Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Technology affecting on education
Technology and its impact on education
Technology affecting on education
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Technology affecting on education
In “The Cult of Ignorance in the United States: Anti-Intellectualism and the “dumbing down” of America” written by Ray Williams is a short story about people no longer being interested in putting in time and effort into learning something new. Instead, all they want is the answers to all of their questions. Not only have we become lazy, we have become isolated from the world thanks to electronics. This story could be viewed differently by every generation. In my opinion, I agree strongly with Williams since I too am apart of the generation being “dumbed down.”
In today’s day, we no longer see children with their eyes glued to books. Instead, we see eight-year-olds walking, or sitting, on their cellphones. I can’t exactly defend my generation because I, myself, seem to have super glue between my cellphone and my hands. Although, I could and will admit that it is wrong. It seems we are addicted to posting on Instagram instead of being interested in a good book. We rather sit in front of a television than go outside and get some sun.
…show more content…
The ones who disagree are probably the students giving the disrespect and/or being lazy. “We're creating a world of dummies. Angry dummies who feel they have the right, the authority and the need not only to comment on everything, but to make sure their voice is heard above the rest, and to drag down any opposing views through personal attacks, loud repetition and confrontation (Williams).” That being said, I believe the United States needs a change in their education system and I also believe that this generation needs to change quick for future generations to hopefully turn out better than we did. I strongly agree with Ray Williams and this article truly grabbed my attention so I will be the first to make a change and let go of my phone for a couple hours to put time into something more productive. I could only hope that others do the same as
Author and Harvard graduate, Leonid Fridman, in an excerpt of his article, America Needs Its Nerds, points out America’s anti-intellectualism. Fridman’s purpose is to inform the reader of the contempt held for the intellectually curious and call for a change in the country’s attitude. He adopts a condemning tone to make the reader aware of the issue and encourage them to change their mindset.
Nicholas Carr, a periodic writer on issues such as technology and culture, wrote the article called “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” (743) In this, he discusses the way that not only Google, but also the advancement in technology, especially computers and computer engines is slowly altering our brain, along with the way we take in information. The process started back in the 1970’s and 1980’s when technology got a jump in society. For example “television was our medium of choice” says Carr (747). From then on it has been a slow decline for the way we process information. Throughout this essay Carr backs up the reasons why he feels the way by using different types of figurative language, deductive reasoning, plus the use of logical fallacies that can strengthen or may even weaken his argument.
“The Dumbest Generation” is a title no group of people want to behold. Nonetheless, people under age thirty have been given this belittling title. To those who go off questions about obsolete general knowledge rather than the ability to take in and evaluate knowledge, this title may seem quite fitting. However, Millennials aren’t quite as dull as they’ve been perceived to be. The ability of Millennials to absorb information, rather than know general facts, and their use of contemporary technology as reading and writing resources has proven that they are quite an innovative and bright generation.
In “Cultural Illiteracy,” a preface to the novel The Dumbest Generation, Mark Bauerlein critically evaluates how technological distractions affect the younger generation. Bauerlein states that “digital diversions” are cutting the younger generation off from culturally enhancing mediums and is in turn making the younger generation less intelligent. Though Bauerlein is correct about the increase of peer pressure due to technology, he is mistaken about how technology is making the younger generation unintelligent.
Has the modernization of the twentieth century made us smarter or has it hindered our brains to think in 140 characters or less? In the article, “Brain Candy”, Steven Johnson argues that the “steady upward trajectory” in global I.Q scores is due to what we thought was making us dumber: popular culture. However, this romantic critic is too rooted in his technology- age ideology. While Johnson claims that everything bad is good for us, family themed-programing is being replaced by fabricated reality television shows and channels specialized in selling, video games are hindering our reading and writing skills, and books are becoming things of the past. Johnson insists that popular culture is making us smarter, but is stupid the new smart?
There is a plague that has been in circulation for the hundreds of years, sweeping across the nation, seizing control of citizen’s minds. The plague is called anti-intellectualism. Taken right from Random House Dictionary, an anti-intellectual is someone who is ignorant or hostile to artistic and cultural values, against modern academic, artistic, social, religious, and the other theories associated with them. Richard Hofstadter, who wrote Anti-intellectualism in American Life, defines anti-intellectualism as a “resentment of the life of the mind, and those who are considered to represent it.” Ralph Waldo Emerson commented in 1837, "The mind of this country, taught to aim at low objects, eats upon itself." In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury creates a society where an escapist attitude, or the avoidance of reality by absorption of the mind in entertainment, results in the decline of thought and the rise of mass conformity (Schramer 2008). The similarities that exist between Fahrenheit 451 and American society are a cause for alarm (Schramer 2008). Susan Jacoby has even claimed, “Americans are in serious intellectual trouble.” Fortunately, there are a few things that we can do to combat this issue that will be touched upon later in this essay.
