National Shut Down Your Screen Week Argumentative Essay

It would be easy to think that the “Screen Free Week” is a good thing for the students of Montesano High School. This point of view makes some sense because the internet can create distractions to the student’s school work. However from “Is Google Making Us Stupid” “81 percent of experts polled by the pew internet research project say the opportunities outweigh the distractions.” Therefore, the idea that the “Screen Free Week” is a good thing for the students of MHS is not supported by the facts that the internet gives more information than

Imagine having to turn off all electronics and not being able to use it for a week. Technologies, such as the Internet, have provoked questions about the effects it has to students overtime. Although Internet users have become dependent to the internet, schools should not participate in national “Shut Down Your Screen Week” because the Internet is an exceptional source of information, the Internet is used for instant communication, and Internet users have shown increased signs of social interactions.

Technology has been around for decades and has been improving and developing ever since. Currently, the school board is debating whether or not the students and the staff should participate in “Shut Down Your Screen Week.” This is a national movement where nobody may use any electronic media for an entire week. In our generation now, modern technology is simplifying our lives to make it easier and better. This is the reason why it is almost everywhere. It is in homes, in our work, and in our schools. Although some individuals might argue that too much technology is bad for us, we should not participate in “Shut Down Your Screen Week,” because technology is able to help children become more interested in learning, can improve student’s skills, and it can also make work for teachers easier.

60% of all Gwinnett county schools use electronic devices for everything! Kids stopped asking questions, all their answers are from google or answer.com. No one uses their brain anymore and it’s very disappointing. Gwinnet County ended up being lower than homework grades because at home they feel that it’s a time to chill out. So, they’ll use their phone to look up answers making it seem that it’s their work when in reality... its not. Teachers, while you’re asking your students what’s 19x4, you’ll realize they pull out their phone, open the calculator and solve the problem. What happened to solving it on paper? That’s why we came up with a challenge called “shut down your screen week.” “Shut down your screen week” is when the whole school turns off all electronics. That includes: smart boards, computers, phones, tablets, etc. we should participate in “shut down your screen

“shut down your screen week”. is a proposal from a group of parents and teachers, who believe that shutting down your screens for the week would be a good idea for multiple reasons. The teachers have decided to ask students about their opinion on this topic.

Many of our students have smartphones, laptops, and tablets they use throughout the school day for school work. While some students depend on their devices to look up the current fashion trends and football stats, we feel that technology has also enabled students to think in a different way. Many students are quick on their feet to Google information to prove their friend wrong, send texts and emails in less than 10 seconds, and get excited when they are allowed to use their

Technology is a useful tool that allows complex things to be accomplished easily, but all great things have deficiencies. The national movement “Shut Down Your Screen Week” is fully aware that technology causes problems in a multitude of ways. I, personally, support this movement because I believe that shutting down technology for a while will cause humanity to realize how technology is possessive.

Scientists say that using email, texting, or searching the web can change how someone thinks or behaves. “The stimulation [of technology use] provokes excitement – a dopamine squirt – that researchers say can be addictive. In its absence, people feel bored,” says Matt Richtel of the New York Times. Addiction to technology may not compare to the addiction of certain drugs, but being a student who is addicted to something that creates different social interactions, and doesn’t allow deep thought, could be very bad. “In 2008, people consumed three times as much [technology] each day as they did in 1960,” Matt says. This rate has already increased, and a break from it wouldn’t be a bad thing. Researchers worry that constant digital stimulation like this creates attention problems for children with brains that are still developing, who already struggle to set priorities and resist impulses,” Matt says. Students in high school, or even in college, have brains that are still developing. A week off from the technology would allow these students to develop skills, with their growing brains, that could be used instead of electronics.

With new technology has come the speculation of what effects it has on humans. Sitting too close to television or computers may impact a person’s eyesight while social media had the ability to impact the human psyche. To counteract these results schools have begun to participate in events similar to “Shut Down Your Screen Week.” (SDYSW) SDYSW allows students to taste the benefits of a lessened dependence upon technology. By participating in the event, the schools students resist the effects of technology dependence such as general distraction, fewer close relationships, and a shallow world-view.

I encourage that our school will participate in the screen time shutdown week. Nicholas Carr says the following, “If we’re distracted, we understand less, remember less, and learn less.” It would be extremely beneficial to the students, and even the teachers, to shutdown. If we unplug we’re not distracted, we understand more, remember more, and learn more. Carr continues, “If you’re interested in developing your mind, you should turn off your computer and your cellphone-and start thinking.”

What is technology to you? For some people, it's a lifeline they can't go without it. If you were a gamer, how would you feel about not being able to play for a whole week? What about music junkies? Not being able to match a song to each of your feelings for a whole 168 hours. Possibilities are endless but participating in “Shut Down Your Screen Week” is not one of them. For instance, being plugged into social media allows you to look over and receive news, and look at the diversity of the world. Also, the internet contains so many astonishing materials. Although, screens provide us with many convenient things it is also addicting.

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to turn off your screens and turn on life? “Shut Down Your Screen Week” is a nationwide event that over three million people have taken part in, and every year millions more participate in. Taking part in this event is beneficial to us, because technology has affected our relationships with the people we love and it also keeps us from focusing on our school work, so with participating in this event we will have a chance to fix these problems we have because of technology. It is clear that engaging in this event will have a positive effect on our school as well as the students.

“Technology use can benefit the brain in some ways, researchers say. Imaging studies show the brain of internet users become more efficient at finding information. And players of some video games develop better visual acuity” (Attached to Technology and Paying a Price written by Matt Richtel). If the students don’t have technology for a week they will be wanting their phones back, so this means they won’t pay as much attention in class. If the students have no screens for a week then the students will not be able to access online activities that the teachers would normally assign. The Montesano Jr.Sr. High School should not participate in the state wide movement “Washington Screen Free Week.”

When I was younger, I would read book after book. I would get through multiple series and have fun while doing so. Ever since I’ve gotten to know more about the internet, and since it has impacted my education, this has changed. We use technology to write papers, research topics, or to do our homework. But, while doing so, we tend to wander and do other things too, such as play games or go on social media. Ever since the internet and all that it has to offer has come into my life, my ability to read long books has changed. In junior year of high school I assigned to read 20 to 30 pages everyday out of my book for the AP U.S. History course I was taking. When I would sit down to read these set of pages every day, I would feel as if it were a chore, as if reading had now become a chore for me. In addition, my attention span while reading those pages would decrease the more I read. The further into the pages I got, the more distracted I got. The internet took a hold of me and has changed my way of thinking just like the millions of others that use

There might be an event that students of Bullis Charter School called, “Shut Down your Screen Week.” We, the students are debating if this event will benefit us or not. The whole school will not use their electronics at all for an entire week. Students should have access to technology at all times because in a case of emergency, they need to call for help. Without technology they will not be able to do this. There will be cases where students will need to use technology somehow from either saving a student’s life, to finishing a project at school. We should keep using technology on a daily basis. Technology can help us in education, communicating, and getting more creative ideas/solutions.