Progression 3: Essay 3 - Final

Gibran Sheikh

Professor Macklin

English 115

14 November 2012

Technological Advancement and Human Dalliance

As human beings, one could only have so much with technology. We love to explore the vast field of technological discovery; whether it is receiving news via e-mails, webcam chatting with old friends, or venturing into the world of a video game. There comes a time, or many times, when we as human beings become so susceptible to the silver platter which holds all wonders of technology. Some individuals may ponder and stir questions about the effects that are caused by the endless creations of technology. Some may argue that technology, such as laptops or smartphones, subliminally harm an individual’s process of learning, especially in the school setting. However, as society progresses, the use of smartphones and laptops in school settings hold student success in the long-run; it just seems that in the short-run there is a little bit of laziness produced in part of the students. Laziness seems to be the only real, negative aspect created by technological advancement and introduced to the younger generation, but it is shadowed by the abundance of positive results that this advancement has created. The use of modern technology, such as smartphones or laptops, allows students in the technologic generation to succeed in the school setting, even if they experience a little laziness in their success.

            We can see on the observable level why smartphones and laptops may be beneficial to students in a classroom. They provide internet access, allow them to write their research papers, and even provide access to applications they may find useful for their class. Now, this particular subject has brought upon a lot of debate, since many feel that the use of these devices becomes detrimental to the student in terms of their academic success. However, a crucial fact that is left out is that our society depends on the use of these devices, especially in the school setting. David Nagel, a reporter for thejournal.com, states that “half of all public schools in the United States are providing handheld devices to administrators, teachers, or students” (Nagel). This report shows that a percentage of roughly half of all public schools in America rely on their instructors and students to create a more simple way of operating within or away from the classroom. It seems that through statistics, the use of smartphones, laptops, and other devices in schools is a key part to a student’s success. It is evident through this report that without the use of technological devices in the classroom many students would be unable to function properly within the classroom. Also contributing to the beneficial use of technological devices in the classroom is Alaina Martini, an avid columnist. In her article she explains how “laptops [are] still important” and how “smartphones can be equally as beneficial,” (Martini), while talking about the advantages that these devices have to offer to college students. She later states that “with the shift in media to Internet, taking a smartphone to college gives the student a definite advantage,” (Martini), overall adding to that claim of smartphones being advantageous to student success. As we see student success granted by the use of these smartphones and laptops, we may also observe the slight effect of overall laziness, but this laziness still is not so strong as to keep these students from achievement.

            As human beings we sometimes find ourselves lost in our thoughts, and sometimes distracted from our current tasks at hand. In a school setting, the same will go for a student. They are only able to concentrate as much as they allow themselves to, and these technological devices serve as little aberrations; however, they are still not so powerful as to overcome the student. More or less these devices serve as a pass time for students, but it does not take from them what is important. Greg Satell, a unique individual who has worked in large scale media businesses, has written an article where he identifies the overall benefits of technologies, some which are indeed applicable to the school setting. Yet, he also states that “what technology does is let us choose the areas in which we want to be smart and in which we would rather be ignorant” (Satell), giving hint to where technology may provoke laziness. He also explains how we as humans tend to excel in pattern recognition, meaning that we as individuals tend to be more lenient to certain tasks we find easy to do. He states that we tend to lean more on the patterns that “we choose to specialize in” (Satell), also claiming that other tasks may seem unimportant to us. What he says on the basic level is that as humans, we choose whether or not to pay attention to certain areas, or subjects. This in the classroom setting may indicate why students become distracted, with their devices; the material they are learning just isn’t interesting to them. So, technically these students choose not to succeed in certain areas; however, they choose to succeed in other areas, and technological devices serve as a gateway away from the uninteresting subjects to the more interesting ones. Laziness seems to be the end-product created by the students’ diversion from the areas that they feel are unnecessary to their success.

            Now, as there are claims from one side of an argument there will always be opposing claims. With technology being so crucial to student success, some individuals may find that technology may actually harm a student in his or her success. A particular individual that has brought upon these aspects is Susan Greenfield, a well-known neuroscientist. In her article “Modern Technology Is Changing the Way Our Brains Work”, she claims that because of technology, teenagers and the younger generation are experiencing “attention spans [being] shorter and communication skills [being] reduced (Greenfield). What Greenfield tends to leave out is what was just discussed; from Satell we see that students only seem to direct attention to what interests them, focusing more on subject they find easy, and in the report from Nagel communication is actually greater than it was before. We can see that in this claim, although powerful and thought-provoking, there is a lack of overall support. Another individual who claims technology being detrimental is Nicholas Carr, a well-known writer through magazines. In his magazine article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” he claims that it is “in [Google’s] economic interest to drive us to distraction”, meaning he feels that Google and other large companies provoke us as humans to be distracted. However, as discussed before from Satell, our distraction is actually caused by us to leave out what we feel is unimportant. It is observable that this opposing claim created by Carr lacks rationality. Students tend to succeed in areas they find interesting and are not so boring that they may become distracted and access to these areas is granted by their smartphones and laptops. Technically speaking, distraction comes from human choice, not these big companies. Although these claims may prove to be interesting thoughts, there is a definite lack of reason.

            As we have observed, technological devices such as smartphones and laptops allow students to find success in what they please, possibly distracting them from their tasks at hand and creating a sense of laziness. This laziness is overcome by the positive aspects granted by technology and therefore is not an issue on the students’ part. As we see how certain people may claim that these devices serve as detrimental aspects to the human individual, we also see how these opposing claims lack rationality. Overall these aspects of technology that are negative are ultimately overcome by more positive aspects. Therefore, when seeing how claims are made, we find it reasonable to identify with the more acceptable one.

Works Cited

Carr, Nicholas. “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” TheAtlantic.com. Edgecast Networks, July-Aug. 2008. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/>.

Greenfield, Susan. “Modern Technology Is Changing the Way Our Brains Work”. N.p.: n.p., n.d. PDF.

Satell, Greg. “How Technology Makes Us Smarter.” DigitalTonto.com. N.p., 5 June 2011. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. <http://www.digitaltonto.com/2011/why-technology-makes-us-smarter/>.

Nagel, David. “Mobile and Classroom Technologies Surge in Schools.” TheJournal.com. Ed-Tech Group, 5 May 2010. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. <http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/05/05/report-mobile-and-classroom-technologies-surge-in-schools.aspx>.

Martini, Alaina. “Smartphones a Must for College Students?” Fastweb.com. Truste Corporation, 19 Jan. 2012. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. <http://www.fastweb.com/student-life/articles/3431-smartphones-a-must-for-college-students>.