Natalie Bell
ENG110
Professor Jesse Miller
Title
As we continue to advance as people, we continue to advance our technology. Advancements in technology have their benefits, like being able to stay in communication, being able to set alarms, however, maintaining a balance between oneself and technology seems to be a struggle for many. Nicholas Carr, a graduate of Harvard and Dartmouth College, wrote “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”. He dives into the real-world conversation of today by showing how the internet can affect you and get sucked into it. Whereas in Myli Petrocci’s essay “A Teenage Girls Relationship with Technology in the 21st Century”, who is a first-year student at the University of New England; she dives into how her use of technology has changed overtime being a teenage girl in the 21st century. Petrocci dives into her main topic, about how her relationship has begun to evolve with the advancements of technology, and how she has learned to live with it instead of becoming too attached to it. Writer Faith Santiago who wrote “Technology: The Double-Sided Coin”, makes aware the influence technology has on everyone’s everyday lives. (Add more on how they interact with each other, go together or counterargue with one another).
Paragraph 1: Compare Faiths Essay to Nicholas Carr’s essay (bring in Myli’s if possible)
Technology nowadays has people ever so easily wrapped around its finger. One slight tug, and we move with it. Technology has been able to creep its way into everyone’s everyday lives in this time period.
Quotes: Box quote “On YouTube, I have learned about media analysis and how to think critically about entertainment content. I have gained so much from the internet in these ways, and what I would not be as critical of a thinker as I am without the internet making this intellectually stimulating material more accessible. These sources of information are works that someone took the time to research, write, and meticulously revise in order to provide the best information possible. This effort is what makes these aspects of technology helpful instead of harmful” (Santiago, Paragraph 2).
Paragraph 2: Compare Mylis essay to Faith essay
Paragraph 3: Compare their overall true meanings to all three essays
Conclusion: Conclude and spread the overall message that is trying to be sent out, use metacommentary
Faith:
– Technology has become a part of us
– Technology robs people of their ability to think independently
– It can be helpful because it is work that other people have done
– Technology can make people addicted when it does not provide insightful information
– Distracted people
– Technology, specifically social media, can reel people in by making short videos that require little attention and brain power
– Losing the ability to think freely because we are swayed to what the majority of people have to say
– The algorithm is addicting
Tyler:
– Mentions old methods
– Focuses on inappropriate communication, eating disorders, and physical dangers
– Thesis: technology has unintentionally made a world with more anxiety and automation
– Avoids social interactions by hiding behind technology
– We hide behind technology because we know that it is reliable
– We are scared of uncertainty
– Technology as a tool making life “easier”
– Automation eliminates our minds of thinking freely
Myli:
– Comparing ourselves through technology
– Losing ourselves through things like Tik Tok
– She wants people to feel freedom from social media
– Social media and its impacts on mental and physical health
– We should avoid distracting ourselves and enjoy the moment
– Almost mentions the idea of keystone technology (making other things to build upon the technological world)
Katie:
– Mental health problems like anxiety and depression resulting from technology
– A sense of convenience
– Thesis: even though there are benefits to technology, concerns need to be addressed to reclaim a healthy, balanced lifestyle
– Loss of self when technology is being a pain
– We lack genuine in-person conversations and the ability to form genuine relationships
– “Being on my phone feels like my brain is frozen and it helps me run from thinking”
– Blue light and the brain
– There are outside stressors that can become worse with the addition of technology
– Technology changing the way she thinks and writes
– Distraction as a result of technology
– Balance is key
– Benefits and down sides
– Steering away from using technology too much
Texts: Nicholas Carr
Katie McGuire – a first year college student
Faith Santiago – a first year college student
Nicholas Carr acknowledges how technology is hindering our ability to effectively concentrate yet argues that our ability to be easily distracted is an adaptive feature in the current generation that allows us to effectively navigate a fast-paced, technologically-engulfed world. Although Carr highlights how distraction can be utilized as a tool when used properly, student narratives from an English composition course at UNE demonstrate how the constant distraction from their phones negatively impact them. Both Katie McGuire and Faith Santiago, first year undergraduate students at the University of New England, express concerns on their personal abilities to effectively concentrate on a task in the presence of their phones.
