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Breanna Watson
Professor Wyman
English 111

The Fear of Technology

Technology is fear; this is the new way of learning in this generation. The way of
learning that is creating our minds to work easier, but also creating them to be lazy. This trend
is being caused by society not wanting to look up the information, but by letting the internet do it
for them. Instead of using more engaging learning techniques, they are relying completely on
technology. Our minds are losing how society used to evolve in learning and instead of using
technology as a source society is using it as their main material. Technology is creating an
inability to maintain attention academically.
Engagement is one of the most important ways of learning and with the evolution of
technology students are reverting to other ways of learning. Whether its learning with online
courses, YouTube, the web..etc the normal engagement with others is becoming very scarce.
Author Barry Alford would agree as he states the most concrete way I know is to engage my
students, and have them engage each other, in the formation of topics and strategies in the
classroom ( pg. 280). He believes that by engaging his students they are learning hands on and
retaining the information. Alford believes in the voice of a person. Society is its own voice,
technology is not. Technology hides the voice. It takes away a persons ability to make their own
decisions. It cripples the mind and makes the decision for them. Nicholas Carr, another great
author, would also agree with Alfords statement as he believes in the traditional ways of
learning. Carr says that users are not reading in the traditional ways but that they are simply
relying on the new form of reading called power browsing (pg. 372). By power browsing there

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is no time for deep engagement in reading, there is only time for small amounts of information.
This brings us to the problem of society and reading.
They lead to this important thing we call reading. Reading is a huge part of our learning.
As a child we are taught to read thoroughly, but in the recent generations reading has come to a
whole different level. With technology here we seem to always try and find the easy way out.
We focus on just getting things done instead of really getting the full affect of something.
Nicholas Carr makes a valuable point when he says having access to the web and reading online
he is just seeking convenience (371). The web isnt helping further reading it is lowering the
ability to really retain information. Bruce Freidman supports Carr with his web experience as he
simply tells society I cant even read War at Peace anymore or even a blog three or four
paragraphs because its too much to absorb. I skim it(371). He is simply stating that he has also
taken the easy way out. He has relied so much on the evolution of technology that he cant even
sit down and enjoy a novel anymore that its too difficult for him to read. That simply shows how
much technology has taken over if even a well-educated author cant read a book as he once did
before. This goes to show just how bad our society is losing their ability to thoroughly read and
retain information. They are taking the easy way out and using the convenience of the web and
skimming.
Why do we skim? We skim to get the information we need and only that, but think about
it. Are we actually benefitting from it? What are we teaching our brains? We are teaching them
to only focus on the little bit of information and just that. We arent thinking about how to
improve we are only thinking about how easy and quick we can get the task done. By doing this
our brain is losing the ability to learn. It loses drive to hold information. We are teaching
ourselves to think like a computer. This is not to say that all technology is bad when it comes to

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the internet, but what happens when the computer shuts down? Where is all the information? All
the information is lost because the main source is gone and your brain isnt trained to retain
information anymore. So why skim? A person benefits hardly anything when skimming. By
reverting to the old ways of learning and actually training yourself to remember and think about
what it is you are actually learning there are no worries when the computer shuts down. Jack
Mezirow does a great job explaining how society creates a frame when it comes to learning. We
transform our frame of reference through critical reflection on the assumptions upon which our
interpretations, beliefs, and habits of mind or points of view are based (269). It implies that we
program ourselves around the things we think are normal for us. Our life becomes a routine
therefore we do nothing to broader our education. As Mezirow would say it is the line of
action (268). We become so used to doing something one way that our brains are trained to
only learn what is necessary for us in our daily routine. There is no more thinking outside the
box. Why must technology take that away from us? It simply comes back down to society taking
the easy way out. Blogger Scott Karp would agree as he states Im just seeking convenience,
but because the way I THINK has changed (371). Not only has technology messed with our
engagement, our reading, made us skim but it is also messing with our thinking process?
What happens when there is no more thinking? Our brain is practically dead. If we dont
think we dont question. If we dont question we dont learn. If we dont learn our brain is the
mentality of what is was at birth. Does that not scare you? With technology there is no thinking.
There is the line of action there is routine Mezirow states (268). We dont think about what we
need to do we just do it. Why because technology is becoming our map and our clock, our
printing press and our typewriter, our calculator and our telephone, and our radio and TV (373).
There is no more thinking about how to do a simple math problem or how to read a map because

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technology does it for us. We dont have to think about the steps to solve a problem someone
does it for us and we allow it. Why? Because we are LAZY! Think about it. We are allowing
something to take over our mind that isnt even a person.
Society needs a wakeup call. Soon technology is going to take over the world and nothing
traditional will be left. We will be left with programmed minds and laziness. Is that what we
really want society to come to? The Pew Research Center however, would argue the case. They
strongly believe that technology will only further our education. As they state technology isnt
the problem it is the peoples inherent character traits that technology only enables them to be
more of what they already are (381). Is that what you think? Think about the facts that are laid
out in front of you.
Technology is fear. Fear that all traditional ways are going to be lost as technology
furthers. We need to train our minds to work hard not easy, to be strong not lazy. As we allow
technology to take control we lose the ability to think, to engage, and the ability to read
thoroughly. Technology is fear, fear that is creating an inability to maintain attention
academically.

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Works Cited
Alford, Barry. "Freirean Voices, Student Choices." Editors, Mid Michigan. Exploring
Relationships:
Globalization and Learning in the 21st Century. n.d. 279-282.
Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Editors, Mid Michigan. Exploring
Relationships:
Globalization and Learinig in the 21st Century. n.d.
370-377.
Center, The Pew Research. "Does Google Make Us Stupid?" Editors, Mid Michigan.
Exploring
Relationships: Globalization and Learning in the 21st Century. n.d. 377386.
Mezirow, Jack. "Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice." Editors, Mid Michigan.
Exploring
Relationships: Globalization and Learning in the 21st Century. n.d. 268274.