Technology and Attention Spans

Technology Changing Attention Spans Technology is a notion that will never end. New devices will be released and then advanced endlessly. It changes society by altering the environment in which individuals adapt. Technology now is a concept that individuals cannot survive without; an average person needs technology, to eat, to entertain, to cook, and to do many other daily functions. Let’s face it, individuals need technology to survive. But this is to an extent, for example a computer can be one of man’s best friends, it helps us write documents, it helps us obtain knowledge through the internet, such as searching Wikipedia, and it helps us entertain ourselves with games, movies, and music. But the computer can also have side effects to our behavior, and even to our appearance as Richard Restak, professor of neurology suggests in his article “Attention Deficit: The brain syndrome of Our Era.”. Some individuals get so entangled in this technology that their eating and sleeping habits change as do their behaviors. The Internet actually detracts from the communication abilities of society, especially the young. When individual’s communication skills are gradually lessened, they begin spending less time talking to their family, experiencing more daily stress, and feeling more lonely and depressed. In constructive teen years, lack of personal communication due to excessive Internet usage can have an overall negative effect on mental and physical health. Communication skills are critical for everyone, yet use of the Internet is undermining this development. The growth of technology has negatively influenced the social interactions of today's society because it isolates individuals from reality, and hinders communication and understanding.
One custom that has been heightened by the use of technology has been the way that individuals accumulate information from sources. With the recent expansions in technology, people no longer have to make trips to places like public

Cited: Poe, Marshal. “The Hive.” Emerging: Contemporary Readings for Writers. Barclay Barrios. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. 264 – 279. Print. Rekart, Jerome. “Taking on multitasking.” The Phi Delta Kappan. Phi Delta Kappa International. Vol. 93, No. 4 (Dec. 2011/Jan. 2012). 60-63. Article. Restak, Richard. “Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of Our Era.” Emerging: Contemporary Readings for Writers. Barclay Barrios. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. 331-346. Print.