Amy Goldwasser discusses about how young people of today do not read and write like people in the past have done. She uses various types of evidence to support her argument such as statistics, personal statements from other people and descriptions of the past along with examples of books and speeches. In particular, she notes what Doris Lemming describes the new generation as “a fragmenting culture" in which "young men and women … have read nothing, knowing only some specialty or other, for instance, computers” (qtd. In Goldwasser). Computers is mostly all this generation knows,…
In the article, “Online freedom will depend on deep forms of web literacy” the author Navneet Alang reveals the importance of “teaching kids language and rhetoric, so that one day they might pick apart politician’s speeches or learn to recognize a scam.” Adults even now in our time and age struggle to do such a thing. This is why we must first attempt to understand, then pass our knowledge along to our children, in hopes that they continue passing down the awareness. He starts his article with a personal uncontrollable example that he faced; Google redesigning Google Reader. He reveals how stranded he felt “in this newly alien environment that used to seem like home.” This situation is an example of how powerless we are when wanting to match…
In his book Hamlet’s Blackberry: Building a Good Life in the Digital Age, author William Powers discusses how we as a society have become too dependent on digital technology, even though it provides many of its conveniences. He uses many different rhetorical appeals, using pathos, ethos, and logos, to convince his readers of the dangers of an over-dependence on technology. For this particular writing, you’ll be discussing some of these appeals that Powers uses. First, you will be choosing one of these topics as the subject of your writing.…
“What’s the Matter with Kids Today,” composed by Amy Goldwasser, is a strong argument against the assumption that Internet and other new found technology is worthless. Goldwasser begins her argument by giving you examples of the opposing view. For instance, within her first three paragraphs she gives many negative views against Internet use, one being a survey conducted by a research organization called Common Core. “A phone (land line!) survey of 1,200 17-year-olds… researched Feb. 26, found our young people are living in “stunning ignorance of history and literature.” (Goldwasser 666) This survey led to the acceptance speech of Doris Lessing, a British novelist and playwright, for winning a Nobel Prize in literature, where she referred too many as “a fragmenting culture,” and states that, “young men and women… have read nothing, knowing only some specialty or other, for instance, computers.” (Goldwasser 666)…
We are so distracted by technology. Many jokes are made of how youth do not know how to communicate without their cell phone. In Fahrenheit 451, Clarisse is told she needs to be more social, though she speaks a lot. Our society deems face to face interaction less desirable then a quick text, or snap chatting. Our ability to communicate has lessened. Neil Gaiman also shares the same sentiments as Bradbury towards literacy. In his lecture on why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming, he states “The drive to know what happens next, to want to turn the page, the need to keep going, even if it 's hard, because someone 's in trouble and you have to know how it 's all going to end … that 's a very real drive. And it forces you to learn new words, to think new thoughts, to keep going.” (Gaiman) He goes on to state why we need to promote reading. Literacy creates a more well-rounded society. Through Fahrenheit 451, we are shown how censorship can breakdown a society and how literacy promotes a better…
Ray Bradbury illustrated a futuristic world in Fahrenheit 451 where technology is prevalent in everyday life. Although this book was written in 1953, it accurately predicts how society functions today. Society currently has adjusted to the constant use of technology, with the average media exposure, including multitasking, jumping from 7 hours and 29 minutes per day to 10 hours and 45 minutes per day within 10 years (Foehr). Bradbury’s views on society in Fahrenheit 451 reflects the articles An Electronic Fog Has Settled Over America and Generation M2- Media in the Lives of 8- to 18 Year Olds, which represents society today, to illustrate that media shields society from focusing on their surroundings and finding personal contentment.…
The general argument made by Juan Andrade in his article, “The Next Civil Rights Frontier is Digital ”, is that too many students are at a technological disadvantage. More specifically, when it comes to supply list, it is no longer just pen, pencils, and paper, now students are encouraged to obtain internet access at home. In this passage, Andrade is suggesting that too many families lack the monthly subscription, and digital literacy to benefit themselves from the technology’s values. These students will find themselves with a drawback due to their financial or literary circumstances compared to their peers. Studies show that only 53% of Latinos have internet access at home, compared to a 74% of caucasian households. In conclusion,…