I agree that distraction…, however a constant attentional shit, especially one from phones, hinders one abilities to complete a task to its best ability.
Nicholas Carr Quotes:
“The truly wise mind will harness, rather than abandon, the power of distraction. Unwavering focus, the inability to be distracted, can actually be just as problematic as ADHD. Trouble with attentional shift is a feature common to a handful of mental illnesses, including schizophrenia and OCD. It’s been hypothesized that ADHD might even be an advantage in certain change-rich environments.” (11)
“It’s possible that we’re all evolving toward a new techo-cognitive nomadism, a rapidly shifting environment in which restlessness will be advantage again. The deep focusers might even be hampered by having too much attention: Attention Surfeit Hypoactivity Disorder.” (11)
“There’s been lots of hand-wringing about all the skills [digital natives] might lack, mainly the ability to concentrate on a complex task from beginning to end, but surely tey can already do things their elders can’t, like conduct 34 conversations simultaneously across six different media, or pay attention to switching between attentional targets in a way that been considered impossible. More than any other organ, the brain is designed to change based on experience, a feature called neuroplasticity.” (11-12)
Katie “There is a big temptation to either procrastinate or multitask. This often leads to making my work less thorough. I often find myself skimming readings and articles rather than engaging and learning. With easy access to fly through online books and find what I’m looking for right away, I lose the opportunity to think, gain more knowledge and make my writing detailed. Technology can take away from engaging in school and work and cause myself and others to think less.
Along with multitasking, trying to stay in the present becomes difficult. Constantly getting notifications and having multiple apps and websites shifts my focus.”
Is Learning Becoming a Thing of the Past? How Technolgy is Stealing Our Need to Understand the World.
Picture this: You and a friend are having a conversation. At some point your friend says a sentence that, in your mind, doesn’t make sense. Perhaps they used a word incorrectly in a sentence, saying “…” and now you’re trying to point it out to them. You try desperately to make them understand what they just said was wrong, but to no avail, your friend is steadfast in their incorrectness. How do you resolve this issue? I have done the same as you were thinking many times; just Google it! My friend can refute my own knowledge as much as they’d like, but that of the internet? As funny as this situation may seem, it also offers up a strange realization; why do we trust the internet for information more than we trust ourselves? How many times have you used autocorrect while typing up an essay? How many times have you Googled a word that you were unsure of the actual meaning of? What does this reliance on technology to answer all our intellectual problems do to us? According to some, it just makes us stupider. Nicholas Carr, a journalist and writer who has published several books and articles on technology, culture, and business, wrote an article about this, called “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Within this piece, he brings up this idea of “information vs. Wisdom”, arguing that the internet can provide the wordy answers to our questions, but questioning whether or not that leads to the same understanding that real world teaching helps to promote. In a similar vein, Peyton Perkins and Tyler Pelletier agree with Carr. These two are students from the University of New England and are in an English Composition class.
In today’s society, technology is everywhere you look. In some form or another, technology plays a role in someone’s life. The role technology, specifically digital technology, plays have been one of contention and has undergone serious changes in the time since its inception in the 1970s with the popularization of digital computers to today where most everyone possesses high-powered devices in their pockets and high-powered computers in their backpacks. Digital technology has developed from a tool at the user’s disposal to a means of distraction from everyday life. This change was discussed in the essay “In Defense of Distraction” written by Sam Anderson. Anderson, an American author, who is a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine and the author of Boom, uses his essay to argue that while often seen as negative, distractions can be beneficial, offering a necessary break from intense focus and promoting creativity and exploration, rather than being solely detrimental to productivity. Conversely, Kaia Anderson, a first-year student at the University of New England, uses her essay “Helping the Addict: A Call to Action” to highlight the addiction caused by the constant distraction of digital technology. In a similar vein, Myli Petrocci, also a first-year student at the University of New England, uses the distraction due to technology to highlight the negative effects it has on college students. As a member of “Gen Z”, I have grown up with easy access to technology and I believe that it is the distractions that the technology provides that cause technological addiction.
Kaia Quotes:
I constantly find myself unable to focus on a task for a long period of time. Within mere minutes, I feel the urge to check my phone, scroll on social media, or even just look through my camera roll. Just something to distract me.
