Technology is advancing at a faster pace than ever before and inevitably generations are turning to it for all matters. Although many people view the endless knowledge, communication, and shortcuts accessible at our fingertips as beneficial, they fail to recognize that technology is harming us in the process. It is as if people today have become blind to the negative effects that technology has on us while we are constricted in its grasp. In Nicholas Carr’s essay Is Google Making Us Stupid? and Sherry Turkle’s essay The Empathy Diaries, the negative attributes of technology are high on the topics of discussion. These negative effects are often considered to be attention deficit, and issues with recognizing emotions as well as declining mental health.
The attention spans of young minds are shortening by the second, it seems. As technology grows stronger it is as if humans are surrendering to its power. While completing a task, most are not able to get through it without checking their phone or notifications at least once and getting distracted. Carr puts this in perspective by discussing the process of deep reading. Throughout the introduction to his essay, Carr deep-dives his inability to sit down and read. He mentions that he cannot focus and later in the essay on page 2 mentions, “ Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged.” In this paragraph of Carr’s essay on page 2, he provides the thought that individuals are unable to focus on deep reading. I believe that this is mostly to blame on the youth growing up in the age of technology and many younger children not being forced to go outside. Carr and myself both agree that this has led to skimming and shortcuts rather than reading. Turkle ties this thought of distraction with the act of multitasking. She believes that all this multitasking leads to further distraction and lack of communication. “In another company, a manager begins her team’s meetings by having all laptops and cell phones put into a basket at the door. She’s tired of meetings where people do their email.” Preventing distractions in meetings can make the conversation thrive and make the whole process more productive and open to conversation. When distractions are banished, everything is able to have higher productivity and opens the room to deep conversations and eye contact. The alternative is workers and students half listening, little to no eye contact, and empty conversations.