Hall Project 4 Final Draft

8/13/2019 Hall Project 4 Final Draft

1/5

Entering DePauls Lincoln Park John T. Richardsonlibrary, every person I notice on the first floor islooking at a screen: a laptop, computer, or smartphone. I get off of the elevator on the fourth floor and

find an empty table by a window, near an outlet ofcourse. As a freshman student at DePaul, I have reliedheavily on my laptop for getting work done,especially in my first year writing course. Once I plugmy laptop in, I open Google Chrome, which gives methe message Unable to connect to the Internet. Mynetwork settings open and offer me a link whichreads, Help me solve connection problems. Thisprompted my wondering, do connection problems

really only apply to my wireless network settings?My writing course, WRD 103, has recently engaged indiscussions on the impacts of technology on theclassroom and personal experience. Sitting here inthe library, I wonder why it was so important to methat I find a table to myself. Whats more, why wasannoyed that among all the empty tables, a professordecided to join me at mine? After all, we are sitting ata table with four chairs. I think our c onnectionissues go far beyond spotty WiFi, and its the heavyattachment we have to technology which peopleoften blame for our weakened personal connections.

Help me solve connection problems.


2/5

In my own contemplation of solving connection problems with observations of personalinteractions fading, possibly caused by technology, Im reminded of a debate which wasdiscussed in class. In a debate on CNN, Mark Bauerlein, author of The Dumbest Generation:How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes our Future , very candidlycriticizes my own generation. He states, young people are drowning in digital diversionswhich purvey teen stuff and the adult realities of history and civics cant break through. Hisfellow arguer, Emory college graduate David Feldman, feels my generation, we have this

incredible ability to filter this information and to know what is important. On one hand, itseems possible that we, my generation, are missing out on a wealth of information due toour tendency to get caught up in social networks. However, as Feldman points out, times arechanging and our fluency with technology has allowed us to develop skills which can give usa leg up when we join the workforce.

Similar to Bauerleins views are those of Nicholas Carr. Carrs essay, Is Google Making UsStoopid? was assigned in class along with many other readings which explore digitalthought. He points out that although the internet makes coming across information veryeasy as well as entertaining, it is shaping the thought process of humans by allowing less

thought, concentration, and contemplation to go into learning. Thus, less learning is actuallyoccurring. I agree with him that the ease with which we can now obtain information on theinternet has made our brains lazy and the frequency in which we have come to use theinternet is wearing on our concentration. However, I feel that Carr places all of the blame onthe internet alone and weakens his argument by avoiding mentioning any other possiblecontributors towards this issue.

Along with the exploration of many writers opinions on technologys impacts, part of thecurriculum for my first year writing course was to go out into the field and interview otherpeople on the subject. It was the stances of Carr and Bauerlein which provoked myspeculation of the opinions of my mother s boyfriend, Will. Will is the president of his self-run marketing company whom I have to come know very well. He is an avid reader whothoroughly enjoys international history, languages, and politics.

In speaking with Will, I learned that he quite strongly disagrees with Bauerlein and Carr.Will eloquently replied to Bauerleins position by saying.

I dont think that the younger generation is social misfits. In other words, Ifeel that your generation is more socially adept and because of this socialmedia, you are actually able to understand more of the social life whereas I

think our generation did not. Our generation got news and shared thingswith people at such a slow rate. Our rate of digestion of what it means to behuman is slower and not as complete. I think the younger generation isquite the opposite of introverted due to technology.

Because Will is very involved and knowledgeable in history, civics, cultures, etc., I think hisstance would catch Bauerlein off guard. I do agree with Will that technology isextraordinarily beneficial to education and that if research proves it to be a detriment to thehuman brain, we will adapt and evolve to find new ways to exercise our minds.


3/5

Although Will did express that he felt technology has negatively impacted his concentrationlevel, similar to the views of Carr, with further contemplation, he felt that Carr may bewrong.

