The author, Leonard Pitts, Jr., laments over how technology is a detriment to the traditional family structure and writes an editorial regarding this issue. He powerfully achieves his purpose by using aloneness words and an oxymoron. Primarily, the connotation of loneliness is sprinkled throughout the author’s text with his diction, such as the verb “retreat”. This verb supports the author’s position by stressing the sense of a surrender of one’s life to technology. In addition, by suggesting withdrawal, the author confines the reader to a dark and silent vision of the home. Typically, the home emanates warmth and joy as the family shares laughs, empathizes, and protects one another, but, as the author has grieved over, technology destroys these invaluable tethers. Another …show more content…
By repeating the word twice, the author emphasizes the truth of separation between family members simply because of the priorities made upon technology. Furthermore, the phrase “the night away” signifies that one can easily lose track of time, and if the author had written “all night long” instead, the connotation would have changed, as well, becoming aware of the duration of time. As each family member spends their nights away, they indulge into “self-entertainment,” a product of retreating to one’s own room. It is easy to find refuge by being alone because of this, yet it sacrifices the connections of the family. Finally, the author primarily uses the pronoun “we” versus “you”. While “you” implies that the author is accusing the reader, “we” implies that everyone shares these feelings of isolation from the family. This leads to the oxymoron that defines our lives’ transformations due to technology: “alone, but together”. The author ends with this paradox to confuse the reader and induce a moment of reflection over the issue. Then, one can conclude that the paradox
This essay will discuss the various family structures in society. It will give theoretical explanation as to why and how families have changed. The essay will also bring statistical, historical and political evidence to back up the reason for these changes.
Due to the new advancements in technology, those in relationships are being distracted by it, which is leading into isolation. For example, Mildred felt so connected to the parlor that she calls it her family and tells Montag, “Now,” said Mildred, “My ‘family’ is people. They tell me things: I laugh, they laugh!” (73) Basically, Mildred is preferring to interact with the parlor instead of Montag who is her spouse. The parlor is a distraction that has driven Mildred and Montag away from each other. As a result, Montag is feeling isolated and distant from Mildred. Another example
Family is the fundamental unit of society. The concept and structure of the British family has seen a change over the last 50 years. These changes have culminated in the decay of marriage and therefore the rise of cohabitation, new forms of family composition and the delay of parenthood, thus, making traditional nuclear family less stable than in previous generations (Jenkins et al. 2009).
In today’s society families spending quality time together without electronic distractions is a thing of the past. During this era of the digital age all family members are plugged in, hooked up, and or tapped into some sort of electronic device nearly 80% of the time. So, this doesn’t cause a real big desire for family time. This idea of family time started in the early 1950’s where a two parent household was more common and mom cooking dinner every evening was her job. Even today, divorced women suffer about a 45% decline in economic status and it was worse then. Today a woman can get a decent paying job but back in the Fifties, a woman’s best chance at employment was in traditionally accepted “women’s jobs” such as secretary, teacher, nurse, librarian and so forth ("1950s Family Life", 2016). So there was an economic incentive to stay married. However, over the years family time has dwindled and the digital age has caused a family divide. This digital media divide affects a family socially, ethically, globally, and lastly legally. Digital media can be used for good but monitoring the use within a family has become more prevalent than ever. However, the most important aspects in which to discuss during this research paper is the ethical and legal aspects as its definitive line which can be easily crossed. In the late 1950’s such topics concerning ethics/legal issues weren’t as prevalent in the 1950’s. During the digital era children have access to media
When there are more television sets than members of a household under one roof, it is obvious that technology and media has greatly effected the contemporary American family. There are many forces and pressures that help to shape the American family that we all see, as well as, are a part of today. Technology and media has brought us very far as a country, but has also inflicted upon norms of yesterday. Technology is growing now just as fast as ever before and families are constantly changing because of it.
Families were more routine and nuclear. What ought to be socially agreeable has changed amazingly since those times. In this way circumstances which were unsuitable in people in general coliseum have transformed into a common strategy for the duration of today's life. As demonstrated by Talcott Parsons, the family was sorted out on the alteration of the adult relatives. He clears up women's parts as nurturers and parental figures in contemporary industrialized social requests, where men give money related support and choose (p. 337). In today's overall population, it is more typical to see couples living individually and having children before wedding. Women are in the blink of an eye stands out in picking how they have to do their lives and destinies. Today, women of the family don't need to rely on upon the men any more and they can finish the same status with them if not higher. Varying qualities in family depletes the options in family structure and limit, thusly the significance of family doesn't express the leisure activities of any one society, sex, religion or ethnic
The discussion of how society has shaped or altered the daily life of families across the globe has been going on for centuries. Some studies blame advancing technology, the industrializing of American society, differing forms of economic systems, or shifting from a religious to a more secular modern society for the loss of a strong emotional bond between family members--but whatever the explanation, the western world family unit is no longer the heartwarming entity of yesteryears. Analytically studying the daily life of each era and comparing the differences give a good depiction of what parts from each combine to form the best family for tomorrow. The key to a better family for tomorrow is to use the beneficial pieces of the past, such as
Technology has even had an effect on parenting. It has never been easier to keep track of children. Some parents have even resorted to downloading tracker apps on their children’s smartphones. I hear from my parents anywhere from 5-15 times a week, at least once a day. I even Skype with my mother sometimes when cooking a meal I miss to get it just right. Every morning I wake up and read the Gulfnews, a local newspaper in Dubai, online. Growing up with technology has drastically changed the experience of being alone. Even though I’m almost eight thousand miles away, I’m up to date with everything that goes on back home giving me a sense that I never left.
