Drafts:
400-500 words:
Modern-day technology in the 21st century is an undeniable force that has altered the lives of many. It has given us a vast universe of information, entertainment, and social connections all at the touch of a few buttons. With a simple swipe or tap, we can access a wealth of knowledge, connect with loved ones halfway across the globe, and navigate the complexities of modern life with unparalleled ease and efficiency. Yet, amidst the awe-inspiring advancements and boundless opportunities afforded by modern-day technology, we are also confronted with a myriad of challenges and complexities. Sherry Turkle, a professor at MIT with a doctorate in sociology and personality psychology, and Nicholas Carr, an Atlantic journalist, and writer, highlight their beliefs about modern technology and how it is significantly altering human behavior, leading to shifts in our cognition, social interaction, and self-perception. I agree that technology has created large shifts in our innate human behavior and gaps in our potential. However, I also believe that it isn’t technology’s fault that human behavior is changing.
Both Nicholas Carr and Sherry Turkle argue that the internet is altering our attentional capacity; and that we are becoming more distracted as we spend time using technology and the internet. Distraction is a word that most people know and understand, and in the light of this new modern technology era, their distractions are limitless. Individuals struggle with a barrage of notifications, emails, and social media updates constantly, and their attention spans seem to be slowly decreasing because of it. In Nicholas Carr’s view, “What the net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along on the surface like a guy on a jet ski.” (Pg 2) Carr feels that the quick retrieval of information from the internet is fostering inattention and undermining literacy. The ways we use the internet as an information output is training the human mind to neglect a deeper state of complex thinking and focus. In addition, Sherry Turkle writes, “In class or at church or business meetings, we pay attention to what interests us, and then, when it doesn’t, we look through our devices to find something that does… We check our messages during a quiet moment, or when the pull of the online world simply feels irresistible.” Turkle’s point is that we are so quick to use technology at just the littlest hint of boredom that it is like a constant pressure in our lives. People feel the constant urge to be on their phones, check the time, and look at messages or emails. There is a constant flight from being in the present moment. While I share Carr and Turkle’s beliefs that we as people feel a constant urge to be distracted and use technology as a medium for it, I also believe that we can’t blame technology for that but our own self-control.
800 words:
Modern-day technology in the 21st century is an undeniable force that has altered the lives of many. It has given us a vast universe of information, entertainment, and social connections all at the touch of a few buttons. With a simple swipe or tap, we can access a wealth of knowledge, connect with loved ones halfway across the globe, and navigate the complexities of modern life with unparalleled ease and efficiency. Yet, amidst the awe-inspiring advancements and boundless opportunities afforded by modern-day technology, we are also confronted with a myriad of challenges and complexities. Sherry Turkle, a professor at MIT with a doctorate in sociology and personality psychology, author of “The Empathy Diaries”, and Nicholas Carr, an Atlantic journalist, writer, and author of “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, highlight their beliefs about modern technology and how it is significantly altering human behavior, leading to shifts in our cognition, social interaction, and self-perception. I agree that technology has created large shifts in our innate human behavior and gaps in our potential, I also believe that it isn’t just technology’s fault that human behavior is changing.
Both Nicholas Carr and Sherry Turkle argue that the internet is altering our attentional capacity; and that we are becoming more distracted as we spend time using technology and the internet. Distraction is a word that most people know and understand, and in the light of this new modern technology era, their distractions are limitless. Individuals struggle with a barrage of notifications, emails, and social media updates constantly; their attention spans seem to slowly decrease because of it. In Nicholas Carr’s view, “What the net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along on the surface like a guy on a jet ski.” (Pg 2) Carr feels that the quick retrieval of information from the internet is fostering inattention and undermining literacy. The ways we use the internet as an information output is training the human mind to neglect a deeper state of complex thinking and focus. In addition, Sherry Turkle writes, “In class or at church or business meetings, we pay attention to what interests us, and then, when it doesn’t, we look through our devices to find something that does… We check our messages during a quiet moment, or when the pull of the online world simply feels irresistible.” Turkle’s point is that we are so quick to use technology at just the littlest hint of boredom that it is like a constant pressure in our lives. People feel the constant urge to be on their phones, check the time, and look at messages or emails. As Turkle puts it, there is a constant “flight from conversation” and being in the present moment. While I share Carr and Turkle’s beliefs that we as people feel a constant urge to be distracted and use technology as a medium for it, I also believe that we can’t blame technology for that but our own self-control. We can’t say that technology is at fault because it is humans who wield it, and if they don’t have the self-control to concentrate on the things of importance to them, we would blame them and not the machine.
While the internet seems to be altering our capacity for concentration and attention, could it also be altering our relationships and our empathy? Through working at a summer camp over the years, I have seen the impact of technology on the younger generation regarding cellphones and iPads. We have a rule at camp, phones should be out of sight for the campers and counselors, but time and time again we have to tell them to get off of their phones so they can be present in the daily activities. We get tantrums and aggression in response; they use their phones as a social conduit instead of talking to each other, and then once it’s taken away, they don’t know how to act. Sherry Turkle examines how communication is shaping children’s actions and our emotional experiences. She writes, “It is a struggle to get children to talk to each other in class, to directly address each other. It is a struggle to get them to meet with faculty, and one teacher observes: “The [students] sit in the dining hall, and look at their phones. When they share things together, what they’re sharing is what is on their phones.” Children today are surrounded by their phones and technology, and they use it as a communication replacement, so they aren’t getting the proper emotional development that is gained from face-to-face conversation. Growing up surrounded by technology I can understand why the internet is so enticing to the younger generation, it is all they’ve ever known. Younger parents give their children iPads and cell phones just to keep them entertained, kids don’t know how to talk to each other, and they use their phones to as Turkle puts it, “offer the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship.” I agree with Turkle’s point that children are struggling to communicate with others, but I don’t blame technology for that but rather parental input. Children are being set up for the nondevelopment of self-control, conversational skills, and empathy which is causing this attachment to technology and the loss of communication skills.