Myli Quotes:
Specifically, a few nights ago when I was so excited to finally be done with studying and in bed before midnight even, my body was ready for sleep, and I told my roommates I was going to bed and excited about it. I then opened my phone eyes, catching on a few notifications, then indulged in the screen, and I convinced myself that I deserved it and proceeded to let one and a half hours go by while scrolling on Instagram
We haven’t lost the ability to communicate, if anything we have gotten better at connecting and communicating with one another. Right? In this modern era of technology, it feels as though we are more connected to each other than ever before, or so we think. The fact is, with the rise in modern technology we have only strayed further from others and ourselves. By connecting through our phones many people have developed a reliance on them to continue making connections and communicating without requiring any in-person interaction, this is where we are drifting apart. While yes, our connections and communication with others are still strong it’s almost all online, in-person interactions were simply replaced by online interactions. Author Sherry Turkle, a professor of social studies at MIT, addresses humanity’s loss of communication and connection in her book, The Empathy Diaries. A similar issue is brought up and talked about in
James Terault
Technology as a whole has come a long way from its origins. Starting off as just a new way for researchers and scientists to compute large equations, modern technology (computers, phones, etc.) has exploded into a million different outlets of communication, creativity, and community. I myself have quite the tie with technology, as in this day and age, it is nearly impossible to do anything without the assistance of technology, like applying for college. However, that’s not to say that technology is a golden bastion of all of humanity. It, too, is as flawed as its creators. It creates a sense of not needing to understand material, with information more important than truly understanding and looking into the context of certain events, facts, etc. Why learn it when you can just google it? There’s also this idea of the internet being this wild space, a place that laws can’t quite reach. This comes with both downsides and certain freedoms other mediums can’t afford.
Kaia Anderson
Helping the Addict: A Call To Action
“Its those damn phones”. I’ve heard this phrase uttered as the blanket scapegoat of my generation’s every move on too many times. This statement tends to be followed by the relentless commentary that kids my age don’t know how to navigate the world and do things for themselves. The presence of technology has had negative effects on behavior, especially when it comes to attention span and engaging with others. However, these behavioral changes seem to be an adaptation to a constantly evolving technological world that prioritizes efficiency and speed over focus and in-person communication. In addition, in order to solve this issue, the help of older generations is crucial.
The use of technology isTechnology is damaging our brains. This is a common take on how technology is affecting our brains, but this take is not very accurate. Technology is negatively affecting our brain’s ability to do certain tasks and makes it more difficult for us to focus. Nicholas Carr is an acclaimed writer who has written several pieces relating to technology and how it affects us as people such as the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, a narrative on how the internet has negative effects on how we operate in the world. Sherry Turkle is another writer and sociologist I will discuss in my essay.I want to talk about how the use of technology is a good thing but it can be used in negative ways
Is Technology a Toxic Boyfriend or is it the Reverse?
Notes:
-Kevin Kelley – Technophilia
-Franco Leehive – Technology: the world’s greatest resource
-Noah Kesler
-Relationship with technology alluding it to parasitic, or toxic
-While there are pros to technology being deeply ingrained in our lives does it require or deserve the relationship we have built with it
Kevin Kelley deep love for technology
-Franco admires technology
-Noah is wary of this relationship
Technology has integrated into our lives so much we have begun to love it. We treat our phones with care, making sure they are protected, updating our computers to the newest model so they run smoothly. This leads to the idea of technology and the internet being a parasitic relationship at times. And as weird and strange as it sounds, we all have a relationship with our technology. And I question on which side leaches and takes more from the other, or does it boil down to a toxic relationship on both sides. To analyze this idea, I want to bring in Kevin Kelley’s Technophilia, Franco Leehive’s essay, Technology: The World’s Greatest Resource, and Noah Kesler’s essay, into conversation. Through analysis of our relationship with technology I intend to dig deep into the trials and tribulations of this love. While there are pros to technology being deeply ingrained in our lives, does it require or deserve the relationship we have built with it? I say no,
Myli Petrocci
Peyton, James, Turkle
I will be using Peyton and James which I believe have great quotes for continuing my thesis on technology. I believe many have struggled with attachment and attention span issues due to screens but how much do we accept as normal now that it’s so deep into our lifestyle. We eat meals in front of screens, not fully enjoying or even appreciating the food. I’ve seen articles that the brain lacks in sending hunger or full signals when we are on screens too much. We need our bodies to function in the way that they were meant to. Screens have ripped apart our well-being but we’re constantly being gaslighted into thinking it’s normal, and that we have to accept that it’s just how things will be from now on, so get used to it. I urge others to try and be present even when you are alone and can’t stand the silence, don’t fill the void with unnecessary distraction. It’s hard not to let yourself get distracted when screens are all around us but it’s truly the most freeing feeling to let it go. You will find connections in the world around you that you didn’t know you had the possibility of. Discovering things about yourself along the way. Both Peyton and James can attribute to this, and understand that technology I’m using now is quite helpful when it comes to writing an essay, needing to move things around and don’t get me started with spell check and grammar issues. Make sure to use helpful quotations.
