Shut Down Your Screen Week Research Paper

We rely on technology for everything in our lives today. It is hard for us to be more than ten steps away from our phone. Dependence on technology is even evident in Fahrenheit 451. In the novel, the TV is everything to some people. It becomes their friend their family and even their life. They even have technology that butters their toast and medical procedures. We use technology everyday whether it is our phone, laptop, or ipod. We use them every single day all day long. If something was not to work for a single day our society would crash with the absence of technology.

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.

People rely on technology to survive in today’s society. People feel like they have to always be on their phones to be accepted, but they are missing life as it passes right in front of them. For example, I tend to get annoyed when I try to have conversations with my little sister and she sits on her phone not talking or paying attention. I have to take her phone to get her to look me in the eye and talk about things. People in today’s society lack socializing skills and that is all thanks to technology.

Ever since technology began so prominent in the modern world, can anyone remember going outside for more than 30 minutes and not see a cell phone or computer? Probably not, as these pieces of technology have become so ingrained in people’s lives, no one wants to leave their home without still being connected. And there is no reason to, as friends, family, and strangers share the same sentiments. Unplugging from technology is not only a decision people don’t make for personal reasons, it simply isn’t conducive to a productive life, as many people’s work and social lives wouldn’t be the same, if exist at all, without being connected to other people or the internet with just a single touch.

In the modern day, we use technology to every benefit we can and I am not ashamed of that; my opinion on the use of technology (specifically computers) is that in quantities of moderation, technology can exponentially expand the growth of our civilization. For my second cultural object, I chose my home computer because I can spend upwards of hours upon it each day, primarily doing work or visiting recreational, social websites and games. The renowned scientist Carl Sagan once said, “We’ve arranged a civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology.” This quotation blatantly applies to modern day society, where it is nearly impossible to communicate with people without an email or cell phone. The laptop is also an immense part of my culture regarding schoolwork, where I need the laptop to access the websites teachers use. With so many hours per day enveloped the laptop, it has grown to be a large part of my daily routine and culture overall.

Stated in “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” on the NO side by Peter Norvig mentions a good point, “Suppose I’m interested in the guidance computers on the Apollo spacecraft in the 1960s. My local library has no books on that subject - just 18 books about the Apollo missions in general. i could hunt through those or turn to google , which returns 45,000 pages, including a definitive encyclopedia article and instructions for building a unit.” Why bother reading eighteen books when the world is at our fingertips. Yes, we may lose the “American Dream” because we are researching on our laptops instead of staying at a public library till nine or ten and risk the possibility of not even finding out what you’re looking for. With new technology and new slang, and new opportunities, we must create new ideals.

There is a constant stream of technology in every direction. Everyday life revolves around technology, which has generously influenced today’s generation in many positive and negative ways. Students have the world at their fingertips. Anything can be found with a swipe of a finger or a click of a button. They want the newest phones, tablets, laptops, and other gadgets, while parents struggle to keep their children’s attention. Students cannot go a minute without their phones, let alone a week. Therefore, many schools plan to participate in “Shut Down Your Screen Week,” which is a week where students would unplug from technology. Bayless High School should not enforce the national “Shut Down Your Screen Week” because technology allow students to interact with others easily, to gather information quicker, and to help increase brain activity for users.

People think that technology is their life but in reality it is not. Technology is just something that entertains you. It is not the most important thing in life you can literally go at least a month without your phone even though you think that you cannot. I have had to do it before for six months. People can live without their phones and one example of putting our phones down is when I went to Altitude last night and we were all on trampolines playing dodge ball and throwing and dodging during the game and being active and none of us had our phones out texting or looking at social media so it really was not that hard to put down my phone. In Fahrenheit 451 there was a character named Montag

Technology and the twenty first century go together like a PB&J sandwich. Everyone around us has some type of electronic devices which they can access the Internet from, whether it be a cell phone, a laptop, or a tablet. People today are not only physically attached to their devices but also emotionally. We as users must post on some type of social media based forum every minuscule detail going on. In Andrew Lam's essay he writes about Bill Bye "The Science Guy" giving a speech at USC and he collapses on stage. The audience's first reaction is to pull out their smart phones and records him collapsing. When 20 years ago the audience reaction would have been completely different. It would have consisted of someone running to a land line phone

Our world gets more digital every day. Nearly everyone has a smartphone and a computer. Even more people have a TV and if people do they are in contact with the digital world everyday.

Everyone uses technology, whether its going on your phone to go on Instagram, on your computer to do research, or even just to watch TV. But, do we use it too much? My school should participate in the national “Shut Down Your Screen Week” since avoiding technology can make you more focused and precise.

When was the last time people, altogether, took a break from their phones or electronic devices? I am one of the hundreds of thousands of people who relies on computers and devices daily. Some people may argue that technology has amassed, because we need it so much. I, however, think we could use a break and we should participate and “Shut Down Your Screen” Week. We spend so much time on devices. We do not stay on task and focused. Many people spend too much time on staring at a screen or doing something on a device. Being too connected to technology will have its effects.

In the article “Growing up digital, wired for distraction” by Matt Richtel, he clarifies that the main idea is that there is too much time on electronics and it isn’t helping in school or at home.

Mr. Kord Campbell almost missed selling his company for $1.3 million because he was in an electronic flood. While almost everywhere people are using technology and social media, it can change how people behave and distract from people’s lifestyles. An overload of technology and social media causes people to lose focus, isolate themselves from others and become addicted to information. We should shut down our screens for a week in order to avoid the overload.

When America went through a period of media convergence with regard to technology, we were essentially combining different types of mass media into one cohesive entity. Forty years ago, the main forms of mass media used were the TV, radio, and newspapers. Now we have multiple forms of media, the Internet is broadcasting radio programming, newspaper articles can be found on the Internet, and commercials that give no other information besides the address of a website. With the improvements of an average cell phone, we have been given the gift of the smartphone. With one smartphone in hand, we are able to read newspaper articles, watch live streaming TV or movies, take pictures or movies, and listen to broadcasted radio. Smartphones can essentially remove the need for the paper newspaper, the television set, the radio, or the personal computer from our lives. My smartphone is used hundreds of times a day, instead of looking for a recipe in my cookbook sitting on the counter; I pull my smartphone out and perform a quick Google search for the recipe. When I need to see, when the next wrestling tournament for the high school is instead of looking at my wall calendar I pull out my smartphone, and check the high school website. My smartphone is programmed to receive weather alerts for my county and surround areas. I also have text alerts sent to my smartphone indicating