1000+ Draft:
Hailey Cloutier
Professor Jesse Miller
English 110
29, March 2024
The Constant Urge: Technologies’ Impact on Human Behavior
Modern-day technology in the 21st century is an undeniable force that has altered the lives of many. It has given us a vast universe of information, entertainment, and social connections all at the touch of a few buttons. With a simple swipe or tap, we can access a wealth of knowledge, connect with loved ones halfway across the globe, and navigate the complexities of modern life with unparalleled ease and efficiency. Yet, amidst the awe-inspiring advancements and boundless opportunities afforded by modern-day technology, we are also confronted with a myriad of challenges and complexities. Sherry Turkle, a professor at MIT with a doctorate in sociology and personality psychology, author of “The Empathy Diaries”, and Nicholas Carr, an Atlantic journalist, writer, and author of “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, highlight their beliefs about modern technology and how it is significantly altering human behavior, leading to shifts in our cognition, social interaction, and self-perception. I agree that technology has created large shifts in our innate human behavior and gaps in our potential, I also believe that it isn’t just technology’s fault that human behavior is changing.
Both Nicholas Carr and Sherry Turkle argue that the internet is altering our attentional capacity; and that we are becoming more distracted as we spend time using technology and the internet. Distraction is a word that most people know and understand, and in the light of this new modern technology era, their distractions are limitless. Individuals struggle with a barrage of notifications, emails, and social media updates constantly; their attention spans seem to slowly decrease because of it. In Nicholas Carr’s view, “What the net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along on the surface like a guy on a jet ski.” (Pg 2) Carr feels that the quick retrieval of information from the internet is fostering inattention and undermining literacy. The ways we use the internet as an information output is training the human mind to neglect a deeper state of complex thinking and focus. In addition, Sherry Turkle writes, “In class or at church or business meetings, we pay attention to what interests us, and then, when it doesn’t, we look through our devices to find something that does… We check our messages during a quiet moment, or when the pull of the online world simply feels irresistible.” Turkle’s point is that we are so quick to use technology at just the littlest hint of boredom that it is like a constant pressure in our lives. People feel the constant urge to be on their phones, check the time, and look at messages or emails. As Turkle puts it, there is a constant “flight from conversation” and being in the present moment. While I share Carr and Turkle’s beliefs that we as people feel a constant urge to be distracted and use technology as a medium for it, I also believe that we can’t blame technology for that but our own self-control. We can’t say that technology is at fault because it is humans who wield it, and if they don’t have the self-control to concentrate on the things of importance to them, we would blame them and not the machine.
While the internet seems to be altering our capacity for concentration and attention, could it also be altering our relationships and our empathy? Through working at a summer camp over the years, I have seen the impact of technology on the younger generation regarding cellphones and iPads. We have a rule at camp, phones should be out of sight for the campers and counselors, but time and time again we have to tell them to get off of their phones so they can be present in the daily activities. We get tantrums and aggression in response; they use their phones as a social conduit instead of talking to each other, and then once it’s taken away, they don’t know how to act. Sherry Turkle examines how communication is shaping children’s actions and our emotional experiences. She writes, “It is a struggle to get children to talk to each other in class, to directly address each other. It is a struggle to get them to meet with faculty, and one teacher observes: “The [students] sit in the dining hall, and look at their phones. When they share things together, what they’re sharing is what is on their phones.” Children today are surrounded by their phones and technology, and they use it as a communication replacement, so they aren’t getting the proper emotional development that is gained from face-to-face conversation. Growing up surrounded by technology I can understand why the internet is so enticing to the younger generation, it is all they’ve ever known. Younger parents give their children iPads and cell phones just to keep them entertained, kids don’t know how to talk to each other, and they use their phones to as Turkle puts it, “offer the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship.” I agree with Turkle’s point that children are struggling to communicate with others, but I don’t blame technology for that but rather parental input. Children are being set up for the nondevelopment of self-control, conversational skills, and empathy which is causing this attachment to technology and the loss of communication skills.
Shifts can be seen mainly in human cognition and social interaction, but we can also see it slightly within our self-perceptions. While the Internet is a boon for self-expression, we can start to see an increasing reliance on the Internet contributing to feelings of insecurity and inadequacy in the eyes of others. While games may be able to, as Sherry Turkle puts it, allow children to experiment with identity by building avatars, they can also teach children and teens to compare themselves more heavily to others. Growing up in a digital world of social media, I and many others felt this anxiety, being surrounded by images and videos on the internet of others, and judging them and ourselves far too harshly, just because of the insecurities social media gave us. I see it in kids and teens all the time that they have problems with their body image and self-worth and a lot of it contributes to social media. Carr gives us another perspective on how our thinking has changed from deep and meaningful to superficial and flat, “I come from a tradition of Western Culture, in which the ideal (my ideal) was the complex, dense end “cathedral-like” structure of the highly educated and articulate personality… as we are drained of our “inner repertory of dense cultural inheritance,” Foreman concluded, we risk turning into “‘pancake people’”— spread wide and thin as we connect with vast network of information accessed by the mere touch of a button.” Carr’s point is that due to the internet, our way of thinking is changing from this complex and thoughtful nature to a shallow and careless one. While I agree with Turkle and Carr that technology is having a major impact on our mindsets, self-perceptions, and body images, I also think that the internet and social media are more of a platform for bad behavior. It is the platforms that aren’t properly regulated that allow certain posts that could harm children and teens.