I build radio controlled airplanes, and there is a level of engin eering andconcentration, theyre not a paper airplane. I remember being able to concentrateon that a lot more than I can know. Now with these new technologies it seems like Icant concentrate on anything for more than a half hour at most. But I remember allof my jobs have been related to a phone ringing, so I was in a technical supportposition where we would have to get a hundred calls a day and we didnt havecomputers then, just paper. Right out of college I got those jobs and I was in themfor a long time and I would notice back then, I was unable to concentrate. So, to acertain extent, I take it back. Even when we didnt have computers or cell phones, Iwas distracted. So I think its the activity youre doing that can ruin your ability toconcentr ate, rather than just the technology alone.

Will seems to point out a flaw in Carrs argument, where it becomes difficult to determinewhether the cause for a lack of concentration originates within technology, or withinourselves. I believe Carrs response would acknowledge that aptitude for distraction isuniversal, however, he feels technology is making the process easier.

After speaking with Will, I became curious how my 16-year old sister would feel about thesubject. Generationally, I believe the key differences between Will and Rachel are uses ofsocial media. Although Will spends many hours on the computer and internet for work,research, and entertainment, he hardly uses any social media devices. On the other hand, mysister Rachel, a junior in high school, primarily uses the internet for social media. Despitehow Rachel might lack the years of experience and abundance of knowledge which Will hasaccrued, many of her viewpoints matched his.


4/5

When I asked Rachel about her views on technology, she told me that technologyhas great capacity to improve our education, but absolutely hinders our ability tofocus. I asked her what the biggest problems with technology were in her life.

Technology probably makes me take five times as long to get myhomework finished. Sometimes I actually give my phone to dad or Chrisand ask them to hide it while I do my homework and then ask them for itback when Ive gotten a good portion done. And it helps a lot. If Im on acomputer usually I can just be focused on one website at a time but if Ihave my phone on me, Ill be a lot more distracted. Its texting, T witter,and Instagram that distract me.

Rachels reference to the very distracting nature of social media and opinion that itisnt necessarily taking ove r our lives connects to the opinions of Steven Pinker.Pinkers essay, Mind o ver Mass Media was one of the only articles discussed inclass which wholeheartedly supports technology. While addressing thecounterargument of the way experience changes the brain, Pinker rebuttals byexplaining, the existence of neural plasticity does not mean the brain is a blob ofclay pounded into shape by experience. He feels that the impacts of electronicmedia are not nearly as significant as critics imply, noting, like Will, that distractionis not a new occurrence and cannot be blamed on technology alone. He believes thebest solution is to implement self-control, to resist the temptations with our ownwill. I like this point because it strays from the typical blame being placed onadvertisements, social media, and digital devices for our lack of attention span.Instead, he places the responsibility in our own hands. Did anyone force us tocreate a Facebook account or buy a smart phone? Sure, it is more convenient tokeep up with modern trends, but it is not necessary for survival. I appreciate the

way in which he gives us the power to exercise our minds without allowing us tosimply blame the internet for its deteriorating.


5/5

From my own experience, generational differences do impact our experiences withtechnology, but not necessarily our viewpoints. The agreements between Will and Racheland the universal acceptance of technology Ive witnessed in my experience at DePaul areindicative of the modern necessity to wholly embrace technology. The older woman whojoined me in the library was, like me, utilizing technology for the entirety of her work.However, I feel that she may have been more comfortable joining me because she camefrom a generation with much more personal interactions. Thus, I feel that although my

generation benefits widely from technology, we could take a note on maintaining morepersonal and social relations with one another from the older generations. It seemsalthough the ways we use technology differ, the time which each generation spends withtechnology do not. The social disconnect can be blamed partly on technology and partly ongenerational differences, but it is not the fault of either alone. Ive realized through hearingthe many perspectives of others that its a lot easier to blame technology than it is acceptour human flaws. It is in our nature to experience laziness, distraction, and even shynesswhich may lead to social disconnect. Next time Im at the library, I should join a peerinstead of frantically searching for a place to be alone. Or perhaps next time I get on the L, Iwill take out my headphones for a few minutes and strike up a conversation with thestranger to my side.

By: Katie Hall, DePaul University

November 11, 2013

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Hall Project 4 Final Draft