We all know television and many other types of electronic media plays a huge role in our daily lives. We are not learning anything from many of these technologies because they are doing all the thinking for us. These electronic devices are minimizing our literature intake, taking up the majority of our time, and are stealing our children's childhood. These secular antipathies are growing more and more against our studies of literature and are drifting us toward having and being an illiterate society. Literature is a very important tool in helping us to understand and to teach us that critical thinking is a vital legitimate Christian pursuit. As students we have to use computers on a daily basis for our education, which is using media for great purpose, but we need to start limiting our media use as well as our families.…
In the Frontline video titled Digital Nation, Rachel Dretzin and Douglas Rushkoff explored the impact of digital media on today’s society. In the video they cover everything from it’s impact on the brain, to it’s impact on students, to it’s impact on the military. Nothing is spared in this investigation on the effect of digital media, and growing up in a wired world. However the main thing I managed to take away from this film was it has had a dramatic effect on human abilities and communication, which I will be discussing in the following paragraphs.…
Firstly, Carr argues that the internet has greatly affected by readers the loss of concentration. As the author states, “The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle” (Carr). Carr blames the internet for humans not being able to read and think as deeply as before. Secondly, Carr discusses that technologies impact a problem in today's society. As Carr states “Television programs add text crawls and pop-up ads, magazines and newspapers shorten their articles, introduces capsule summaries, and crowd their pages with easy- to-browse-snippets.” The author argues that humans rely on network technology because it is changing our brain structure. However, he also explain that people have depended on the internet that everything that went to a book has become easier to look up on the internet. Lastly, Carr believe that people are not using critical thinking as to interpret the text and interact with information “mere decoders of information” (qtd. in Carr). Maryanne Wolf a psychologist at Tufts University believe that people are not have the capacity of deep reading. Ultimately, Carr discourage the internet and direct the reading to be less…
Synthesis Essay Complete the Culminating Conversation exercise on page 166 of your textbook. You will have the entire class period on Tuesday to read and take notes on sources and the entire class period on Wednesday to write and revise. The assignment will be due at the start of the school day on Thursday. Use MLA format for citations.…
To understand the role of multiliteracies in pedagogy theory development, it is important to define the term literacy. Literacy is an evolving term that refers to an individual’s ability to construct and comprehend meaning via the accepted symbol systems of one’s country or language group (Winch, Johnston, March, Ljungdahl, Holliday, 2010). These symbol systems include written and spoken language and visual information such as icons and other graphical information. While literacy was traditionally viewed as a cognitive process with a focus on reading, writing and numeracy identification, in recent years its definition has become broadened to encompass the burgeoning text types being generated via multimedia and information technology (Winch et al., 2010). These electronic text types have quickly established themselves as integral components of a diverse range of 21st century vocations and social interactions (Tan, 2006).…
Ever since the advent of the modern digital culture, there have been some heated discussions on the topic of whether technology is a foe or a friend. Some people argue that it is influencing us negatively, scattering our attention and diffusing our concentration, while others believe otherwise, suggesting that it is making our lives more efficient and convenient. The emergence of such technology not only enhances some of our fundamental cognitive abilities, but also enables us to explore more of what is we are truly interested in.…
An interview with Ronda Zelezny-Green, a PhD student who conducted a study on the use of Worldreader at a girls’ school in Nairobi, Kenya, is a prime example…
Literature is a gateway that provides intellectual resources for young generations to grow and prosper as individuals. It allows for the continuation in development regarding; knowledge, communication, and speaking skills. At a very young age, children will visit libraries to check out a picture book to begin learning those skills. As they begin to transition into adulthood; the tendency of visiting the library slowly dims. Shortly, there’s no more use in public libraries because a cell phone is easy to acquire. As our life begins to move on, social media becomes a part of society. Eventually, there becomes a faint distinct between who we are, and what we have become.…