Steven Johnson Watching Tv Makes You Smarter Analysis

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Recommended: Advantage of television among youth

Steven Johnson’s Watching TV Makes You Smarter is a magazine article by a book author who writes in an academic style. Johnson uses comparisons to show that stimulating TV shows can make viewers smarter. Due to his discussion that children and adults should be sharing stimulating media, the author appeals to adults and parents who believe that TV is harmful to the mind. He appeals to his intended audience with examples that watching TV shows can improve brain’s function and increase cognitive thinking. NPR’s Bored ... And Brilliant? A Challenge To Disconnect From Your Phone is a radio podcast that appeals to radio listeners and those who enjoy educational topics such as how smartphone use decreases boredom and reduces creativity. The use of more casual and interactive language as well as rhetorical questions makes the podcast more personal and thought provoking. This genre is more persuasive as it allows the reader or listener to make personal connections and relate to the topic instead of an author trying to force an opinion on the reader.
The main message of the NPR podcast is conveyed through logos by the statistical evidence and studies mentioned. One experiment showed that people had the most novel ideas when doing the most boring task of reading the phone book. …show more content…

Media content should be challenging and stimulating, but overuse of technology is harmful and must be limited. Smartphones may be useful in that they provide information and access to many resources; however, when users are constantly stimulated and never bored due to smartphones, they likely face negative consequences such as decreased creativity. TV shows are a popular form of media that many may view as noneducational and mainly for entertainment; however, certain TV shows may be beneficial by boosting cognitive thinking and stimulating the

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