Whether we like it or not, technology is all around us. Going through my morning routine, I can count many ways that technology has embedded itself as an essential part that I cannot function without. I wake up to my phone alarm, start playing music from my speaker, use my electric toothbrush, and take my computer off the charger as I pack my bag to go to class. As the years have gone by, this incessant use of technology has only deepened. Technology can now be used to perform essentially any task we can think of. In discussion about these impacts of technology, there are older generations who take the glaringly negative view that increased technology use only causes deficit in necessary human functions like empathy, such as Sherry Turkle, a social science professor at MIT in her essay titled, “The Empathy Diaries.” Conversely, there are those who take a more complicated stance on technology, like English composition students at the University of New England Kaia Anderson and Nicholas Kachmarik. All of these essays approach the dilemma of the impacts of technology in differing ways, and what the future looks like for those of us who are so reliant on it. Overall, I believe that technological reliance is
Over the past few months, we have followed a learning path on how to promptly associate information from multiple sources and blend them into a story of our own. By picking and choosing what type of information we want to associate with allows us to be precise in the topics and motives that guide us in creative writing. Each creator has a unique perspective and design to the way they write and over the length of the course, we have grown individually as creators and designers utilizing the tool known as a summary. By drawing on ideas from other authors, it opens the realm of brand-new perspectives and viewpoints. Of course, making sure to give the appropriate credit to the original creator, their products open the world to limitless opportunities. In the education setting, students like us reflect on the work of others in many situations. Anything from a research proposal to computer science analytics, the use of previously created information to further better our knowledge of an individual topic is at an all-time high. From our time in class, we have moved into the world of summarizing the ideas on how technology has changed our society, both as a whole and the different impacts it has had on us individually. We as humans are in a constant cycle of evolution and growth. We constantly explore for improvement and satisfaction when it comes to the needs and wants that we have in our tangible world. Part of it comes from the drive to become a better version of oneself, maybe it comes from a mindset of proving someone wrong through success.
Faith explains how platforms like YouTube and online articles have helped her think critically and learn more deeply.
Turkle also acknowledges that technology can be used for learning and connection but warns that we must be intentional about how we use it.
Faith argues that social media (especially short-form content) has weakened her attention span and made deep focus feel “unappealing.”
Turkle discusses how digital distractions rob people of the ability to reflect, be alone with their thoughts, or engage in deep work. She calls this the loss of solitude.
Faith describes how apps like TikTok are engineered for addiction and keep users hooked with short, dopamine-releasing content.
Turkle similarly warns that these platforms are designed to keep us engaged, not enriched. She explores the ethical consequences of tech companies monetizing attention.
Faith reflects on how the internet can cause people to follow the herd, and how opinions can feel swayed by popular consensus rather than logic.
Turkle believes technology has created a culture of performance over authenticity. People seek validation and avoid disagreement, reducing genuine dialogue and self-reflection.
Faith touches on the idea that people no longer think independently or deeply, which weakens their ability to engage in meaningful discourse.
Turkle’s The Empathy Diaries focuses heavily on how tech is reducing face-to-face interaction, making us less empathetic. She argues that we’re losing the art of conversation, which is essential for understanding others.
