At one point in out high school careers, we have all seen someone get caught texting in class. Have you ever looked around the class right at that moment when the teacher openly asks ,"Excuse me, are you texting?" Right at that moment, over half of the class slyly slips their hand into their backpack and puts on an innocent expression, only to sigh a breath of relief when they realize the question was not directed at them. We all know the risk we run by texting in class. The thought of loosing our cell phones is earth-shattering, but for some reason, we just cannot stop.
This reminds me of one of Nicholas Carr's points that as our use of technology increases, we begin to have a shorter attention span and a weaker short term memory. This seems to explain why we have difficulty pulling away from our phones. Everytime I try to do homework, with my phone sitting beside me, I wind up texting and checking my phone about every three minutes, depending on how many conversations I have going. Then, my mind begins to play tricks on me. "Was that my phone ringing? Did my phone just vibrate? Did they text me back yet?" Of course, this continues on in class, when I need to ask my friend something but they are all the way across the room. My phone is sitting in my back pack just waiting for me to unlock it. What I have to say to my friend really is not that important, but in my mind, I need to text, NOW!
One day, when I was in desperate need to focus on studying, I powered down my phone for a few hours. There was something liberating about turning off my cell phone. It almost feels like you are disconnecting from everyone, and for that time the world is silent
I am pretty sure that I am not alone with this addiction to texting, and that this short attention span does not only apply to texting. Distractions are all around us, and now they have infiltrated the classroom. Are we really in control of these habits? Will we be consumed by technology, or will we be able to put the phone down? Why has it become so difficult to disconnect?
I am not really addicted to texting but I do have to need to always be on my ipod.We can be in control of these habbits but I think that it has to take great will power because believe me, I have tried to hide all my electironics but they some how they still end up in my hands. I agree with Carr, the more you use technology, the easier it is to get distracted.
ReplyDeleteTechnology has already consumed us. Everywhere I go people are consumed in technology because they are riding bikes with their earbuds in, texting and biking, texting and driving, walking and texting. They are doing activities that is dangerous to do when distracted. At first I didn't get why people couldn't even put the phone down in class until I got addicted to my ipod and wanted to play with it in class. That is when I ended up not bringing my ipod to school so I would not be tempted.
Also to more we use technology, the harder it is to disconnect. Like Carr said, we don't want to disconnect because we don't want to feel out of the loop. We have the need to stay in the loop because then we feel like an outcast.
its true that we are always on our phones or other electronics but when we want to get away from them it seems like we can't its like an addiction to electronics that won't go away.
ReplyDeleteI have also had a difficult time putting my phone away during class. As you stated, it's hard to not pick up your phone and not check it every three minutes. At this very moment, I am gazing at my phone fighting with myself deciding whether to pick it up and be distracted for twenty minutes or to continue writing this response. In class, I may be caught with my phone out, but the teacher gives a warning. All I can think about is if I could see my screensaver or check Facebook one more time. Just when the teacher turns around I slowly pull my phone back out of my pocket and continue what I started. There is no way that I can, not, have my phone with me everywhere I go. It's sad to say but it's an addiction. It's taking away from doing my work and having family time. I agree that we are being consumed by technology. In the doctors office, I see people using their phone. I even see people driving in their car using their phone. If we cannot stop using our phones while we drive, there is a serious problem.
ReplyDeleteI went to the movies recently to see Total Recall. As I was enjoying the movie, I noticed that no one had cell phones. When I first saw it, I thought to myself what a sad world they live in, but as I looked closer, they did have cell phones. Their cell phones were implanted in their hands. That is a world that has truly been taken over by technology. Forget about losing your phone or getting a ticket on the freeway, you will never lose your cell phone again when it is injected into your skin. It amazed me to think, this could be us in the future. Cell phones implanted in our hands? It would be very hard to distance yourself from it. It would distract us completely. It is sad to say that if we had to choose between losing school work that will determine half our grade, or losing our cell phone, most of us would choose misplacing our school work.
Texting to me isn't such a bad habit. To me neither is technology. It was invented and given to us for a reason, so why not use it as much as we can? Yeah, some people get a little carried away by using it all the time especially when they're not supposed to, but like I said, its there so why not? I don't agree with the whole tecting in class thing, to me thats rude and disrespectful and I only do it when its really important.I believe that technology isn't that bad, but its probably because I'm no that crazy about it, I can live without it.
ReplyDeleteI am conflicted with the same problem everyday. As soon as I get home, the first thing I pull out is my phone. Whether it's to text or call someone, it has to be in view for me to feel like its home. I sleep with it near me and wake with it close to me as well. When it dies, I die with it. It's such a pain to go a day without it. It's as if a part of me is missing and I have grown so attracted to it. My phone is like a drug that insidiously rots my mind by keeping me away from more important things in life like schoolwork and the outside world.
ReplyDeleteI believe, though, that if we are forced by our authorities to put our phones away, we can once again learn how to live without them like we have years before. If we made an effort to rid of our bad habits, we can correct it and retrieve back our focus and concentration.
It is a MAJOR understatement when I say that your example is extremely relevant. I have the tendency to constantly check up on my phone, even at times when nobody is having a conversation with me. Just the fact that I can start a conversation and be entertained is enough for my thoughts to be bothered from my intense session of studying.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that texting has become such a crucial part of our day-to-day lives that we don’t exactly know what else to do without it. We become so consumed by our cellphones everyday, which is why it has become so difficult to let go of it and focus on something else. Although these habits have become seemingly uncontrollable, I believe that we CAN do something about it still. Just like your example: you turned off your phone and managed to overcome the insane pressure to text. It takes a great amount of force and focus upon oneself, but it CAN be done.
I absolutly agree with you. I have gotten my phone taken away twice this last year (not for texting, someone had called me), but I still had the urge to text. I had to force myself to turn my cell phone off everyday before class and hide it in my backpack. I even locked it in my band locker several times. But then I found myself thinking "I wonder if anyone is texting me..." and I didn't like not having my phone in my pocket. It felt wrong. Society has groomed our generation to have our phone glued to our hands or earbuds in our ears. I think if we wanted to we could control it, but the thing is we don't want to. Like Faith said, it can be done. But will we ever be able to?
ReplyDeleteHobbies and actions such as texting are called habits bcause they are difficult ot break. It is synonymous with a drug addiction. It is very difficult to break once you start using it. The only way to break free of the addiction is with a weaker version of the habit. Another way we break this habit is by forming a new habit. For example, when texting becomes outdated a new type of communication will emerge. People will easily break their habit of texting, but at what cost? They will easily be sucked into another habit. It is more reassuring to be content with this habit than create a new, addictive habit simply to replace the old one. It is near impossible to disconnect because the phone or another piece of technology is connected to our brains by an invisible cord. Technology has grown and become one with us.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this, i felt it was talking about me. I feel the exact same way about texting. I agree when Nicolas Carr says technology is shortening our attention spans because it really is. Instead of going too read a book to find information, we would all just go on the internet and search it all on google, am I right. This causes us to rely on technology for every single little thing in our lives which is eating our brains up. I feel we are capable of quiting this addiction and its just that we dont want to because it will make us feel out of place and disconnected
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