Growing Up Digital, Wired For Distraction

We rely heavily on technology because it has altered our brains to only be able to think in the way that technology presents information. This presentation is a rapid, surface level feeding of information. A study on multi-tasking, video games, and learning preformed at UCLA stated that “most visual media sources are real-time media that do not allow time for reflection, analysis or imagination — those do not get developed by real-time media such as television or video games” (Wolpert). This means that because visual media is live, people are unable to think critically about what is being displayed, therefore their comprehension on the subject is lower. The extent of influence technology has had on our generation is especially apparent to me because of the age gap between my parents and I. I constantly have my parents making fun of me for taking too many selfies, criticizing me for having my phone with me when I go to eat, and even making me put my phone in my purse when I drive to and from places for safety precautions. They have made me much more aware of how I constantly need a distraction or think I can multi task by being on my phone when I am trying to complete an assignment. Ultimately, my parents have made me more aware of my habits but because of the society I am living in, these habits will be hard to

Lauren Shinozuka wrote “The Dangers of Digital Distractedness” for a class assignment. She is a college student that lives in the world of technology and internet. Her idea to address how dependent the world has become on technology without even realizing it. Lead her to her own evaluation of her life and how technology has changed how she deals and interacts with people.

“I am convinced that learning to live with both internal and external distractions is all about teaching the concept of focus.” (Rosen 11) Are we being driven to distraction? This question is posed in Larry Rosen's essay Driven To Distraction; he argues students are distracted by technology. He makes his argument effective through use of logos, tone and rhetorical patterns. However, Rosen's essay is weakened by not addressing opposing arguments and by using a false authority fallacy. He explains how technology greatly distracts students nowadays and then offers techniques we can apply to help increase their focus and encourage them to be less “plugged in”.

But in these days people are spending time in talking on the phone, chatting with their friends, or playing video games. Technology consumes more time than we think; once we get in to it, it going to take at least an hour to get rid of it. Many researchers indicate that American children spend an average of eight hours a day with media, including television, computer, and video games (Source 1). Opponents will say that student can score higher percentile when using computer-based instruction than student who received no computer (Source 2). It is true that student will score higher if they use computer, but the time that they spend with computer still matter. I don’t mean that computer-based instruction is bad but the time they spend on it is the problem. Students should not be allow to use computer more than 2-3

According to Huff Post Education, part of the Huffington Post internet newspaper that caters to the world of education, companies such Google, Verizon and Microsoft are pouring in million upon millions of dollars to provide schools with the latest in new gadgets and devices. The schools are in return, are looking for technology to revive student performances in the classroom (Contributing writer to the Huffington Post, 2010). As I mentioned earlier, my goal is to produce lifelong learners. I want my students to be just a captivated in my class as they are to latest music video by their favorite artist. Engagement is the true issue here, and begs the question, “Does technology foster engagement or inhibit it?, (Ain, 2011). I for one, believe that technology can do what is it purposed to do, and that is to foster engagement and enable critical and creative thinking (Ain,

As stated by the author Sue Ferguson in the article “How Computers Make Our Kids Stupid,” computers and the internet distract students from real learning, which is evident by the poor academic achievement associated with excessive and improper use of computers and internet (Ferguson 2). This view is supported by a massive study conducted by University of Munich economists Thomas Fuchs and Ludger Woessmann in November, 2004, with a subject pool of 174,000 15 year-olds in reading, 97,000 each in math and

In the text ‘The dumbest Generation: How The Digital Age Stupifies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future’ written by English professor Mark Bauerline at Emory University, he continually emphasizes the implication that the millennial generation has intellectual deficiencies because of their dependency on social media and technology. One of his most relevant theories is that the use of video games and the integration of technology into the classroom has negative impacts on a student’s academic performance because “It conditions the minds against quiet, concerted study, against imagination unassisted by visuals, against linear, sequential analysis of texts, against an idle afternoon with a detective story and nothing else” (Bauerline 95).

