Paper 1 Practice

By: Jana Tamer

Text 1:
 George Varvel developed a cartoon depicting kids fascinated with their devices in
front of an unoccupied playground, including a yellow caution sign warning drivers that
there are children playing in the area. Sarcastically, there are no children playing; instead,
they are busy on their electronic devices. Varvel brings up an interesting point about how
the term "playing" has evolved through time. Today's generation would reject the concept
of playing in the playground and enjoying life together, instead they prefer to
concentrate and play on their devices. It also demonstrates how kids are addicted to social
media and can always rely on it instead of engaging with other kids.
The cartoonist mainly employs visual elements in the cartoon to appeal to the
viewers and help them comprehend the harmful influence of technology on future
generations. He used a layout that is separated between a background of an empty
playground with no children playing, and a foreground, which shows children who are so
preoccupied with their electronics that they can't feel the world around them; we can see
this concept in the foreshadowing of the two kids ready to hit each other.  Negative space
is also employed extensively in the background to depict the emptiness of the large space
provided for them to play in. Colors are also effective aspects that aid in conveying the
message. He utilized the green color for the field to convey how enjoyable it is to play
there, while the colors in the foreground emphasize how uninteresting and lifeless this
area is. The yellow color of the caution sign indicates that it is a warning to people to be
careful. The children's facial expressions are all the same for a purpose; they're all
unhappy and tired to demonstrate the harmful influence of technology on kids. It provides
the impression that interacting and playing in the playground makes kids happy, yet due
to technological devices, they all appear exhausted and dejected. He uses pathos by
showing sympathetic feelings towards the poor children who won’t live a great childhood
like other generations did, just because of social media and its negative effect on
generations.
Varvel employs observable irony in his comic. We clearly observe it through the
sign that says "caution: children playing," yet the playground is vacant and there are no
children playing there. Instead of playing, the children are observed staring at their
smartphones. The term "Children Playing" that was used on the caution sign refers to
physical actions such as running, hopping, playing ball, or participating in an outdoor
game. With the development of smartphones and other handheld gaming devices, the
phrase "Children Playing" has acquired a new meaning. Children now play by sitting and
looking at a screen. He also exaggerated in the size of the smartphones and devices used
to put the focus on them. The cartoonist is attempting to convey another point by
depicting how children can become totally absorbed by technology to the point where
they no longer could see world around them, instead approaching a virtual world which is
far more unsafe than enjoying playing playground, so the term 'caution' can mean that
they must be more cautious than people who are driving.
 To wrap up, Varvel's purposeful message seems to be that technology is
destroying the future generations. Children are meant to just be energetic and enjoying
time outdoors, but unfortunately, our generation has grown less energetic and
are brainwashed by social media. Since they are so captivated and attracted to their
phones, these children could never enjoy the delights of playing and interacting together
outside.  The one and only aspect that kids nowadays will remember about their
childhood is the time they wasted attached to their devices.