The Twitter Trap
STUDENT NAME: Pretty Vaddi
Student Number: 300782105
COMM 170
Instructor: Evelyn Holmes
The Twitter Trap
Bill Keller in “The twitter trap” published in The New york Times (18 May 2011) notes that he felt as though he had poisoned his daughter by allowing her onto Facebook. He equates it to giving a drug and sees it as eroding a youth’s intellect or skills development memory skills, math skills, penmanship, innate sense of direction, attention span, problem solving and decision making abilities. Given his daily job, he is well aware of the global appreciation for the internet. However, what are the costs, the personal costs? Recently, the advancement of technology has started to accumulate some controversy.
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Still as a student 700 miles away from home Facebook is my main connection to friends from my hometown. This is a situation that calls for moderation and self-control, both of which are traits that society will be forced to acquire and adapt to in order to survive in a fiercely competitive job market. Using Facebook or Twitter to connect to and stay updated in your friend’s life is completely acceptable, we just need to unlatch ourselves from the computer screens and meet these people in person as well. Keller’s other arguments; the abilities to reflect, empathize, and pursue meaning, are also still an enduring part of our lives, as long as we handle the media properly. Because of technology, we are now given far more information than ever before to reflect upon, and the accountability that comes with social media requires us to reflect before posting something permanent. Facebook and Twitter are more than mindless chatter as well, when used correctly you can rally support for a cause. The quick jump to action that users of these social media take shows their sustained ability to empathize with others and do what they can to help. As far as pursuing meaning, social media gives people an outlet to discuss their ideas and beliefs and further their understanding of different people and an overall meaning. If society chooses to use these to their benefit than these essential characteristics are not
Technology is a double edged weapon, but the negative edge is sharper and cuts the reality into pieces, as the children are building and living their behavior and thoughts with whatever they are exposed to using different kinds of technology. One serious impact is the safety and internet privacy of the children. Pamela DeLoatch in her article “The Four Negative Sides of Technology” added that children may unwittingly share information that may endanger their lives. According to her “82% of online sex crimes against children are made using the social networking sites.” According to their excessive use of technology their lives details are open to everybody which sometimes led to undesired acts. It doesn’t have to be sexual abuse but also it may fracture the children’s self-esteem. Self-esteem shapes the way children think of themselves, if a child is popular in his network his self-esteem will be high, and vies versa. Jim Taylor in his article “how technology is changing the way children think and focus” stated similar opinion when he argued that new technologies are shaping the way our children think, adding that researches came with a conclusion that technology can be both harmful and beneficial to ways in which children think. He also said that it is clear that the advancing technology controls how our brains
Social media has guided us to believe that we need to be connected to others. “…the social media revolution has not made us feel more connected, less lonely, or replete with friends” (Barna Group). Social media has input certain beliefs into the minds of people while also taking away that time that could be spent with friends and family. Social media has allowed people to put on fronts and believe that these are the only means of communication.
In “The Limits of Friendship” by Maria Konnikova, social media has significantly changed the way we interact with friends and family. Everybody thinks that using social media is the best way to talk to friends and family, however, in my opinion, they are wrong because it doesn’t give you the face-to-face connections we need as humans for social interaction. On the other hand, the great thing about using social media is you can connect with more people, but in a superficial kind of way. Therefore, we do not get the face-to-face interactions with our friends and family. We, the people that are addicted to social media, learn that without face-to-face conversations we wouldn’t have a normal “social” life outside of social media. The question
In Keller's article, "The Twitter Trap," he discusses the positive and negative issues of social media and technology on today's youth. In his examples, he elaborates on the loss of humanity in how the necessity of real-life situations and conversations that make people alive in their souls is disappearing as social media continues to grow more addictive. With the overwhelming growth of social media, even the deemed "smart students" are losing their ability to pinpoint pattern in situations that to the earlier generation would consider obvious. Overall, Keller's main concern and point of the article states that," … my inner worrywart wonders whether the new technologies overtaking us may be eroding characteristics that are essentially human: our ability to reflect, our pursuit of meaning, genuine empathy, a sense of community connected by something deeper than snark or political affinity."
In this day and age it is not uncommon to see a family at dinner with their heads in their phones instead of submersing themselves in conversation with one another. Friends and family alike know more about each other by looking at ones Facebook wall rather than by holding a simple conversation. Ones life is no longer played out by communicating face to face or even through a landline, but rather by Facebook statuses and Instagram posts. It is no secret that social media has become
Since the rise of technology and smart devices, the public has seen controversy over the benefits and drawbacks of internet usage. Nicholas Carr shared his opinions in the article “From The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.” In the text, he claims that it seems to be “chipping away” his “capacity for concentration and contemplation” (Carr 5). In addition to that, he does not hesitate to state how “some worry they’re becoming chronic scatterbrains” from using the web (Carr 6). His views are painted purple in this piece of writing, as any reader could infer that Carr possesses a slightly bitter tone when it comes to the interwebs. He displays his dislike for the way it is reshaping our brains and mental function, even going
In the article of Clive Thompson I’m so Totally, Digitally Close to You. Thompson talk about how social media have changed people’s life, and one of the issue he talks about Facebook. How Mark Zuckerberg has completely changed the world by creating a social website. Thompson not only focus on Facebook, but he brings up Twitter as well and how that site has changed people emotional relationships. He claims that dealings with these networking sites and others sites are similar because it offer same information about a person. However, social networks have changed many people’s identity by allowing to befriend and connecting with more people and more efficiently. Unfortunately, social media have also limited many face to face conversations with family and friends. Although, social networking sites are efficient in providing ways to communicate, we need to limit our use of social networking sites in order to become stronger as individuals and emotional of our relationships. Being dishonest with the social networking sites can eventually collapse the true value of a friendship. This sites are
In recent years, advances in technology have exploded. Almost every child has a tablet, middle schools are giving students laptops, and nearly every adult on the planet can be seen walking around with a smartphone. The internet is a huge part of today’s society. Information from all over the globe is just a few clicks away, but could that be a bad thing? Nicholas Carr thinks that the internet is making society stupid in his article “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” Steven Johnson says that the internet is a great thing in his essay “Everything Bad is Good for Us,” and Christine Rosen seems to think that everything digital is evil in her work “People on the Screen.” When used correctly, the internet has an overwhelmingly positive effect on the growth of the human brain. Technology provides people with more opportunities to read, a way for children to be stimulated, and simpler communication.