Nowadays technology plays a huge role in society, but what is that role? A question that rises is whether it affects the American families in a positive or negative way. Technology seems to be helping people in a lot of aspects, but also it seems to be a big problem in the American families. In other words it has its pros and cons. Most people in America appear to be drowning in a big paddle of technology where phones, video games, computers, internet and a lot more of electronic devices are the priority or the main thing that Americans need to have to be satisfied. In these days people see technology as a luxury instead of looking at it as a necessary. Maybe this generation cannot see how technology is affecting society, but people from other
While the past American generations faced their own difficulties, the problems of the current generation are no less challenging. Unlike the depressive period of the 1920’s, and the suppressive and restrictive environment surrounding the civil rights movement, the current generation has yet to experience great loss or persecution on a national level. Instead, many new challenges have presented themselves in the realm of social complexities. Young people are greatly challenged by the changes taking place in the arena of social interaction because of new mobile technologies. Perhaps influenced by the shift towards electronic communication, the proper institution of family has also become endangered.
1. In the world there are many different family structures and dynamics that exist. The book uses a circle to help readers understand the dynamic structure between parent and child, parent and marital relationship, and child and marital relationship. Different cultures have different family dynamics, along with changes in their environment. For example, during the great depression many people moved from small farms to cities in hopes of better pay jobs; technology has also changed the family dynamic because many parents are relying on television to help raise their kids than ever before. Adult lifestyles have also changed drastically over the decades, leaving many adults single than ever before. The book gives this rise in single adults to the fact that more and more adults are waiting to get married.
Both Lu Xun and Virginia Woolf explore alienation as manifested in the growing emotional distance between people. In Lu Xun’s short story Hometown, the narrator finds himself unable to meaningfully connect with old friends and acquaintances in his hometown, from which he has been away for over twenty years. Similarly, Mrs. Dalloway by Woolf features characters with rich inner lives who nevertheless fail to express their feelings with others. Despite the similarity in symptoms, however, the two authors portray the causes and implications of alienation in disparate ways. While Lu Xun attributes alienation to a kind of spiritual poverty or mediocrity that can be fought against, Woolf provides a more nuanced view where alienation results from people attempting to rise above mediocrity in the first place and is thus almost inescapable.
Telephone had reduce the cost to contact one another from another side of the word; However, technology innovation now represents a danger to the groups of the present day American family unit. The rising of the technology era have driven families to cooperate less with each other. A family might just be bound to the same room, however rationally everybody is drawn into their own particular point of view world without the verbal speaking with others. In the Huffington Posts’, “Is Technology Creating a Family Divide?” Dr. Jim Taylor argues that, “Less connection — the real kind — means that families aren’t able to build relationships as strong as they could be nor are they able to maintain them as well.” the author also, argues that, guardians have endeavored to the same activity that their children usually involve like friending their children on Facebook to keep track their kids activity rather than a straightforward conversation. Based on Dr. Jim Taylor arguement, innovation has totally changed the parent-to-youngster relationship and has made any chance to set up one much harder, almost vain. The author continues his argument, proclaim that “ Parents can be equally guilty of contributing to the distance that appears to be increasing in families”. He explain that parents allowed themselves being “ wrapped up” in their own technology so they very lack time
These increasingly popular emerging variants of the modern-day family reflect the despondency with the expected assumptions of human progress and with the universality and the consistency of the laws of science; hence, lack of faith in the formerly traditional order. The detachment of economic forces concealing social conformity, for example, women getting married to secure financial stability and to ensure their children to gain their class status or the need for women to be married before having children to ensure the child gains the family wealth. Finally, the media influences family diversity by reflecting and legitimizing it.
The majority of people living in the industrialized societies of the West believe family living to be the most important part of their lives (Bernardes 1). Despite this belief, family life has gone through a dramatic change in the concluding decades of the 20th century. A wide range of family patterns have surfaced disentangling the traditional ones. The contemporary processes of industrialization, specialism, isolation, urbanization etc. have been influential in modifying the forms of contemporary modern and post-modern society. The social importance of the religious institutions, activities and mindset is lost. Individualization has made an individual more free and independent. The individual has not only gained independence from the religion and social institutions (Hal 1).