The Addiction Of Technology And Technology

How has technology affected mankind over time? How has it affected the youth of our country? How has it affected the adults? We rely on the internet for almost everything, do we still have the power to detach ourselves from it? The article, “The Virtues of Reality” written by Ross Douthat caught my attention with a thesis that is quite realistic. Douthat theorizes that the main cause of both the youth becoming safer over time along with the adults growing more immature is the virtual reality that the internet provides us with. Douthat then leaves the readers with a thought to ponder about. He questions if we as human beings have become so reliant on technology, that we can’t take a step back. What I wish to know is why should we need to take a step back when the world that we live in has infused technology along with the internet into everything that we do in life?

Today's generation is more connected to technology and are living faster paced lives than any other generation preceding them. In the generation of the millennials the presents of technology is everywhere from the time they wake up till the time they go to sleep; they are influenced by technology in all aspects of their life. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “Children 11 to 14 spend more than 50 hours a week in front of a screen” (qtd. in Egan and Egan). This connection to technology consumes a lot of their time and leaves little to no time to concentrate on the physical world around them. Technology hinders a millennials ability to have a sense of connection and responsibility for their natural world.

In today’s world, many people believe that technology’s sole purpose is to draw young people away from the real world and reality. Just because you do not realize it, it does not mean it is not happening. If you think back to when you were younger, was technology the same as today? However, technology is forever changing and improving. It affects everyone, not just the young group of people. Technology changes our brains, souls, and our very being. Once technology sucks you into the whole of its essence, you will have a hard time changing your life style.

You can become addicted to virtually anything the human race never ceases to amaze us with what people can get addicted to. When thinking about addiction most people commonly think about drugs and alcohol but the most common and modern form of addiction for the twenty first century is technology addiction. As we move on to the future technology is constantly improving and becoming a necessity for modern life.

According to multiple studies, adults and teens spend more hours using technology than they do asleep. On average, adults spend 8 hours and 40 minutes per day using laptops, phones, and other electronics. On the other hand, teens spend about 9 hours using various forms of media. Mark Bauerlein, a social critic, professor, and author of The Dumbest Generation claims the under thirty generation is the “dumbest” generation in modern history due to technology. He says there are two differences between past generations and the under thirty generation, general knowledge has gone down and reading habits have vanished. The under-thirty generation is the dumbest because people squander the opportunities technology provides, which proves having an abundance of resources doesn’t assure success.

In this article, Prensky starts by stating obvious differences between this generation, and the ones that precede it. Today, "Digital Natives" or another popular term "Millennials" lives are proof of the impact of technology. They watch more TV, play more video games, and have mastered the art of multitasking constantly being surrounded by gizmos and gadgets. The author describes

In Zoe Kleinman's health article, “Are We Addicted to Technology,” the author effortlessly argues that technology has become an addicting pattern in our everyday lives. Kleinman interviews Dr Ramlakhan who works at Nightingale Hospital. Dr Ramlakhan informs that tiredness is nothing more than just a by-product of a busy modern life.

In the Article “Have Smartphones Destroyed A Generation”, Jean Twenge argues the dangers associated with the lack of screen time moderation; By emphasizing how excessive screen time siphons happiness, while endangering developmental psychology and physical health in the “IGen” generation— a subcategory of millennials. When analyzing the quality of Twenge’s argument I came to the realization that all her premises supported her conclusion. In other words Jean Twenge made her argument clear when she documented the relationships between the change in overall social behavior, to the uprising of social media, smartphones, and the generation that was caught in the mitst of it all. While reading this article I couldn’t help but notice the similarity

In the article “Are We Addicted to Technology” by Zoe Kleinman makes us really think, are we addicted? It's hard to say considering the author uses claims poorly. Her first claim was “Surely tiredness is a by-product of a busy modern life - children, work, hobbies etc - rather than relaxing time spent watching Netflix in bed?” To most people this comes out to be sarcastic which makes readers not want to trust her. Then she states that a lot of her parents have a hard time sleeping at night when on electronics, even though she had just recommended “watching Netflix in bed” She also interviewed Dr. Ramlakhan which could of been a lot better because all she told us were stories about patents in front of screens and a boy having a seizure by playing

