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Title: The Technology of this Generation Thesis Statement: Technology, I've concluded, is of great use to America's teens, allowing for much productivity and communication, it seemingly has more benefits than anything else. Topic Sentences: Though our cell phones and computers harbor many distractions, they are also what help us to learn the most. Apart from productivity, communication is an amazing benefit from the constant use of technology. Source Material: Room for Debate Article YouTube Video with Dr. Amanda Third from the University of Western Sydney Web Site Matches Ready Teens and Willing Employers Rebuttal: Now, Many people argue that teens should not have access to technology because there are so many distractions, I understand that, I do. But the bigger issue is that our society no longer allows for failure, they are looking for perfection in an imperfect world. Yes our devices offer distractions, yes there are many who are willing to take advantage of the entertainment provided, and use it to help them procrastinate, to put off their work until later. I also understand that could cause teens to flunk an assignment, to forget something important, or lose sleep. But after that happens, it becomes an instant wake-up call, people learn the most from failure. You can never stand up without having fallen down. We had to fall down a few times before we could even learn how to walk. Of course we’re going to fall down a few times with harder things like high school, or college, or sports, or relationships, or anything else for that matter. We’re allowed to fall every once in awhile, and if it’s not caused by distractions offered by our phones, then it will be from board games, a hobby, playing with the springy doorstops, if we are being distracted, it is because we already wanted to be distracted. Argument Summary: Altogether, I believe I wrote a very convincing argument. I feel that I did a great job of acknowledging and responding to another viewpoint. I know that I need to shorten the length of the assignment, and I definitely feel that there are some parts I could strengthen, but apart from that, I feel as though my argument was very convincing to the general audience, and that I had some great supporting points. Many argue that teenagers are addicted to today's technology, and that it is a major concern for both their health and mentality, but it could actually be the thing that sparks the most creativity. Whether its due to homework, being grounded, or parents wanting to keep their children safe, America's teens are constantly stuck indoors; this makes it difficult to connect with their peers. Whereas previous generations stayed at the park from dawn to dusk with their friends, most teenagers feel that they never have a chance to see their friends, one of the things that inspires the most creativity, storytelling, and causes development of the frontal cortex, the part of the brain that allows for decision making.. Technology allows a bridge to be built, allowing communication between friends even while stuck inside. It allows for friends to share opinions, gain support, or share stories of events someone might have missed out on. Technology is also vital for learning, and education. Maybe a teen's favorite video game showed them their love for programming, maybe a smartphone is the only opportunity a person has to learn an instrument, plus, there's always just the enjoyable and beneficial communication of a friend who lives far away. Technology, I've concluded, is of great use to America's teens, allowing for much productivity and communication, it seemingly has more benefits than anything else.
This issue was debated by five experts on the New York Times' Room for Debate page, the article, Is Internet Addiction a Health Threat for Teenagers? used five different viewpoints and decided to let the reader decide. Danah Boyd, author of "It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens." explained that we should blame the society we live in, and not the screens themselves. Chris Bergman, founder and chief executive of ChoreMonster, followed a similar line of thought and went on about how we shouldn't limit the amount of time teenagers are allowed on technology, because it affects their behavior once they're out of their parents sight. After that, Brendesha Tynes, professor of education and psychology at University of Southern California, took her debate article in a totally different direction, and decided to share how she feels that Cyberbullying is the bigger issue. Yale professor of psychiatry, child study, and neurobiology, Marc Potenza, tells us that although more research is needed, he believes it to truly be a problem for America's youth. Finally, Kimberly Young, author of "Caught in the Net: How to Recognize the Signs of Internet Addiction — and a Winning Strategy for Recovery," "Internet Addiction: A Handbook and Guide for Evaluation and Treatment" and other books. shares her tips for regulating the amount of time your child or teenager spends on technology. Though our cell phones and computers harbor many distractions, they are also what help us to learn the most. My free time is spent on websites such as Wikihow, Wikia, and BeeACoder.com, not to mention countless hours spent learning random trivia. It's the only way I have access to sheet music to continue studying piano, and it's how I complete any and all of my homework, not to mention more than half of my studies. My friends use their laptops to mix and edit their music, design with CAD, and share their latest paintings. More often then not, my teenage bother spends his time using YouTube to learn as much as he possibly can about the mysteries of science. We have access to the world through our phones and our computers, that's why the majority of us our stuck to them. We can learn anything we want from the comfort and safety of our own homes. Teenagers are given the opportunity to skip through years of school online, when entering into a cyber school setting, so long as you have the ability to keep up with the work, you're in whatever grade you want to be in. Our technology is one of the greatest resources we have, without it, we could never have made as much progress as we have today. Apart from productivity, communication is an amazing benefit of the constant use of technology. Recently, millions of teens moved around the world to begin their college experience, they left behind the people they knew, the things they were accustomed to, and the places they grew up. Without their social media and SMS capabilities, they might never talk to some of their friends or family again. With sites such as Facebook. Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and so many others, there's no end to the possibilities of how you can keep in touch with your loved ones. You can keep them up to date with the latest things going on in your life, or just enjoy looking through old memories on your friends' pages. Even high school students reap the benefits of having these social media sites. If you're away from friends on holiday, or if you cannot find a way to meet up, you can call, text, or chat with them almost all the time. You always have a friend nearby, without actually having to have a friend nearby. In my life, technology is vital for communication. My grandparents live in Florida half the year, my mom's side of the family lives over an hour away, the best friends anyone could ever have either live over an hour away, or in California, and as a homeschooler, I tend to see my friends Sunday mornings at church, or Wednesday and Saturday evenings at youth group. So when something insane happens and I need to talk to someone, it may be a few days before I even have a chance to talk to them. Although with messenger, it only takes until the time their phone dings, after that, we can chat on for hours with ever having to make an extensive commute. I personally find this to be one of the greatest benefits technology has to offer. Communication and Productivity are great things that come out of a teen's use of technology. Without the usage of technology, teenagers would never have had the ability to learn as much as they do, they wouldn't easily be able to follow after their passions, and they would have an extremely difficult time connecting with their friends and families. It has become such a major part of each teenager's life, that I believe they would be much worse off without it. It is the reason for so many of our advances, although the are a few distractions and issues that come with it, I truly believe technology makes up for them every step of the way. I also believe that the most important benefit of technology is the communication it provides us with. Technology shapes the way teenagers think, and how they act, it helps them to learn and to grow, and without it, I think our generation would look very different. Last night, Wednesday October 28th, was the third Republican Debate, and the candidates made a very valid point. The Democrats have the ultimate super PAC going for them; the media. It drives me insane, Hillary sent out confidential information on her own personal secure server, yet the media idolizes her and says how everything she does is amazing. Here's what Marco Rubio had to say about this: Last week, Hillary Clinton went before a committee. She admitted sending emails to her family saying, "Hey, this attack on Benghazi was caused by Al Qaeda-like elements." She spent over a week telling the families of those victims that it was because of a video. And yet, the mainstream media is going around saying it was the greatest week in Hillary Clinton's campaign... It was the week she got exposed as a liar. It was the week that she got exposed as a liar. But she has her super PAC helping her out. The American mainstream media. Before that, Donald Trump said: Super PAC's, are a disaster, they're a scam, they cause dishonesty, and you better get rid of them. Because they are causing a lot of bad decisions to be made by some very good people... You better get rid of the super PAC's, because they're causing a big problem with this country. Not only in dishonesty, and what's going on, but also in a lot of bad decisions that are being made. In the benefit of lobbyists and special interests "The questions that have been asked so far in this debate, illustrate why the people don't trust the media." Said Ted Cruz, "This is not a cage match, and, if you look at the questions... How about talking about the substantive issues people care about?"
The media has a clear bias, we know the media wants a democrat, just like we know everything else it wants. The American mainstream media just puts out one bias after another, and they never give you both sides. You know what they want, and seeing as they're such big influencers, you know what we're going to get. That's what I chose to take out of the debate, because it was one of the biggest truths there. If you caught the first democratic debate on CNN last night, you may have seen Bernie Sander's views on tuition-free college. He said "If our economy is to be strong, we need the best-educated work force in the world." Although this fact is true, I disagree with him when he says that public college's will be free. One, he wants to pay for it with tax payer money. Two, There are too many questions that need answering. Can everyone get into college? Or is it just free for those who can be accepted in to the college. Will going to college become something that is solely based off of a person's grades? After tax dollars, will the government have to pay for it all, or will people have to pay for college once again?
Personally, I don't see how the government could even think of spending any more money. When will they realize that nothing in this world is truly free? I am against a free college. Bernie Sanders says he will only be forcing the rich to pay. But is that really true? How can we know for sure? Eventually, the government would boost everyone's taxes, and we would be paying for millions of people to go to college. That's great for them, but can we seriously afford to pay those taxes ourselves? If they do actually care, then they shouldn't be trying to make colleges free, but instead they should be trying to reduce tuition. Maybe cut it in half. They would still be using tax payer dollars, but it wouldn't be as big of a blow when we have to start paying. That's my honest opinion. What about you? What solutions do you have? What crazy ideas do you have that could change the way we look at a free college system? Say whatever you'd like in the comments, good, bad, or anything in between, I want to hear what you have to say on this matter. |
Rebekah W
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