In the novel, technology, especially the enormous TV screens, are responsible for replacing literature, intellectualism, and curiosity. People spend so much time watching programming that is considered unproductive. People in the novel became less likely to search for knowledge and discover new abilities. This happens frequently today. Many people are engrossed in their technology and mass media. They have become less likely to...
This is true, on the Internet people can find their information within a matter of seconds. Rather than spending hours to find the right book and evidence that they need. In the cartoon, illustrated by Roz Chast, he shows a man in a library facing away from the books using a computer (Source 8). While many can argue that this shows the negative side on how people do not use resources such as library's anymore; they just use technology. This is not negative, people today can find information on any topic while using a computer. Sure they can use books from the library but most books are not as updated as websites; so information could be inaccurate. Using technology rather than a library does not make our generation the dumbest. This shows how technology has helped us become one of the most advanced generations.
According to Mark Bauerlein, those who were born after 1982, known as Generation Y, are the world’s dumbest generation. Bauerlein argues that this generation is not meeting the standards that he believes today’s technology should allow them to reach and it is hard to argue with all of his statistics on test scores, but Bauerlein obviously does not understand this generation. Who does he think is behind it all? It takes a genius to create new technology, no matter what the technology is used for or how other people perceive it. It did not just appear out of nowhere. Generation Y is not the dumbest generation, because if they were that would mean Bauerlein’s generation failed to raise Generation Y, technology just creates itself, and test scores determine intelligence.
America is slowly “dumbing down”, according to Psychology Today, due to a rising and devastating movement of anti- intellectualism in the American culture. It rejects matters of science, art, and humanities because of superiority, ignorance, and just from being naïve to situations. Anti –intellectualism is when a person disregards intellect and reason in solving viable situations and understanding the reality of the situation; but, instead uses action and emotions to solve them. Now, this is not saying that those who are uneducated and unintelligent are classified as anti-intellectualist; even those who are educated and judicious are subjective. It is said best by David Niose, “Social dysfunction can be traced to the abandonment of reason.”
Mindlin, Alex. "DRILLING DOWN Rapid Rise of Children With Cellphones." NY Times. The New York Times, 07 Mar. 2010. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. .
Ultimately, I am in agreement with what Albert Einstein supposedly predicted “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” Some historians dispute that the most brilliant brain of the 20th century ever really said that, but nonetheless, it appears that the prophecy is coming true. All we have to do is look around us, whether we are dining in a restaurant or sitting in a college classroom, we will see people glued to their smart phones or doing internet searches on their laptops. There does not really seem to be any meaningful social interaction amongst individuals. Along the same lines as Greenfield’s research paper is an article printed in Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection that presents views on both sides of the technology and education argument. Although this article presents opposing views on the topic, the critics suggest that the drawbacks of technology are the tools can be difficult to use and prohibitively expensive and it reduces or removes the human interaction that many believe is crucial to education (“Technology and Education.” par. 3). Basically, technology severs social
Almost every child between the ages of eight and twelve are getting cell phones. The average home in America has as many televisions as they do people. Only 20% of American homes do not have a computer. Technology is quickly becoming a new way of life. The amount of time people are on their devices is growing rapidly. According to The Huffington Post, people are on their devices for on average about eleven hours and fifty-two minutes a day. That is almost half a day and a lot longer than most people sleep or work. People have not realized yet how they or their families are being affected by this constant use of technology. As a result of technology increasing, children are experiencing health problems, school issues, and social problems.
Electronics are a huge part of our society. “Out of the world’s estimated 7 billion people, 6 billion have access to mobile phones” (Wang). Over thousands of these cell phones are owned by students K-12. A major debate topic is should cell phones be allowed in schools? “Twenty-four percent of schools have banned mobile devices altogether and sixty-two percent allow them on school grounds, but not in the classroom” (Raths). Cell phones should not be allowed in school because children focus more on the phone than schoolwork, it will create more drama, and it promotes cheating.
... are too great. Children will have less social interaction and more health and development problems when they use smartphones in excess. Children should not have smartphones due to the impact smartphones on a child’s development.