PDF Prompt 2 First Draft (Sammi)
Sammi Roche
ENG 110 H6
10/15/17
Prompt 2 First Draft
In a world where there is so much going on constantly, it is no surprise that everyone gets distracted so easily. For instance, while writing this, I’m watching a show on Netflix while texting my friends. With all these options to distract ourselves, it is not a surprise that people have so much trouble with getting things done when they need to. At the same time, these distractions are sometimes necessary and helpful. Technology, while an amazing advancement in our human history, has become one of the easiest tool of distraction. It connects us all to each other so easily and allows us to reach out to those that we have might not have ever met otherwise. Not only are we able to communicate with other people, but we are able to hear news earlier and keep up-to-date with most everything going on in the world. But with this, comes the possibility of negative effects on the individuals. If it is affecting them emotionally, wouldn’t it also affect them biologically? People get so into finding out as much as they can about whatever it is they want, that they forget so of the basic things they need to do to survive. At the same time, their brains can run faster and process learned information so much better. With our brains working in this new way and with technology being as advanced as it is, people are becoming more curious and there are more options about what can be learned. With everything being so easily in reach, the need to learn and remember is lessened because anyone can just look something up when they need to. Technology as a distraction is a very powerful thing and it has a big part in a lot of people’s lives. But it isn’t problem. There are good things about technology and what it can do, but there are also some bad things. It is a balanced neutral and not to be worried about.
When people have the urge not to do something that they really don’t want to do, then almost anything can become a huge distraction. With something as powerful as technology, it is no surprise that it has somehow become one of the most distracting things out there. It’s easy access for so many people and there is so much to figure out with it. A notification pops up and all of the sudden, 20 minutes go by because answering a text led to checking Facebook which reminded you of a video that you wanted to send to someone and then talk about with. When there is an assignment or project that needs to be done, going on your phone or computer sounds like a much better option then actually doing what you need to. Procrastination is honestly an awful thing because for a lot of people, it leads to constant late nights to get everything done because the time when it should have been done, was wasted by watching videos on the internet. But sometimes that distraction is a good thing. You may be stuck on an assignment because you can’t come up with an idea, so taking a break to check messages and scroll through social media may give your brain the break it needs or even spark an idea about what you should do. That pretty picture on Instagram has led you to write about how much you want to hike every mountain in America (random, sorry). Sometimes, you get distracted from what you need to be doing but on the flip side, everyone needs a break and that break can lead to break-throughs.
Friends are important, right? Or have I been taught wrong? With technology and social media, the access to the entire world is unimaginable. Through technology, I’m able to talk to one of my best friends who lives in California and another who is in Pennsylvania. When it was finally time to separate and all go in our different directions, we weren’t worried that we would never see each other again because we always have the internet and technology to connect us. It wouldn’t take weeks for me to get a letter and then weeks for them to get a response. Instead, I’m able to pull out my phone, click on an app, and talk to them over Skype with only the smallest amount of lag. But I have friends here too, who I could talk to face-to-face, but a text message is so much easier than going to find them and ask something. If I want to share something, it’s easier to mass-share it then to send it to some people and then show the rest. The worst part, is why would I want to spend time, face-to-face, with my friends when I have been messaging them all day? While it’s incredibly cool that people have the ability to talk to each other from anywhere in the world, it has had some effect on face-to-face interactions with those that are around us.
With the possibility of knowing anything that we could wonder about, it isn’t a surprise that there has been some effect on our happiness and how we view ourselves. It’s incredibly pleasing to be able to talk to someone about something going on in the news, and to actually know what you are talking about. Or being the person who knows stuff about something that someone else doesn’t know, which allows you to teach them. Humans seem to have this feature about them that makes it so they enjoy being in everyone’s business and aren’t left out of anything going on. But sometimes this can have a huge backlash. Information is released that people don’t want out and it can hurt someone it shouldn’t. Things on the news, even though they might not directly affect you, can have a negative effect on your mood. A common problem involving technology and social media, is the comparing that people do between themselves and the incredibly airbrushed and photoshopped models that seem to constantly pop-up everywhere you look. We put ourselves next to these people that are “ideal” but incredibly inaccurate to what reality is, then try to force ourselves to look like that. This may bring on bad hygiene or health habits that no one should do. Technology makes it easier to be up-to-date on everything around us but what we learn and see can have an awful backlash on each individual.
Adaptation. It’s an amazing concept that we change ourselves to fit in with the current situation going on around us. Having such an influential and popular thing, like technology, it’s no surprise that it has had an effect on people’s biology and their bodies. People, as a society, are very connected to things like our phone or laptop. So much so that, sometimes, they end up following us to bed. I am a victim of this because I put my phone next to my pillow at night. What started as me just using it as an alarm to make sure I actually get up, led to me sitting up at night, flicking through all of my social media handles to see if there is anything that I haven’t seen yet. Instead of falling asleep when I get into bed, I spends hours on my phone which emits a light that causes our brains to wake up. Once it finally comes time for us to put our phone down, our brains are too wired to actually fall asleep. Waking up in the morning is quite the event when you’ve only had a few hours of sleep. On the flip-side, look at how fast we can process information now. When so much is being thrown at someone at once, it’s no surprise that the brain will adapt to be able to handle and process everything quicker. Now we think faster and come up with new ideas easier than before. We take the information we are given, process it, and can sometimes put it back out better and with more information than before. So while technology can make us more tired, it can also help us to run our brains faster and more efficient.
If technology can make our brains run faster, why can’t it have an effect on our intelligence? Through technology, there are so many outlets for learning. There are apps, websites, videos, etc. that make it possible to learn anything that anyone could want to. For some people, a classroom is not a good place for them to learn something and a test isn’t a good way to judge their abilities. Through technology, things can be learned at each individuals pace instead of matching a curriculum, and they are able to pick the most effective way for them to learn. This is more beneficial to them because they are getting the most out of what they are doing instead of just trying to pass a test. With all these outlets though, the need to actually learn and remember something, is less of a necessity than it was before. Now if anyone needs any information about anything, they can just quickly Google it instead of putting the effort in to learn about it. Technology can make for better learning environments for those who actually want to learn, but makes it easier for people to just look things up instead of putting any effort in.
What is there to fix? Are we just going to take away all technology? Throw away all the advancements that we have made in this lifetime? It’s too late for that. Technology is so imbedded in our world that removing it all would leave use stranded and confused. But most importantly, why is technology being distracting a problem? Everything that possibly exist, can be a distraction. Focusing in itself, is a distraction (Anderson). Technology as a distraction has no significant effect on society. There are good aspects and there are bad aspects but they all balance each other so the scale stays level. If there is no huge, impending problem, then what are we so concerned about fixing?
