Republic of the Philippines

LEYTE NORMAL UNIVERSITY

Tacloban City

Name: Samantha Nicole C. Quintana

Course & Year: BTLED 4th Year
Section: ET41
Instructor: Mr. Samuel Amid

WORKSHEET: Article Reading

Read the article by Conolly and Miller, “Is Human Flourishing in the ICT World of the
Future Likely?”
Link:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/MarkCoeckelbergh/publication/270479838
_Mogelijkheid_van_een_eiland_Houellebecqs_heimwee_naar_de_mens/links/55413
ce30cf2b790436bc9c6/Mogelijkheid-van-een-eiland-Houellebecqs-heimwee-naar-
de-mens.pdf
Answer the following comprehensively.
1. What is the effect of information and communication technology to human
flourishing? Do you agree? Why or why not?
• Based on the article, it is said that Information and Communication
Technology affects our reading comprehension. Recent research
continues to find evidence that readers of print texts perform significantly
better on reading comprehension tasks than readers who read digital
texts (Ackerman & Lauterman, 2012; Ji, Michaels, & Waterman, 2014;
Mangen, Walgermo, & Brønnick, 2013). Aside from that, ICT or
electronic devices contains potential distractibility to the users. it makes
us have difficulties in focusing with our tasks. As we become distracted
by these devices, our reading comprehension declines. With that, there
will be negative effects towards our performances as a student and as a
worker such as getting low grades, unhealthy study habits, and
withdrawal from relationships which contradicts to the human flourishing.
I agree with the findings from the article because I can personally attest
to those statements. With the advent of social media especially TikTok,
Facebook, and Instagram I develop this kind of unhealthy behavior which
is the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). I spend majority of my time scrolling
through these platforms just so I won’t miss out on any new trends that I
tend to neglect my academic responsibilities. And even if I set a time to
study, I easily get distracted by my phone or other devices. When using
my laptop in studying or creating an output, it is hard for me to stay
focused on the reading material and there is always a tendency that I will
open my Facebook account and browse. It is really alarming because I
could see that my academic performance is slowly being affected by this
habit and there is also a significant decline in my drive or motivation to
be an excellent student which hinders my life to flourish. Though, we
really cannot deny that ICT still has positive effects to human flourishing
 it’s just that, we sometimes forget about self-discipline and control when
using these devices.

Read the article by Jason Hickel titled, “Forget Developing Poor Countries, Its Time to
Develop Rich Countries.
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-
network/2015/sep/23/developing-poor-countries-de-develop-rich-countries-sdgs
Answer the following comprehensively.
1. The article criticized the use of growth as the main strategy for the eradication
of poverty. Why is that so?
• They criticized the use of growth as the main strategy for the eradication
of poverty because it is simply not working and we’ve already grown too
much. Based on the article, the global economy has grown by 380%
since the 1980 but the number of people living in poverty has increased
by more than 1.1 billion. It just goes to show that growth is not the answer
to eradication of poverty rather, we should take a look at the
overconsumption of rich countries that’s pushing us into this global crisis.
2. Based on the article, why do we need to de-develop rich countries? Do you
agree?
• Based on the article we need to de-develop rich countries because these
countries have excessive overconsumption of the world’s resources.
That instead of pushing poorer countries to catch up, we should be
thinking of ways to get rich countries to catch down to more appropriate
levels of development. I firmly agree with this because their ways
including overconsumption is severely affecting many aspects of the
world particularly the environment. These countries contribute vastly to
climate change, waste production and destruction of the environment in
general and in return, those who are in the developing countries are
affected and pushed further into poverty and hinders their life to flourish.
3. What is the connection of the article to human flourishing and the progress of
science and technology?
• The significant connection of the article to human flourishing is that, it
teaches us that attaining overall happiness, wellbeing and life
expectancy does not mean you have to be living a lavish and excessive
lifestyle. Studies show that a number of low- and middle-income
countries rank highly in the measures of overall happiness and
wellbeing. Costa Rica being an example, they manage to sustain one of
the highest happiness indicators and life expectancies in the world with
a per capita income one-fourth that of the US. To attain human
flourishing, it should start with us. Our small ways could contribute
significantly therefore, we should be mindful of our consumption,
understand that we have limited resources, be responsible users of
technological advancements and practice sustainable lifestyle to
achieve global prosperity.