There is no doubt that smartphones play an important role in our lives in modern society. It would be very difficult to find a person that does not own a cell phone of some degree or who was not connected to the internet by these miracles of modern technology. With the tap on a smartphone, we gain access to unlimited amounts of information and goods. This can be good and it can be bad as well.
For Essay #2, you all will take a deeper look at the following essays:
“Growing Up Tethered” by Sherry Turkle on pages 582-595
“Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation?” by Jean M. Twenge on Bb via PDF
Read both, annotate and prepare to write an argumentative essay on the following prompt:
In Sherry Turkle’s “Growing Up Tethered” and Jean M. Twenge’s “Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation?” both authors argue how smartphones/cell phones impacted our lives. Turkle contends that mobile technologies have reduced adolescent autonomy in a traditional sense; similarly, Twenge argues that this generation, which she calls “IGen”, is less happy and more disconnected socially due to cell phones. With these authors’ arguments in mind, develop an essay that considers the validity of their critiques of smartphones and social media. To what extent are their critiques valid–especially today? Are the effects of smartphones and social media as bad as they contend or is our relationship with technology much more complicated? Possibly even beneficial? In answer to these questions develop an original argument that considers our complicated relationship with the smartphone.