small object, LARGE SUBJECT

Look at what iPod’s have done to our culture. People constantly walking around with stubs in their ears, blocking out the outside world. Frequent iPod users can hardly do any activities without their music. However, what these users crave isn't the music, it's the distraction from whatever activity their obligated to do. Apple has caused people to become so dependent on iPod’s that they simply cannot continue doing activities such as exercising or cleaning without them. People do not want to be concentrated on these kinds of activities so they just hit play and out goes their concentration.

iPod’s are not only the most updated mp3 player, they are also cameras and video cameras. You can play games and even browse the web if you have the highest of them all, “the iPod Touch”. Apple's advertisements show the great quality of their products and are very appealing too many. With the bright colors and funky music it is no question that it will catch your eye. iPod's allow people to be creative and pick and choose songs from different CD's and genres to create their perfect playlist. If you are caught dead with anything other than an iPod people's heads may turn.

I have found it quite interesting that people can't function without their iPod. Everyday I see hundreds of students walking to class with buds in their ears. What ever happened to enjoying your time alone to allow your mind to think? What ever happened to making conversation with people? Instead people just keep to themselves and put themselves in their own little musical world. Even students during class blast their music to drain out a professor’s voice! I mean really how rude can we get? What happened to involvement and socializing?

As soon as my boyfriend gets out of the shower he walks over to his iHome and turns on his music. He can literately not get dressed or put away clothes without music playing. Why? In the end he just ends up dancing and taking double the time to finish what he's doing! It all goes back to DISTRACTION. People love to be distracted. People love to procrastinate. No one wants to run or clean, so why not put on their iPod so they don't have to think about it? This idea is very similar to Nicholas Carr's idea that technology has made us stupid and we cannot even sit still long enough to read an essay. As we have seen, apple and their iPods contribute to that as well. Both technological creations have influenced our attention span in a negative way. iPod creators assume that everyone needs to be distracted and everyone will want to have a iPod so they can constantly have their own little escape in their pockets. I personally never even use my iPod but hey, it's working for everyone else isn't it?

"High-Tech Trash" -Abstract

In "High-Tech Trash", Chris Carroll proposes problems that not people many are aware of. As technology continues to grow, more and more current machines (such as TV's and computers) are being considered "old" and "out dated". From this problem, people are getting rid of their old "electronic gear" but where is it going? Some more responsible people bring their "electronic gear" to recycling centers; however, according to Carroll it "does not guarantee that it will safely be disposed of." Carroll describes how these waste products are being dropped off in trash yards and causing dangerous toxins to enter the earth. However, the earth is not the only thing these toxins are damaging. The dumping of these waste products is also harming people. Two major countries where this e-waste is being dumped are Ghana and China. In Ghana, the poor children search the dumping ground and put themselves in harms way to melt the copper and other materials just to earn some money. What is happening is something Carroll assumes everyone will want to be aware of. But how can we really prevent it? How do we know what recycling center is safe and will take care of everything properly?

Is Google Making Us Stupid?- Abstract

In Nicholas Carr's article, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Carr proposes the idea that constant Google searching has made us so impatient and “stupid” that we can no longer sit and read anything remotely long. According to Carr, " The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle... I think I know what’s going on. For more than a decade now, I’ve been spending a lot of time online, searching and surfing and sometimes adding to the great databases of the Internet." Carr argues that he is not the only one facing these problems. When talking with friends about the issue, they too share the same occurrence of not being able to sit through tedious readings. Bruce Friedman says that, "the Internet has altered his mental habits. 'I now have almost totally lost the ability to read and absorb a longish article on the web or in print'” Another example of Carr's support is, "a recently published study of online research habits, conducted by scholars from University College London, suggests that we may well be in the midst of a sea change in the way we read and think." For Carr this effect of Google searching has personally affected his life and has realized that it is happening to more and more people everyday. There was no need for Carr to have to explain what Google is and what people are using it for because he assumes that millions of people use the search engine.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

When thinking about what Carr is proposing I am on the fence of whether I agree or disagree. However, I do not think that Google single handedly has made us "stupid". If I were to refocus the question I would say, is technology making us stupid? Then, my answer would be yes. When I was younger I constantly remember my parents telling me that reading makes your more intelligent. The more books, newspapers and articles you read have you constantly learning new words, new concepts and new ideas. Has technology stopped this? Yes, I do think that we no longer find the urge to read because technology has distracted us. I do agree with Carr when he said, " It almost seems that they go online to avoid reading in the traditional sense." Of course we do! When looking for research we now rely on the Internet; we no longer search the library databases and books. It is faster and much more efficient to use our computers instead of wasting time reading through several pages only to discover that that book doesn't have what your looking for. In a way I don't think we are stupid for doing this because in our society today we would be considered stupid for wasting our time in the library when what we need is right in front of us. Maybe it isn't just technologies fault. Maybe it’s the way our society is so dependent on it that it has trained the youth to rely so much on our machines. When thinking about myself I take into consideration not only reading but math. Being that math is my major I am constantly using one particular machine, my calculator. When doing long, paged length calculus problems I don't waste time to stop and think what's 16 x 3. I automatically turn to my fingers and instantly plug in the numbers. It is sad to say that I do rely on my technology. Instead of using my brain for simple mathematical problems I have to turn to technology. Friends constantly make fun of me that I am a calculus wizard but cannot simply solve a multiplication problem in my head. Even something as simple as my spelling has gone out the window! I am probably the worst speller due to the fact that since I am always on the computer I constantly have a spell check to rely on. When writing using an old-fashioned pen and paper, I struggle to spell simple words that I probably knew in my elementary school days. Google has not done this to me; Technology has. Going back to reading however, I too find myself distracted when reading long wordy books or articles. However, I do say that I still enjoy reading my Nicholas Sparks love stories during my leisure time. Teenagers today do not spend most of their time reading or watching TV. As Carr brought up, most of our time is spent on the Internet. An interesting thought popped into my head when I read: “We are not only what we read,” says Maryanne Wolf, "We are how we read.” If you think about the amount of time the youth spends on the Internet, it is not being spent “Googling” research and important information. A majority of today’s youth is addicted to Facebook or Twitter and that is where our Internet time is being spent. Instead of reading or even skimming important information, we are busy gossiping and reading about our friend’s latest news. That type of reading alone is making us lazy. People aren't Twittering about new dictionary words. We aren't learning from reading someone's Facebook status. But when that moment comes and we do need to figure something important out, we type our few words into Google and bam there it is. Easy step... 1, 2, 3. Do I think Google is making us stupid? No. I think it has made us lazy and dependable. Our constant force to rely on technology has made us spoiled and makes us no longer have an urge to do anything on our own when a computer can just do it for us. I wouldn't say we are "stupid" because when researching you still do learn, but maybe not as much as you would have if you were actually reading instead of skimming.