Social media hinders individuals in a very destructive. It leads to addiction and isolation within a society. In my opinion, it is a way to portray ourselves different in order to be seen in a new light or identity. It is a need for acceptance. Thus, it is not aiding us in reaching the good life; it is just building up a façade. We need personal interaction to find and embrace strong relationships. In my view, Relationships are a source of fulfillment in our life. We are able to share experiences that could not be otherwise share through a screen. Consequently, a good life cannot be reach if social media hinders us in our everyday
During the 1800’s, when people couldn’t find the answer to a question, they would spend days and weeks trying to find the answer. Now-a-days, whenever we need to find an answer, we can just go on the internet and look it up; thanks to the advancements in technology. Technology is merely a tool and what you get out of this tool is determined by how you use it. It was assembled to make any given activity easier or more effective. Just as we control the tools we use for a garden or the tools used to build a house, technology is also controlled by us. Authors Nicholas Carr, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, Jonathan Franzen, “Liking is for Cowards”, and Peggy Orenstein, “ The Way We Live Now” all demonstrate how we live in a world where the internet and social media plays an important role in our society solely because we allow it to. Some will argue that technology has impacted our lives negatively, yet fail to acknowledge how it also impacted us positively as well.
“Social media allows people to connect with each other to create and share information. It is people-powered communication, an authentic dialogue motivated by a basic human desire to share information” (CIPD, Social Media and Employee Voice Report 2013). ‘Click’ and my message is on its way to my friend’s Facebook inbox hundred of miles away. The astonishing speed of how quick we can communicate in today’s societies, all thanks to social media. The invention of Facebook simplified everything we know about communication. We can connect to people whenever and wherever, sharing information has never been more convenient and exciting. In Shane Hipps’ Article, “ Is Facebook Killing Our Souls?,” he has no intention to impede technological advancements, instead he wants users to understand technologies with insights. According to my research, although Hipps ' points has some merits, I disagree with him because he overgeneralized the impacts that Facebook and other social media has on users’ behaviors and identities.
On the negative side, children are spending more time indoors playing computer games or the equivalent, but they are not developing interpersonal relationships. As the internet is becoming less of a modern convenience and more of a necessity for humans, young and old, it should be noted that the internet can cause impaired academic achievement, bad time management, and problems with health and interpersonal relationships (Lai & Gwung, 2013). In another study, Laverick (2009) states the children of the 21st century have lives that are interwoven with technology. These children do not know of a world without technology; in the study, this is called “an Eculture” (Laverick, 2009).
In this case, the study proved that teens and young adults have become obsessed with social networking and has led to many questions if networking is good or bad (Conger, 2010). In 2009, the media expressed that social networking could cause harm to our bodies and brains by “shortening our attention spans” and “weakening our immune systems” (Conger, 2010). Whereas other studies that have been conducted prove the opposite and suggests that teens who spend more time on social networking sites are more likely to be “well-adjusted” and “psychologically” healthy (Healy, 2010). At this point, it’s time to investigate the pros and cons of children being on social networking sites and understand why parents are against social networking and why certain individuals feel that networking is beneficial.
Most of us use social media to communicate with our family, friends and our loved once. Since almost all of my friends live 8000 mile away, I use Facebook, Instagram, and viber to keep in touch with them. Bur recently I started noticing it has become more than a means of communication. I start posting a picture and obsesses about how many likes I get, checking other peoples Facebook just to see if they have more friends than me, believing every post without questioning if it’s a fact and funny enough I start sending friend request for people I don’t even know. Christine Rosen, a senior editor of the New Atlantis and resident fellow at the Ethics and Public policy Center in Wessington, D.C. on “In the Beginning Was the World”, she wrote how technology is affecting the society’s critical reading ability. Peggy Orenstein, an author and a contributing writer for the New York Times, on “I Tweet, Therefore I Am” she talks about how social media is distracting as from fully live in the moment. Even though the development of technology have increased the quality of life, it also brought undeniable challenges to our society. The constant use of social media and internet has increase society attention-seeking, Distracted, and decries critical reading. The use of social media has increased dramatically throughout the years.
When it comes to the topic of technology, most people will readily agree that it has been growing non-stop at a significant pace. About 16 years ago, technologies, such as computers were not a necessity in mainstream life. Since then, technology has progressed and people have become extremely reliable on. In the essay “What’s the Matter with Kids Today?” by Amy Goldwasser, she talks about the positive aspects of the Internet. Although she mainly focuses on the positive she also contradicts herself and mentions some negative aspects. “Twenty-plus years ago, high school students didn’t have the Internet to store their trivia”(Goldwasser 238). Those unfamiliar with this school of thought may be interest to know that it basically boils down to