In Samuel G. Freedman’s New York Times article, New Class(room) War: Teacher versus Technology, Freedman argues that technology is effecting the younger generations in a negative way inside of the classroom. He explains that while the baby boomer generation sees technology as a useful means for information and communication, the newer generations use technology for counterproductive means such as entertainment and socialization. While it is true that some people utilize technology for unproductive means, the majority of people in the classroom have the self-discipline to pay attention to the professor rather than their phone. Yes, some students may produce worse grades due to technology, but if they didn’t have the technology they would more than likely find a different way to waste time. Freedman exaggerates the issue by acting as if the majority of students are absent-mindedly on their phones during class. There will always be

Technology has opened many opportunities for students, but is it taking a toll on their education? Based on the two articles the “Avid Weekly: When it is and isn’t OK to be on your smartphone: the conclusive guide” by Caitlin Dewey and Is Technology Killing Our Friendship By Lauren Tarshis, technology can have a lasting effect that can either be positive or negative. Technology has let the world stay in touch with what’s happening around them, which has positively affected students and their surroundings. Causing disruptions though is something not to be happy about, because if technology advances in classrooms, students can easily be picked off into the wonders of technology. Although technology has helped students prosper, there are still

In Matt Ritchel’s article “Grow Up Digital, Wired for Distraction” displays that technology and media is making problems for teens as far homework goes, because not all teens review the choices they have so they get distracted and it goes downhill from there not getting their work done or not paying attention to what they’re doing not getting their work done or not paying attention to what they’re doing. The first point the author makes is that teens have always faced distractions and time-wasters, but the new technology has posed a new threat to learning and focusing, and adult brains can have consequences as well but there brains are already developed enough to not be as powerful to them. In the text the author quotes Michael Rich saying,

Carr’s premise is that the Web is interfering with our ability to focus on lengthy material. On the contrary, the internet is actually aiding our ability to focus on reading. This holds true for younger children, who are known as the digital natives in our generation. In a research conducted by The National Center for Education shows that “by altering the mode of reading material from traditional paper-based reading to online reading,” the interest of elementary school children increased (Wright 367). Because children of the 21st century are surrounded by technology, they are more likely to gear towards digital media for their mode of learning. Contrary to Carr’s view that the internet “is chipping away [the] capacity for concentration and contemplation,” these children are more likely to read and focus as a result of

Back in my days, we were not fortunate enough to... Gotcha! Did you expect that to be a dull story like our grandparents or parents may have told to show us how much more difficult their lives were? Not exactly, this writing is about how college students of this generation make use of digital technology. The wide spread of today’s technology via computers or smartphones results in constant connectivity to the internet. Social media, video gaming, information databases, and online classes, have affected college students’ studies. As a result, more students are being distracted, making a wider academic gap with self-disciplined students.

Technology has always been a human fascination, from the way it promotes rapid communication to the simple fact that it entertains, and connects people worldwide. As more and more technology-based education systems are being set up in classrooms, we have seen an era when smartphones overpower people, interpersonal communicaiton, and even minds. Personally, after reading these articles, I feel more compelled to quit the use of technology, whether it be the smartphone, laptops, or tablets, in a classroom setting. As the West Point Academy study showed, students tended to score better when any use of technological device was strictly banned. Further demonstrating that technology is a burden on effective learning, the Ereader study made me become aware that the mind is stimulated through actions,

Technology can help students in all areas of study. Students need to be able to use this technology since, “Currently and in the near future, it is understood that students need to acquire more autonomous skills of ‘information gathering, analysis, and display’” (Todnem, 2004, p. 1). Furthermore, the use of technology, mainly the internet, provides for variation since “Students find themselves bored and burnt-out of the lecture format to classes, so changing the curriculum and instruction to include things like online assignments and educational videogames can be one clear remedy” (Todnem, 2004, p. 1). Teachers who have implemented technology into their classrooms have noticed changes in their students. The most common of these effects being an increase in motivation. In “Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students” another positive effect is given “technology effect stressed by many teachers was enhancement of student self esteem” (“Effects,” 2004, p. 2).

Furthermore, as communication and writing skills diminish our school performance begins to be affected. The entertainment of mobile devices distracts nearly every student in the classroom whether it is texting, or playing games, or surfing the net. Mobile devices also play a big role in communication by making it possible for students to easily communicate with each other when they should not be. The power to communicate with virtually anyone is a major distraction. Some teens are so attached to their technological devices they sleep with phones on and wake up to answer text messages they get at night. When kids have cell phones in their classrooms they are extremely distracted from what is actually being taught. They are looking down and playing their games or going on social networking sites instead of listening to their teachers. With the constant distraction of technology and teens short attention spans reading and writing skills have suffered significantly and vocabularies are shrinking. This relates to their education and their ability to do well in school. Another problem is that technology provides students with the ability to explore numerous search engines for any problem they come across and copy them word for word. It seems that students don’t spend time thinking; they are simply repeating information instead of learning concepts and ideas. When students do this, they do not actually learn the