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Lima Sarah

Professor J. Rodrick

English 115

September 29, 2017

Project Web (Draft)

In the world today society has become a technology driven environment; anywhere you look

the most common occurrence that is seen is person regardless of age phone in their hand whether

it be while exercising, eating, or even while talking with another person people have this need to

have a piece of technology near them as portrayed in the video. This epidemic has caused a

certain change in how society functions: dependency on technology is leading the human race as

a whole to live overwhelmed lifestyles with decreased productivity in everyday work and daily

routines as individuals.

Technology has become a dominant force in society today and has effected how people now

learn and absorb information. Joe Golton in Smartphones Are a Distraction, describes a time

where because technology was still underdeveloped people would set restraints on the use of

technology, Just 15 years ago, interruption technology was mostly confined to the landline

telephoneAnd many people had rules for keeping interruptions to a minimum, such as my

parents' rule of not answering the phone during dinner. If we compare that to how we live today

where, Most people carry a cell phone at all times (Golton 1) there is a most defining

difference that I even see in myself and in many others today that when we receive a notification

its as if on instinct we reach into our pocket pull out our phones leaving whatever important task

we were doing in the dust for something that could be as simple as a dentist reminder or a
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calendar event. In that, moment technology consumes us and leaves us blind to all that is

happening around us. This occurrence can causes major problems in a persons life because the

constant flow of notifications and updates draws the persons focus away and does not allow them

to absorb information when reading, But for many people it's hard to read and fully absorb more

than a few hundred words on a device that constantly interrupts you or tempts you to interrupt

yourself (Golton 1). This observation rings true in in my own life because I know that having a

physical piece of reading like is essential to learning because the more focus you give something

the more you allow your brain to store the information being taught in contrast to a device that is

constantly drawing the mind to multiple things never allowing the full retention of long pieces of

information.

Moreover as Technology increases in the world, so does the speed at which humans are

supposed to produce work because it is thought that technology can enable us to work faster and

become more efficient in our daily lives, but the reality is that too much technology can actually

be a distraction and can overwhelm a person with the amount of information being thrown at

them. Ned Smith in Digital Overload: Too much Technology says, Our constant connectedness,

the beeping and buzzing and bleeping digital devices we carry around, aren't just causing us to

become mega-multitaskers, they are also taking a social and financial toll. Here we can see that

that because technology is enabling us to become mega multitasker is not necessarily efficient

when producing more work because when a person is focused on a multiple array of different

things, never really focusing on one thing at a time they tend to end up with a bunch of projects

half way done instead of having one finished product. Smith explains that, is what technology

doing to us, she found herself tethered to e-mail and unable to rein in her online multitasking.

She was getting less done, working more slowly and unable to concentrate, it has us focused on
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so many things that are happening around us that we cant even begin to put all of our attention

onto the things that are important to us like our jobs because people become more interested in

whats new on Facebook or Instagram rather than centering their attention on becoming

organized productive human being.

Furthermore with increased use of Technology has come yet another technological related

phobia as explained by Olivia Rahim, nomophobia, the anxiety or fear experienced when one is

unable to access technology. Rahim explains in the article Mobile Separation Anxiety is a

Growing Problem, that many people in this digital age become very stressed and uncomfortable

when losing their phones which she later says that this phenomenon, itself can be a symptom of

an addiction to technology. This addiction or nomophobia comes out of an interdependence that

we as a developing society have created within our culture. Whenever we need something to

know something the first reaction no I always oh just google it or no worries thats what the

internet is for but in sad truth is that some of these daily things that we think we need technology

in order to accomplish we can really do on our own. Rahim talks about how this compulsive

behavior to check our applications every couple of minutes is also due to, the pathological fear

of remaining out of touch with technology. As a teen growing in this technology driven world I

feel that this is the case many times, I find myself keeping up with whats going on in the social
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media in order not to be left of any conversations or simply because it just has become a habit

thats just too hard to quit. In addition Rahim talks about how, Nomophobia is a result of people

becoming more and more electronically connected to the point that their technology-based

network and relationships become their home community. and thus explains another truth that is

occurring in society because people are constantly connected on social media and through text

message if the person does not participate in the technological realm they will miss out on what

conversations with p[people that are important to them. I heard this from a friend of mine who

had lost their phone for a day and felt like her whole world was coming down on her because she

was going to miss what her friends were going to talk about in their group chat.

Although others may say that the simple solution for technology addiction is to simply

cut it out altogether, the reality is that we live in the digital age where almost everything we do is

revolved around technology so the solution is not to simply get rid of it but to find a balance that

allows all people not to be controlled by technology but rather be the controller. All three authors

gave a solution to this increasing problem and it wasnt to get rid of technology but actually limit

the amount of time we spend on our technology, put the technology away when we need to have

some time to reflect, and to do whatever we can on our own without the help of technology in

order to feel secure as humans and feel that we are more than capable to achieve great things

without the help or aide or technology.

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Work Cited

Smith, Ned. "Digital Overload: Too Much Technology Takes a Toll."

DailyBuisnessNews, edited by Tamara Thompson, Opposing View Points in Context, 2016.

galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010967208/OVIC? u=csunorthridge&xid=d2090a14. Accessed

22 Sept. 2017.

Rahim, Olivia. "Mobile Device Separation Anxiety Is a Growing Problem: Does the Internet

Increase Anxiety? Greenhaven Press, edited by Tamara Thompson, Opposing View

Points in Context, 2016.

galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010967202/OVIC?u=csunorthridge&xid=01462c30. Accessed

22 Sept. 2017.

Golton, Joe. "Smartphones Are a Distraction: Smartphones." Greenhaven Press, edited by

Roman Espejo, Opposing Viewpoints in Context, 2013.

galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010867209/OVIC?u=csunorthridge&xid=d2090a14.

Accessed 22 Sept. 2017.

deGuzman, Charlene. I forgot my Phone. Youtube, Directed by Miles Crawford, starring

Charlene deGuzman, 22 August 2013, youtube.com/watch?v=OINa46HeWg8. Accessed

27, 2017