Jaquan White

Professor Padgett
UWRT 1102-066
April 8, 2015

Is Technology Taking Over?

The most distracting aspect of our current society is the different forms of technology we
are granted with. In reference to a specific group, the youth in my opinion is faced with
dilemmas in relation to the technological takeover, in which we are all a part of. I feel the kids
from ages seven to seventeen years are solely dependent upon their cell phones, laptops, or even
tablets to where they can barely function without it being in their possession. Not to blame only
this evolution of technology we are experiencing, but I do see it to be an issue that needs to be
addressed. Often that a lot people just use the modernization of our time period as a scapegoat.
By doing so, soon I see everyone conforming to the thought of needing the most modern type of
technology just to strive and survive and that should not be the case. As for what I feel it is most
negatively affecting is a persons ability to communicate properly. Even adults who at one time
did not have access to what is accessible today, still find a way to be totally dependent upon
different sources of technology. The kids who have yet to fully develop mentally, keep these
devices in their presence all day. When I was growing up I recall being outside for most of the
day, interacting with other kids. In this current generation, we barely see any of that except for
recess at an elementary school and even then the kids prefer to be on their phones. Personally, I
can say that my attention span has been negatively affected because devices are the main focus
every five minutes. Constantly watching Snapchat or Vine videos which are both no more
than 10 seconds sometimes causes me to lose attentiveness to tasks that require attention for a
longer period of time. So, imagine a seven year old who now has access to those applications;
Im sure he/she is having similar problems without noticing it.

Jaquan White
Professor Padgett
UWRT 1102-066
April 8, 2015

Rapid advancements in technology have enabled todays youth to have access to an

unprecedented quantity and quality of media. In fact, on an average day, youth spend 2.5 hours
watching TV, 46mins on the internet, 73mins playing video games, 150mins listening to music,
over 60mins on the phone, 30mins instant messaging, 25 minutes watching movies, and emailing. This adds up to nearly half a day engaging in some type of technology use (Rolfe &
Gilbert, 2006). These numbers are mind-boggling. Half the day is taken up by technology. How
is one actually enjoying their everyday life? What is truly a concern for me is the fact that those
numbers will increase from this point on simply because technology is only improving. Another
article used statistics taken from a survey taken in 2009 that took a poll from the ages eight to
eighteen, and these kids spent more than seven-and-a-half hours a day involved with non-school
related technology. Same study was done four years before and the recent study showed that it
increased more than one-third (Taylor, 2012). The most shocking statistic found was The
average young person spends up to 10,000 hours playing video and online games by age 21. That
is about the same amount of time that they devote to their middle and high school years! (Taylor,
2012). Now I believe the theory that if one puts 10,000 hours into a certain craft or task then
they become an expert at it. No wonder why the youth during this current generation are so
skilled at texting or video games. Last study taken from this article was done by AVG, the
internet security company and they found that young children are more likely to master tech
skills than life skills. For example, while 58 percent of two to five year olds can play a computer
game, only 43 percent can ride a bike (Taylor, 2012). As said before times have definitely
changed to where the kids cannot complete simple tasks such as riding a bike, but can quickly
show someone how to get on twitter and search an archived tweet.

Jaquan White
Professor Padgett
UWRT 1102-066
April 8, 2015

Another issue is the distance I believe it creates. For example, no one has to watch any
news broadcast, sports center, or any program on television designed to update the public. All
one has to do is pick up their cellular device and get onto one of these social media websites. A
presentation by Joe Kraus by the name of slow tech he stated, We are creating and
encouraging a culture of distraction where we are increasingly disconnected from the people and
events around us, and increasingly unable to engage in long-form thinking. People now feel
anxious when their brains are unstimulated (Kraus, 2012). In attempt to paraphrase that
particular quote, I believe that Kraus is saying our generation instantly and constantly has the
urge to pick up their phone instead of stimulating their minds in more human-like manners such
as an intellectual conversation with another person or even reading a book. He even goes on to
speak on what I mentioned before saying we are increasingly distracted, and less able to pay
attention to anything for a reasonable length of time, and this distraction is a worsening
condition (Kraus, 2012). With that in consideration, how will the kids growing up now learn
how to pay attention to a two-hour long course if college is an option for them? Will they even
be able to focus long enough to take notes? Almost seems that we as a society are setting the
younger individuals up for failure being that some of us have the mental strength to notice the
issue at hand.
Now we can go into detail about the possible cognitive effect technology not only has on
children but even adults as well. Researcher Betsy Sparrow of Columbia University is one of
the few who has looked at the internets effect on cognition. She found that people were much
less likely to remember particular facts if they believed the information would be accessible to
them in the future (Bogdanic, 2014). That alone describes my mindset for a numerous amount

Jaquan White
Professor Padgett
UWRT 1102-066
April 8, 2015

of facts Ive come across recently. If I had no way to pull a fact back up then I do tend to study it
more in attempt to keep knowledge of the fact. The study done by Sparrow showed that people
who believed the information would be lost after they read it scored much higher on the quizzes
that asked them to recall the facts than those participants who thought they could access the
information later (Bogdanic, 2014). It also showed that people quickly turn to the internet when
asked a question they could not answer themselves (Bogdanic, 2014). If a replica of that study
was done on UNC Charlottes campus, I truly believe almost every student would refer to the
internet rather than a man-made source when asked a question they do not know. True, it is the
quickest source available but what would happen if every source of technology was to shut down
for a month? The entire world would go crazy! People would lose their natural ability to
communicate which is sad.
The question I think we all should ask ourselves is do we have a healthy relationship
with the electronic devices that we put to everyday use? Meaning are we falling into the trap of
being truly distracted from being human and taking the chance to interact with the people we are
surrounding by? I look around in each of my classes every week and what do I see? Almost
every peer with their respective cellular devices in their hand. If not their cellphone then they are
their computer playing some type of simulated video game that takes so much focus that they
barely earned their attendance for class that day. Sure, looking at the small picture it may not
seem to be a true problem to some. Looking at a large landscape of this situation, people are
definitely being brainwashed by technology to the point where they are blind to it. Lastly, I found
an article that exposed me to some shocking information and the article stated In Georgia, some
high school cafeterias are using a biometric identification system to let students pay for lunch by

Jaquan White
Professor Padgett
UWRT 1102-066
April 8, 2015

scanning the palms of their hands at the checkout line. (Singer, 2014) That is absurd in my
opinion and should be to others as well. There is no telling what that same school might be
capable of doing with that same system. Not sure if the students had a choice to participate in the
system or not, but I am sure that if they wanted to receive their lunch as quick as other students
then they had to abide by that particular system. What is next for our society in regards to
technology? Do we really need technology to be a functioning member of society? I hope no will
answer that question with Yes.

Jaquan White
Professor Padgett
UWRT 1102-066
April 8, 2015
Works Cited
Bogdanic, F. (2014). Generation Y: The Internets Effects on Cognition and Education.
Retrieved April 12, 2015.
Kraus, J. (2012, May 25). Were creating a culture of distraction. Retrieved April 12,
2015.
Rolfe, J., & Gilbert, M. (2006). Youth, new media, technology and
communication. Young Consumers, 7(3), 15.
Singer, N. (2014, September 14). With Tech Taking Over in Schools, Worries Rise.
The New York Times.
Taylor, J. (2012, September 10). Childrens Immersion in Technology is Shocking.
The Power of Prime