SWW In the BBC news article, “Are We Addicted to Technology?”, by Zoe Kleinman, Dr Nerina Ramlakhan states her beliefs on this issue. Ramlakan believes that in the world that we live in today, people are addicted to the technology that we possess and it’s getting worse as time goes on. This subject causes us to be constantly tired, always distracted with what they are doing, having a decrease in memory, also causing our grades to suffer, and a huge decrease in their brain development. Kleinman cites sleep and energy expert Dr. Ramlakhan asserts, ¨Surely tiredness is a by-product of a busy modern life…” Kleinman strongly believes that technology is what makes us so tired in our daily, busy, lives that when Dr. Ramlakhan suggests her argument Kleinman feels as though she’s just being convinced by

SWW (Topic Sentence) Zoe Kleinman’s BBC article, “Are We Addicted to Technology?” argues using multiple yet pathetic claims that technology is not a real thing, rather a pseudo-science.(Context/Background/Summary of issue of topic) She wonders whether technology can cause addiction, yet uses poor means to explain so.(What is the First Claim Presented (#1 Tiredness) Dr Ramlakham asserts) The author explains that she believes that the tiredness caused by what Dr. Ramlakham believes is technology-addiction is really the effects of a busy life.(What evidence is Provided to support this claim?) Doctor Ramlakham quickly shoots down her poorly researched beliefs by retorting, “Another recent patient was a 17-year old who suffered a seizure… he was

Over the years, technology has increased in usage within many ways and has caused successful changes in a person’s lively routine. However, technology has evolved since the very beginning which concern has grown over the negative effects of its excessive use. Nicholas Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Stupid” addresses the tendency of technology to create a sort of mental laziness where people look for instant answers rather than thinking for themselves. Daphne Bavelier, C. Shawn Green, and Matthew W.G. Dye have written in “Children, Wired: For Better and for Worse” on the transient and persistent effects of technology on children, particularly in terms of media exposure of television, movies, and video games. Additionally, Matt Richtel, writer for The New York Times, states in “Attached to Technology and Paying a Price” that the tendency of the brain to respond to immediate stimuli has a negative impact on the average user, ranging from disinterest to daily tasks to the risky behavior of texting and driving. Ultimately, these three articles agree that regardless of potential conveniences of heavy technology use, the tradeoff is something to be strongly considered.

As asked by the English alternative rock band Muse in their famous song “Screenager,” “Who’s so phoney and always surrounded?” This song perfectly depicts the effects of technology on America. People are engulfed by different types of technology everywhere they go and even carry around technology such as phones, laptops, and iPods. These items may seem like a blessing, but they are potentially dividing America. Every day, eight to eighteen-year-olds watch four and a half hours of TV, listen to two and a half hours of music, use the computer for an hour and a half, and spend two and a half hours on their cell phones, two hours for texting and one half hour for talking. This adds up to eleven hours dedicated on the media per day (Crawford).

Technology has been involved in people’s lives forever, especially in the Millennial Generation. This generation consists of individuals born between the years of 1982-2004. The articles “The Flight From Conversation,” “Teens and Technology 2013,” and “Leading The Charge For Change” deals with teens interacting with technology today.Each article has different topics, but they connect through the over dependence of teens to technology. The Millennial Generation becomes less and less in touch with the real world and morphs into a quasi-reality.

When we think of addictions we tend to think about drugs, alcohol, and other negative addictions, but my parents are addicted to technology. It all started in 2013 when they got their new samsung galaxies and ever since they became technology savvy and tend to show me new things they learned on their new devices. When my mother discovered how to screenshot she said “Hey Tre look what I did!” I replied “Ok.” Than she answered back with “I learned how to screenshot!” All I could do is burst into laughter and she sat there with a confused faced but yet still eagered she achieved such a difficult task. Their addiction to technology isn't a negative addiction yet,  I see it as a humorous addiction and not as serious.