Matt Hobbs
10/13/17
Professor Emerson
ENG 110C
The Dangers of Distractions
An article by the eMarketer states that in 2016, around 95 percent of young adults ages 18 to 24 owned or had access to a smartphone. That means that almost every person in their twenty somethings has the capability and the access to know whatever they want. With this great supply of knowledge comes an even greater supply of distractions. These little beeping and flashing handheld devices can become an extreme distraction for young adults. In a world like today’s, the addicting distractions of advancing technology is dangerous for young adults. Minds of young adults are very fragile and they can often lose sight of what’s important in life. These advancements in technology are making very hard for young adults to straighten out their priorities.
Most parents or older adults would probably agree that this generation is addicted to our phones. Would you blame them for thinking that though? If you were to go to even a restaurant, you could experience this addiction first hand, young adults are on their phones for the duration of the meal, the whole time completely ignoring the people and the real life experiences that are surrounding them. As Anderson, author of “In Defense of Distractions”, states, “The Internet is basically a Skinner box engineered to tap right into our deepest mechanisms of addiction. As B. F. Skinner’s army of lever-pressing rats and pigeons taught us, the most irresistible reward schedule is not, counterintuitively, the one in which we’re rewarded constantly but something called “variable ratio schedule,” in which the rewards arrive at random. And that randomness is practically the Internet’s defining feature: It dispenses its never-ending little shots of positivity”a life-changing e-mail here, a funny YouTube video there”in gloriously unpredictable cycles.”(6) This basically explains how the internet grabs our undivided attention by randomly mentioning our wants or desires, causing us to stay tuned in searching for information that is relevant to the individual. This addiction, some might say, is very easy to obtain at this younger age when our brains are not aren’t fully developed. As Henig, writer of “What is it About 20-Somethings” discussed, “scientists found the children’s brains were not fully mature until at least 25.”(204) This means that young adults can be easily blinded by this technology. Because their brains aren’t fully developed they can fall into the black hole which is the internet.
I am sure that you all have heard the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Growing up, kids are heavily influenced by the people in their community whether it be their immediate families or those of friends. These technological advancements are causing kids to become less social in their own communities. For example, video games, the internet, smartphones, and many other technologies are drawing these young adults away from their communities and towards screens. I for one believe that the adults around twenty somethings have a significant influence when it comes to shaping that young adult. Adults have lived life and are much wiser because they have experienced a ton of more things than us teens. Personally, I think experiencing these real world scenarios teach people a great deal. When young adults are too busy focussing on what they look like on their social media pages they lose the opportunity to make connections and experiences in the real world. Richard Restak, an American neurologist, writes about these connections in “Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of our Era.” He tells a story about this lady who saw something traumatic happen. She witnessed a man commit suicide. “The hardest part of her ordeal, as she expressed it, was that no one would give her more than a few minutes to tell her story. They either interrupted her or, in her words, ‘gradually zoned out.’”(60) What I am trying to get at is the realization that people need to talk to other people. We as humans need that connection to build on each other. Distracted young adults are losing these connections when they become more and more addicted to technology.
Not only is the rapidly advancing technology making it easier for young people to become less connected but it is teaching them that they don’t have to take responsibility. The internet can be a dangerous place. Young adults can post their opinions however they want and still remain anonymous. Online bullying is a huge issue in today and it is becoming easier and easier. People are saying horrible things but aren’t receiving any consequences. This is further delaying the growing up process all together. Taking responsibility is a much needed variable when it comes to growing up. If young people are taught that they can say or do whatever they want online without consequences, then when they are faced with real world interactions they aren’t going to know how to handle a bad situation.
A common factor in success is having a likeable personality and how can you have that quality if you have been tucked away behind a screen ignoring all chances to learn about and create relationships. I believe that people learn more interacting in our world rather that sitting behind a screen. Living in that environment and being exposed to all of the five senses boosts your learning outcome.
Works Cited
Henig, Robin M. “What is it About 20-Somethings.” Emerging Contemporary Readings for Writers, Barclay Barrios, 2016, pp 199-212.
King, Thomas. “Adults, We Need to Have the Talk.” TEDxMelbourne, 19 Nov. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8IrpE9G_v4.
“Critical Reading: Richard Restak “Attention Deficit” – Lessons – Tes Teach.” Tes Teach with Blendspace, www.tes.com/lessons/Qwr8KaOxN5o84A/critical-reading-richard-restak-attention-deficit.
Sam Anderson Published May 17, 2009. “In Defense of Distraction.” NYMag.com, nymag.com/news/features/56793/.