13 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 25”
Natalie Bell
ENG110
Professor Jesse Miller
Title
As we continue to advance as people, we continue to advance our technology. Advancements in technology have their benefits, like being able to stay in communication, being able to set alarms, however, maintaining a balance between oneself and technology seems to be a struggle for many. Nicholas Carr, a graduate of Harvard and Dartmouth College, wrote “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”. He dives into the real-world conversation of today by showing how the internet can affect you and get sucked into it. Whereas in Myli Petrocci’s essay “A Teenage Girls Relationship with Technology in the 21st Century”, who is a first-year student at the University of New England; she dives into how her use of technology has changed overtime being a teenage girl in the 21st century. Petrocci dives into her main topic, about how her relationship has begun to evolve with the advancements of technology, and how she has learned to live with it instead of becoming too attached to it. Writer Faith Santiago who wrote “Technology: The Double-Sided Coin”, makes aware the influence technology has on everyone’s everyday lives. (Add more on how they interact with each other, go together or counterargue with one another).
Paragraph 1: Compare Faiths Essay to Nicholas Carr’s essay (bring in Myli’s if possible)
Technology nowadays has people ever so easily wrapped around its finger. One slight tug, and we move with it. Technology has been able to creep its way into everyone’s everyday lives in this time period.
Quotes: Box quote “On YouTube, I have learned about media analysis and how to think critically about entertainment content. I have gained so much from the internet in these ways, and what I would not be as critical of a thinker as I am without the internet making this intellectually stimulating material more accessible. These sources of information are works that someone took the time to research, write, and meticulously revise in order to provide the best information possible. This effort is what makes these aspects of technology helpful instead of harmful” (Santiago, Paragraph 2).
Paragraph 2: Compare Mylis essay to Faith essay
Paragraph 3: Compare their overall true meanings to all three essays
Conclusion: Conclude and spread the overall message that is trying to be sent out, use metacommentary
Faith:
– Technology has become a part of us
– Technology robs people of their ability to think independently
– It can be helpful because it is work that other people have done
– Technology can make people addicted when it does not provide insightful information
– Distracted people
– Technology, specifically social media, can reel people in by making short videos that require little attention and brain power
– Losing the ability to think freely because we are swayed to what the majority of people have to say
– The algorithm is addicting
Tyler:
– Mentions old methods
– Focuses on inappropriate communication, eating disorders, and physical dangers
– Thesis: technology has unintentionally made a world with more anxiety and automation
– Avoids social interactions by hiding behind technology
– We hide behind technology because we know that it is reliable
– We are scared of uncertainty
– Technology as a tool making life “easier”
– Automation eliminates our minds of thinking freely
Myli:
– Comparing ourselves through technology
– Losing ourselves through things like Tik Tok
– She wants people to feel freedom from social media
– Social media and its impacts on mental and physical health
– We should avoid distracting ourselves and enjoy the moment
– Almost mentions the idea of keystone technology (making other things to build upon the technological world)
Katie:
– Mental health problems like anxiety and depression resulting from technology
– A sense of convenience
– Thesis: even though there are benefits to technology, concerns need to be addressed to reclaim a healthy, balanced lifestyle
– Loss of self when technology is being a pain
– We lack genuine in-person conversations and the ability to form genuine relationships
– “Being on my phone feels like my brain is frozen and it helps me run from thinking”
– Blue light and the brain
– There are outside stressors that can become worse with the addition of technology
– Technology changing the way she thinks and writes
– Distraction as a result of technology
– Balance is key
– Benefits and down sides
– Steering away from using technology too much
Texts: Nicholas Carr
Katie McGuire – a first year college student
Faith Santiago – a first year college student
Nicholas Carr acknowledges how technology is hindering our ability to effectively concentrate yet argues that our ability to be easily distracted is an adaptive feature in the current generation that allows us to effectively navigate a fast-paced, technologically-engulfed world. Although Carr highlights how distraction can be utilized as a tool when used properly, student narratives from an English composition course at UNE demonstrate how the constant distraction from their phones negatively impact them. Both Katie McGuire and Faith Santiago, first year undergraduate students at the University of New England, express concerns on their personal abilities to effectively concentrate on a task in the presence of their phones.
