Marcus and Goldwasser vs. Technology

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It is evident that Ruth Marcus’s “Cyberspace Dunderheads” and Goldwasser’s “What’s the matter with kids today?” share common objectives. Both articles concur that advances in technology have restructured our present and future existence in various ways. Communication, social networking, and obtaining knowledge have all been affected from technology’s advances, according to the two authors. Although their articles have similarities, all of their views and opinions do not coincide .Goldwasser and Marcus chose different avenues of expressing their opinions.

Goldwasser suggests that advanced communication has affected our entire nation. Goldwasser states, “We’re talking about 33 million Americans who are fluent in texting, e-mailing, blogging, IM’ing and constantly amending their profiles on social network sites.” She suggests that advanced communication has dominated majority of American’s lives. Marcus expresses optimism toward technologies advances of communication. Marcus states, “E-mail and social networking, with the combination of ease of access and remoteness of interaction, help make and renew personal connections.” She expresses that technologies advances of communication have positive effects.

I agree that our world is definitely changing as technology continues to evolve because technology has transformed my life. As a child writing letters to friends, pagers, postcards, and paper journals were a part of my daily communication. As I have matured cell phones, text messaging, emailing, blogging, and instant messaging have replaced my former techniques of communication. I concede the changes in technology are definitely improvements. New technological advances continue to emerge on a daily basis. It is almost impossibl...

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...concern for the value of personal relationships, connections and empathy due to technology. In one of her research study reports it states, “College students are 40 percent lower in empathy, measured by standard personality tests, than their counterparts 20 and 30 years ago…, coinciding with the rise of online communications and social networking.” This study in insinuating that technology is the definite cause of drops in empathy by college students. A research study from one college is not sufficient in my opinion to make this type of assumption.

Works Cited

Goldwasser, Amy. “What’s the matter with kids today?” Salon. 14 March 2008.

http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2008/03/14/kids_and_internet

Marcus, Ruth. “Cyberspace Dunderheads.” Truthdig. 8 June 2010.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/print/cyberspace_dunderheads_20100608/

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