Argumentative Essay: Are You Distracted by Technology?

*This essay sample was written by EssayMama write my essay team.

According to an article, published by Daily Mail, an average person spends 8 hours and 41 minutes on electronic devices. That period of time surpasses the time an average person spends sleeping for 20 minutes. There is no doubt in the fact that people are getting more dependent on technology as time goes by. The only question is: are we too distracted by it? Technology can be a distraction only when people fail to use it responsibly. When a responsible individual uses smartphones, tablets, laptops and other devices to get access to knowledge, contacts and truthful information, technology serves as the most useful tool for elevating their quality of life.

There are moments when technology serves as a great distraction from our daily troubles. We use our smartphones and tablets to record everything around us, memorize reality and record every meal, occasion, and moment of our lives. Those screens and images may distort the actual reality because we tend to present ourselves in a way we want the world to see us. From another point of view, the same technology takes us to places most of us never get to see, it helps us find out every piece of information we need, and it enables us to communicate with any person, regardless of their location. A report from a survey conducted by Pew Research Center showed that 62% of smartphone owners in the U.S. have used their devices to find information about health conditions; 57% relied on their phones to do online banking; and 30% of them have taken a class or accessed educational content via smartphone during 2015.

Technology makes people faster and more efficient. We can order food in the middle of the night, we can schedule and access online business meetings and class discussions, and we reinvent the way our society functions thanks to our devices. Modern technologies provide fast, easy, and convenient access to solutions for the daily challenges we face. The flipped classroom is a great example that shows how technology has taken modern education to a higher level. This problem-based learning method enables students to develop flexible knowledge, self-directed learning skills, effective problem-solving and collaboration skills, and intrinsic motivation.

Technology has taken our world by storm, but it brought many positive aspects that present the big picture. We use computers to shop, write, code, schedule events, buy tickets, and cover many different tasks on our daily to-do lists. The fact that we can access our emails from any place enables us to stay in touch with teachers, parents, and fellow students without any trouble. We need computers to cover school assignments, find more information about the things of our interest, take online courses, meet new friends, reveal the values of distant culture, and find solutions to just about any issue we have. Without the advantages brought to us by the Internet, lack of knowledge would be the greatest distraction in our lives.

The biggest argument against the statement that technology can be beneficial for everyone is the fact that it can be addictive. Children and teenagers, who seem to be absorbed by games, are the most commonly used example that shows how distorted modern values are. The Internet is presented as one of the greatest problems of today's youth. Online media proved to be an extremely powerful weapon to control the population and turn young people into slaves of consumerism. Websites and online magazines that aim towards teenagers are flooded with topics that revolve around makeup, fitness, fashion models, movie stars, and sex. Those topics can certainly serve as a distraction from studying, but they are no different than the themes that absorbed the attention of all previous generations. Young people always found their ways to get their minds off school and homework. Prior to the age of technology, the street was a distraction. Parents were concerned about the amount of time children spent playing outside, but now they are concerned because computers and tablets keep them inside for too long. It seems like the practices and inclinations of the youth will remain the main concern of society for years to come.

Some people triumph when they get to the point of deleting their Facebook and Twitter profiles, so they keep telling everyone how strong and special they are. These actions do not solve their problems. If they are prone to distractions, they will find another way to procrastinate the responsibilities related to studying, work, and family. The way we use contemporary technology is not determined by the content that's being served online, but by our own character. If some people use Facebook as a dating service, a distraction or a way to promote themselves, we cannot blame the creator of this platform for their inability to gain knowledge, meaningful connections, and other benefits from modern technology.

In conclusion, we cannot even imagine living without our smartphones, tablets and laptops. We need these wonders of technology to communicate with the rest of the world and get instant, free access to any piece of information we need. Whether we allow ourselves to be entirely consumed by these devices or we stay resistant to the temptations they impose - that's something we should all decide for ourselves. It's in our nature to adapt everything to our interests. Thus, we take the devices that are available to us and we choose the way we use them. Technology can distract only those who do not plan to use it in the most beneficial way. For everyone else, it's a necessary aspect of the way we function, and it makes us more effective and knowledgeable than humans ever were.

References:
1 Madlen Davies. Average person now spends more time on their phone and laptop than sleeping, study claims. March, 2015. Accessed at https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2989952/How-technology-taking-lives-spend-time-phones-laptops-SLEEPING.html
2 Aaron Smith. U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015. April, 2015. Accessed at https://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/01/us-smartphone-use-in-2015/
3 Hmelo Silver. Problem-based learning: What and how do students learn? Educational Psychology Review, 2004