. Eventually they will allow the technology to take over and have it become the form of communication between friend and family instead of face to face. As parents continue to buy their children new technology they don’t monitor the amount of time their children spend on the Internet. Technology is becoming more advanced overtime which causes children to become more attached and unable to function without it near by.

We all know technology is a good thing, right? Or is it? We can all come up with reasons why technology is helpful or appropriate like we can for a particular medicine. And while some drugs are really great to cure or prevent a disease, sometimes the side effects outweigh any possible benefit. The same is true with technology. Some common negative side effects of technology are kids playing on their phones instead of going outside to play or young people not interacting face-to-face as much as they used to. Parenting is an area that has suffered since the rise in technology, specifically with phone use.