Draft 1 300-400 words
Technology is a distraction, and we create those distractions. That is something to think about. We now live in a world with technology where it can do many things from writing something for you to giving you an answer to a question you asked within seconds. People in my generation often talk about how we have grown with technology, and yes that is true, but also not true. It depends what way you look at that statement. For some it means we have lived our whole lives with technology. Since we were little playing with a small phone, ipad, etc. We have always been around and have been connected to the internet. The other way you can interpret that statement is by thinking we have grown and became smarter with technology as it also began to grow. That is true on some levels, we have grown because of what technology can do for us. We also have used it in good ways which causes us to back track. Now the things we used to do with technology when we were little can be seen as a distraction now if we were to do the same things. It is very easy to become distracted when working. That is just the life we live in, with all the small things on the internet you can do on the internet it is very easy to sidetrack and do something else. It is as if there is a chain connecting us to something different from what you are currently doing trying to pull you away everytime you hear a “buzz” sound, for example you get a notification on your phone. Trying to overcome all of the distractions that come with being in a world where technology is everything is the hard part. It is almost as if we are constantly trapped.
Draft #2 800 words
Technology is a distraction, and we create those distractions. That is something to think about. We now live in a world with technology where it can do many things from writing something for you to giving you an answer to a question you asked within seconds. People in my generation often talk about how we have grown with technology, and yes that is true, but also not true. It depends what way you look at that statement. For some it means we have lived our whole lives with technology. Since we were little playing with a small phone, ipad, etc. We have always been around and have been connected to the internet. The other way you can interpret that statement is by thinking we have grown and became smarter with technology as it also began to grow. That is true on some levels, we have grown because of what technology can do for us. We also have used it in good ways which causes us to back track. Now the things we used to do with technology when we were little can be seen as a distraction now if we were to do the same things. It is very easy to become distracted when working. That is just the life we live in, with all the small things on the internet you can do on the internet it is very easy to sidetrack and do something else. It is as if there is a chain connecting us to something different from what you are currently doing trying to pull you away everytime you hear a “buzz” sound, for example you get a notification on your phone. Trying to overcome all of the distractions that come with being in a world where technology is everything is the hard part. It is almost as if we are constantly trapped. Nicholas Carr in “Is Google Making Us Stupid” talks about his opinion on how technology and Google most specifically has affected us as humans and is creating many distractions. Simalary to Anderson’s thoughts, Emily Scheff and Lilyan Blood, both freshman at The University of New England have very similar thoughts to those of Nicholas Carr. Distraction is a factor of us using technology and affecting us from reading, writing and thinking.
When doing something such as school work you can easily get distracted by something on the internet. By getting distracted it is taking your attention away from what you were doing, therefore limiting how much you can actually be learning and not to your full potential. Nicholas Carr shares his thoughts by saying “The process of adapting to new intellectual technologies is reflected in the changing metaphors we use to explain ourselves to ourselves. When the mechanical clock arrived, people began thinking of their brains as operating “like clockwork.” ”(Carr 4). Carr explains how our brains can become almost part of technology and not even realize it, taking us away from our actual learning. Similarly to Carr, Scheff talks about the certain parts of technology that has been affecting us as humans, “People often will doom scroll and get so sucked into it that they haven’t realized how long they have been going for. A tendency that I recognize that I have is I will go down rabbit holes, not literal ones outdoors but the ones on the internet. Whether it is something I am learning more about or something that I am new to I will continue scrolling through videos to learn more about the topic.” (Scheff). She states that she even tends to fall down the idea of backing away from your work you are doing and go onto social media and scroll through and get distracted for hours. Leading you almost feels like that is what you should be doing, back to Carr’s point of feeling like our brains are “clockwork” when it comes to being distracted. Along with both of Carr’s and Scheff’s ideas, Blood says “I feel like technology has a very big impact on us with it being a distraction. Also when you are just going about your day if you feel a buzz or something come from your phone most people will check it right then and there to see who texted them. This is very much a distraction” (Blood). What she says brings me back to my point earlier of having a phone near you and hearing that “buzz” sound can be a very distracting thing. The many things like what Blood and Scheff talk about having technology near you ties along with people feeling like the distractions are causing them to have the feeling of not fully learning to their full potential.