I agree that distraction…, however a constant attentional shit, especially one from phones, hinders one abilities to complete a task to its best ability.
Nicholas Carr Quotes:
“The truly wise mind will harness, rather than abandon, the power of distraction. Unwavering focus, the inability to be distracted, can actually be just as problematic as ADHD. Trouble with attentional shift is a feature common to a handful of mental illnesses, including schizophrenia and OCD. It’s been hypothesized that ADHD might even be an advantage in certain change-rich environments.” (11)
“It’s possible that we’re all evolving toward a new techo-cognitive nomadism, a rapidly shifting environment in which restlessness will be advantage again. The deep focusers might even be hampered by having too much attention: Attention Surfeit Hypoactivity Disorder.” (11)
“There’s been lots of hand-wringing about all the skills [digital natives] might lack, mainly the ability to concentrate on a complex task from beginning to end, but surely tey can already do things their elders can’t, like conduct 34 conversations simultaneously across six different media, or pay attention to switching between attentional targets in a way that been considered impossible. More than any other organ, the brain is designed to change based on experience, a feature called neuroplasticity.” (11-12)
Katie “There is a big temptation to either procrastinate or multitask. This often leads to making my work less thorough. I often find myself skimming readings and articles rather than engaging and learning. With easy access to fly through online books and find what I’m looking for right away, I lose the opportunity to think, gain more knowledge and make my writing detailed. Technology can take away from engaging in school and work and cause myself and others to think less.
Along with multitasking, trying to stay in the present becomes difficult. Constantly getting notifications and having multiple apps and websites shifts my focus.”
Is Learning Becoming a Thing of the Past? How Technolgy is Stealing Our Need to Understand the World.
Picture this: You and a friend are having a conversation. At some point your friend says a sentence that, in your mind, doesn’t make sense. Perhaps they used a word incorrectly in a sentence, saying “…” and now you’re trying to point it out to them. You try desperately to make them understand what they just said was wrong, but to no avail, your friend is steadfast in their incorrectness. How do you resolve this issue? I have done the same as you were thinking many times; just Google it! My friend can refute my own knowledge as much as they’d like, but that of the internet? As funny as this situation may seem, it also offers up a strange realization; why do we trust the internet for information more than we trust ourselves? How many times have you used autocorrect while typing up an essay? How many times have you Googled a word that you were unsure of the actual meaning of? What does this reliance on technology to answer all our intellectual problems do to us? According to some, it just makes us stupider. Nicholas Carr, a journalist and writer who has published several books and articles on technology, culture, and business, wrote an article about this, called “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Within this piece, he brings up this idea of “information vs. Wisdom”, arguing that the internet can provide the wordy answers to our questions, but questioning whether or not that leads to the same understanding that real world teaching helps to promote. In a similar vein, Peyton Perkins and Tyler Pelletier agree with Carr. These two are students from the University of New England and are in an English Composition class.
In today’s society, technology is everywhere you look. In some form or another, technology plays a role in someone’s life. The role technology, specifically digital technology, plays have been one of contention and has undergone serious changes in the time since its inception in the 1970s with the popularization of digital computers to today where most everyone possesses high-powered devices in their pockets and high-powered computers in their backpacks. Digital technology has developed from a tool at the user’s disposal to a means of distraction from everyday life. This change was discussed in the essay “In Defense of Distraction” written by Sam Anderson. Anderson, an American author, who is a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine and the author of Boom, uses his essay to argue that while often seen as negative, distractions can be beneficial, offering a necessary break from intense focus and promoting creativity and exploration, rather than being solely detrimental to productivity. Conversely, Kaia Anderson, a first-year student at the University of New England, uses her essay “Helping the Addict: A Call to Action” to highlight the addiction caused by the constant distraction of digital technology. In a similar vein, Myli Petrocci, also a first-year student at the University of New England, uses the distraction due to technology to highlight the negative effects it has on college students. As a member of “Gen Z”, I have grown up with easy access to technology and I believe that it is the distractions that the technology provides that cause technological addiction.
Kaia Quotes:
I constantly find myself unable to focus on a task for a long period of time. Within mere minutes, I feel the urge to check my phone, scroll on social media, or even just look through my camera roll. Just something to distract me.
