Argumentative Essay: Shut Down Your Screen Week

In the current society, there are new technologies every day. As these different technologies increase, the number of users are also increasing. These users are dedicating their time to the Internet. It could be for work, school, or social interactions. School districts are now afraid that students will spend more time on the Internet. Instead, they should be spending their time studying. As a result of this epidemic, schools made an approach to the idea of “Shut Down Your Screen” week. This idea requires the staff and students to have no contact with any type of technology for a whole week. Teachers are not allowed to teach with any SmartBoards, projectors, laptops, or computers. Students are only allowed to learn with textbooks and write on paper. Bayless High School should take part in “Shut Down Your Screen” week because the idea will help students learn better. Also, the usage of social interactions will decrease.

By turning off electronics, the students

and teachers will be able to focus more. For instance, using the Internet can cause many distractions. Nicholas Carr, an author, stated that the Internet will disturb the brain. Thus, the brain will “understand less, remember less, and learn less.” Intelligence is not based on the pace a student learns. Instead, intelligence is how deep he or she is willing to think. While one topic is searched, the Internet will have other non-related data or message. These distractions lead to the brain’s memory being interrupted. The train of thought is then broken. Surfing the Internet will cause the person to forget what he or she was intended to be searching for. This is why the task is either late or unfinished.
Not only is surfing the web a distraction to the brain, it is also a distraction on the roads. For example, someone may try to multitask. He or she will try to text or take a quick picture while driving, and this can be used for social media purposes. These distractions will be the cause of a car accident. The mind can only focus on one task at a time. By multitasking, there is too much pressure on the mind. He or she is not able to focus on different tasks. The human brain is only able to process one piece of information at a time. In a study at the University of California, Irvine, it showed that putting too much information on the brain causes stress. Instead of putting old information to use, multitaskers use new information instead. When it comes to remembering information, multitaskers are known to be more sensitive. The distractions while multitasking disabled the mind to think.
Although, one may argue that surfing the Internet will help the brain to process better and faster, the information on the Internet is varied.

Online users will be able to have “more creative and informed solutions,” said researcher Peter Norvig. By using the Internet, these users are also more likely to come across pictures, ideas, and writing pieces from all around the world. Instead of having to stay in a library for many hours, one can search a specific topic, and many links will appear. Research has also shown that using the computer has increased the advantages for neurology. Gary Small, a psychiatrist at the University of California, Los Angeles, stated that having these distractions will increase the stress hormones in a person’s body. These hormones are known to reduce short-term memory. Internet users have also displayed higher brain activity than non Internet users. This means that the neural circuitry in these users’ brains are increasing. Their brains were shown to be better at finding

information.
People who play fast-paced video games are able to track the movement of more objects on the screen by a third more than non players. These games can raise reaction reflexes and the ability to point out surrounding clutter. Video game players have also developed a sharper vision. According to Daphne Bavelier, a researcher at the University of Rochester, video games have a strong rehabilitative and educational power to one’s brain.
If Bayless High School participates in “Shut Down Your Screen” week, it will give the students and faculty a chance to be more active amongst each other. Nowadays, the use of technology means a lack of face-to-face interactions. When people stores away cell phones, tablets, or laptops, then their personal relationships will grow. “The way we become more human is by paying attention to each other,” said Mr. Nass at Stanford, “It shows how much you care.”