Draft #3 1200+ words before peer review
Cam Kearney
Professor Jesse Miller
English 110
22 November 2024
The Disease of Distraction
Technology is a distraction, and we create those distractions. That is something to think about. We now live in a world with technology where it can do many things from writing something for you to giving you an answer to a question you asked within seconds. People in my generation often talk about how we have grown with technology, and yes that is true, but also not true. It depends what way you look at that statement. For some it means we have lived our whole lives with technology. Since we were little playing with a small phone, ipad, etc. We have always been around and have been connected to the internet. The other way you can interpret that statement is by thinking we have grown and became smarter with technology as it also began to grow. That is true on some levels, we have grown because of what technology can do for us. We also have used it in good ways which causes us to back track. Now the things we used to do with technology when we were little can be seen as a distraction now if we were to do the same things. It is very easy to become distracted when working. That is just the life we live in, with all the small things on the internet you can do on the internet it is very easy to sidetrack and do something else. It is as if there is a chain connecting us to something different from what you are currently doing trying to pull you away everytime you hear a “buzz” sound, for example you get a notification on your phone. Trying to overcome all of the distractions that come with being in a world where technology is everything is the hard part. It is almost as if we are constantly trapped. But is there anything we can do to help ourselves? Nicholas Carr in “Is Google Making Us Stupid” talks about his opinion on how technology and Google most specifically has affected us as humans and is creating many distractions. Simalary to Anderson’s thoughts, Emily Scheff and Lilyan Blood, both freshman at The University of New England have very similar thoughts to those of Nicholas Carr. Distraction is a factor of us using technology and affecting us from reading, writing and thinking, and we need to find ways to help ourselves.
When doing something such as school work you can easily get distracted by something on the internet. By getting distracted it is taking your attention away from what you were doing, therefore limiting how much you can actually be learning and not to your full potential. I have tended to do this my whole life, getting distracted easily by my phone and losing focus of what I was doing. Nicholas Carr shares his thoughts by saying “The process of adapting to new intellectual technologies is reflected in the changing metaphors we use to explain ourselves to ourselves. When the mechanical clock arrived, people began thinking of their brains as operating “like clockwork.” ”(Carr 4). Carr explains how our brains can become almost part of technology and not even realize it, taking us away from our actual learning. Similarly to Carr, Scheff talks about the certain parts of technology that has been affecting us as humans, “People often will doom scroll and get so sucked into it that they haven’t realized how long they have been going for. A tendency that I recognize that I have is I will go down rabbit holes, not literal ones outdoors but the ones on the internet. Whether it is something I am learning more about or something that I am new to I will continue scrolling through videos to learn more about the topic.” (Scheff). She states that she even tends to fall down the idea of backing away from her work you are doing and go onto social media and scroll through and get distracted for hours. I can agree and I relate to everything she said, because I tend to do the same thing by just scrolling away on social media. Leading you almost feels like that is what you should be doing, back to Carr’s point of feeling like our brains are “clockwork” when it comes to being distracted. Along with both of Carr’s and Scheff’s ideas, Blood says “I feel like technology has a very big impact on us with it being a distraction. Also when you are just going about your day if you feel a buzz or something come from your phone most people will check it right then and there to see who texted them. This is very much a distraction” (Blood). What she says brings me back to my point earlier of having a phone near you and hearing that “buzz” sound can be a very distracting thing. The many things like what Blood and Scheff talk about having technology near you ties along with people feeling like the distractions are causing them to have the feeling of not fully learning to their full potential.
Now along with all the ways you can easily become distracted there are also ways to try and cope with that. See, people tend to get distracted and they don’t do anything to help themselves. There are ways you can stop distraction so your writing, reading, etc does not get affected. Scheff says “On the other hand, notifications, texts, social media, entertainment, games and communication on our devices can cause disturbances and setbacks in our learning. The negatives don’t necessarily outweigh the positives of technology. I think that it is all about how an individual manages their use and time on their various devices.” (Scheff). She feels that the way someone can manage the way they use their technology can help them. I agree with her on that because I feel that knowing when you manage your time can tremendously help you. Now if you do not know how to do that then you will be affected which is what Blood says by saying “Technology has affected the way I write because they didn’t really teach us how to write in cursive in elementary school so I sometimes can’t even understand the cards I get from my grandma and it’s all because they said everything will just be typed.” (Blood). She feels she has been affected by technology causing a distraction to her life which has ultimately affected her writing. Similarly to Blood, Carr says “I’m not the only one when I mention my troubles with reading to friends and acquaintances–literary types, most of them–many say they’re having similar experiences. The more they use the web, the more they have to fight to stay focused on long pieces of writing.” (Carr 2). Carr also feels that the technology distractions have caused him to write and do anything else different now and that he has troubles with it. But ultimately it comes to whether you can help yourself and know when to limit the distraction in your life caused by technology.