Myli Quotes:
Specifically, a few nights ago when I was so excited to finally be done with studying and in bed before midnight even, my body was ready for sleep, and I told my roommates I was going to bed and excited about it. I then opened my phone eyes, catching on a few notifications, then indulged in the screen, and I convinced myself that I deserved it and proceeded to let one and a half hours go by while scrolling on Instagram
We haven’t lost the ability to communicate, if anything we have gotten better at connecting and communicating with one another. Right? In this modern era of technology, it feels as though we are more connected to each other than ever before, or so we think. The fact is, with the rise in modern technology we have only strayed further from others and ourselves. By connecting through our phones many people have developed a reliance on them to continue making connections and communicating without requiring any in-person interaction, this is where we are drifting apart. While yes, our connections and communication with others are still strong it’s almost all online, in-person interactions were simply replaced by online interactions. Author Sherry Turkle, a professor of social studies at MIT, addresses humanity’s loss of communication and connection in her book, The Empathy Diaries. A similar issue is brought up and talked about in
James Terault
Technology as a whole has come a long way from its origins. Starting off as just a new way for researchers and scientists to compute large equations, modern technology (computers, phones, etc.) has exploded into a million different outlets of communication, creativity, and community. I myself have quite the tie with technology, as in this day and age, it is nearly impossible to do anything without the assistance of technology, like applying for college. However, that’s not to say that technology is a golden bastion of all of humanity. It, too, is as flawed as its creators. It creates a sense of not needing to understand material, with information more important than truly understanding and looking into the context of certain events, facts, etc. Why learn it when you can just google it? There’s also this idea of the internet being this wild space, a place that laws can’t quite reach. This comes with both downsides and certain freedoms other mediums can’t afford.
Kaia Anderson
Helping the Addict: A Call To Action
“Its those damn phones”. I’ve heard this phrase uttered as the blanket scapegoat of my generation’s every move on too many times. This statement tends to be followed by the relentless commentary that kids my age don’t know how to navigate the world and do things for themselves. The presence of technology has had negative effects on behavior, especially when it comes to attention span and engaging with others. However, these behavioral changes seem to be an adaptation to a constantly evolving technological world that prioritizes efficiency and speed over focus and in-person communication. In addition, in order to solve this issue, the help of older generations is crucial.
The use of technology isTechnology is damaging our brains. This is a common take on how technology is affecting our brains, but this take is not very accurate. Technology is negatively affecting our brain’s ability to do certain tasks and makes it more difficult for us to focus. Nicholas Carr is an acclaimed writer who has written several pieces relating to technology and how it affects us as people such as the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, a narrative on how the internet has negative effects on how we operate in the world. Sherry Turkle is another writer and sociologist I will discuss in my essay.I want to talk about how the use of technology is a good thing but it can be used in negative ways
Is Technology a Toxic Boyfriend or is it the Reverse?
Notes:
-Kevin Kelley – Technophilia
-Franco Leehive – Technology: the world’s greatest resource
-Noah Kesler
-Relationship with technology alluding it to parasitic, or toxic
-While there are pros to technology being deeply ingrained in our lives does it require or deserve the relationship we have built with it
Kevin Kelley deep love for technology
-Franco admires technology
-Noah is wary of this relationship
Technology has integrated into our lives so much we have begun to love it. We treat our phones with care, making sure they are protected, updating our computers to the newest model so they run smoothly. This leads to the idea of technology and the internet being a parasitic relationship at times. And as weird and strange as it sounds, we all have a relationship with our technology. And I question on which side leaches and takes more from the other, or does it boil down to a toxic relationship on both sides. To analyze this idea, I want to bring in Kevin Kelley’s Technophilia, Franco Leehive’s essay, Technology: The World’s Greatest Resource, and Noah Kesler’s essay, into conversation. Through analysis of our relationship with technology I intend to dig deep into the trials and tribulations of this love. While there are pros to technology being deeply ingrained in our lives, does it require or deserve the relationship we have built with it? I say no,
Myli Petrocci
Peyton, James, Turkle
I will be using Peyton and James which I believe have great quotes for continuing my thesis on technology. I believe many have struggled with attachment and attention span issues due to screens but how much do we accept as normal now that it’s so deep into our lifestyle. We eat meals in front of screens, not fully enjoying or even appreciating the food. I’ve seen articles that the brain lacks in sending hunger or full signals when we are on screens too much. We need our bodies to function in the way that they were meant to. Screens have ripped apart our well-being but we’re constantly being gaslighted into thinking it’s normal, and that we have to accept that it’s just how things will be from now on, so get used to it. I urge others to try and be present even when you are alone and can’t stand the silence, don’t fill the void with unnecessary distraction. It’s hard not to let yourself get distracted when screens are all around us but it’s truly the most freeing feeling to let it go. You will find connections in the world around you that you didn’t know you had the possibility of. Discovering things about yourself along the way. Both Peyton and James can attribute to this, and understand that technology I’m using now is quite helpful when it comes to writing an essay, needing to move things around and don’t get me started with spell check and grammar issues. Make sure to use helpful quotations.
Switching to using Kaia essay instead of James
Whether we like it or not, technology is all around us. Going through my morning routine, I can count many ways that technology has embedded itself as an essential part that I cannot function without. I wake up to my phone alarm, start playing music from my speaker, use my electric toothbrush, and take my computer off the charger as I pack my bag to go to class. As the years have gone by, this incessant use of technology has only deepened. Technology can now be used to perform essentially any task we can think of. In discussion about these impacts of technology, there are older generations who take the glaringly negative view that increased technology use only causes deficit in necessary human functions like empathy, such as Sherry Turkle, a social science professor at MIT in her essay titled, “The Empathy Diaries.” Conversely, there are those who take a more complicated stance on technology, like English composition students at the University of New England Kaia Anderson and Nicholas Kachmarik. All of these essays approach the dilemma of the impacts of technology in differing ways, and what the future looks like for those of us who are so reliant on it. Overall, I believe that technological reliance is
Over the past few months, we have followed a learning path on how to promptly associate information from multiple sources and blend them into a story of our own. By picking and choosing what type of information we want to associate with allows us to be precise in the topics and motives that guide us in creative writing. Each creator has a unique perspective and design to the way they write and over the length of the course, we have grown individually as creators and designers utilizing the tool known as a summary. By drawing on ideas from other authors, it opens the realm of brand-new perspectives and viewpoints. Of course, making sure to give the appropriate credit to the original creator, their products open the world to limitless opportunities. In the education setting, students like us reflect on the work of others in many situations. Anything from a research proposal to computer science analytics, the use of previously created information to further better our knowledge of an individual topic is at an all-time high. From our time in class, we have moved into the world of summarizing the ideas on how technology has changed our society, both as a whole and the different impacts it has had on us individually. We as humans are in a constant cycle of evolution and growth. We constantly explore for improvement and satisfaction when it comes to the needs and wants that we have in our tangible world. Part of it comes from the drive to become a better version of oneself, maybe it comes from a mindset of proving someone wrong through success.
Faith explains how platforms like YouTube and online articles have helped her think critically and learn more deeply.
Turkle also acknowledges that technology can be used for learning and connection but warns that we must be intentional about how we use it.
Faith argues that social media (especially short-form content) has weakened her attention span and made deep focus feel “unappealing.”
Turkle discusses how digital distractions rob people of the ability to reflect, be alone with their thoughts, or engage in deep work. She calls this the loss of solitude.
Faith describes how apps like TikTok are engineered for addiction and keep users hooked with short, dopamine-releasing content.
Turkle similarly warns that these platforms are designed to keep us engaged, not enriched. She explores the ethical consequences of tech companies monetizing attention.
Faith reflects on how the internet can cause people to follow the herd, and how opinions can feel swayed by popular consensus rather than logic.
Turkle believes technology has created a culture of performance over authenticity. People seek validation and avoid disagreement, reducing genuine dialogue and self-reflection.
Faith touches on the idea that people no longer think independently or deeply, which weakens their ability to engage in meaningful discourse.
Turkle’s The Empathy Diaries focuses heavily on how tech is reducing face-to-face interaction, making us less empathetic. She argues that we’re losing the art of conversation, which is essential for understanding others.