Homework #20, Big Paper Revised Draft

Introduction:
Without even walking out the door, you can have the world at your fingertips. Can you imagine how convenient that would be? Oh wait, we already live in a world that is like that. There are many reasons that people like digital technology. It might be the fact we can always control it, or that it is always at our disposal, or that it delivers such a realistic sense of reality. In actuality, I think technology is a bridge that is faulty. Technology is so time-consuming, and it takes away from doing the things in life that we can actually get joy out of. Instead of spending so much time texting, or on the computer, we should spend more time outdoors, on walks, and in nature. People should worry more about real issues instead of how late someone was to text them back. Although technology can be helpful in many ways, it is very important to be able to put it aside and get in touch with creative and more personal pursuits.

Argument I a:
Technology is a useful tool for helping people stay in touch with each other. Even before cell phones, technology has been useful in times of urgency: “The best moment of having it was when Ra (my baby sitter) paged me after the first bomb in the world trade center. You were one and you guys were there right before it went off so I was so glad to hear from her!” My mom was discussing how useful beepers were on February 26th, 1993, after the World Trade Center Bombing happened because she was really worried about my babysitter and I. Since my babysitter had paged her, my mom knew that we were all right. I read an article speaking about when the first beeper had came out, and it discussed how newly weds, elderly people, and school kids now had beepers as well as plumbers and doctors. There was a couple that said how they bought beepers because the woman was pregnant and she said, "Our game plan is that I would call the beeper number wherever I am and he would know it's the time." Without the beeper, this woman would not have been able to contact her husband while he was away working on a trip for business.

Argument I b:
More so today, people depend on their cell phones in case of an emergency, as well as to check if everyone is okay. My mom worries about my little brother and I if we have not texted her after school to tell her where we are going to be. I can admit that I feel weird every time I do not have my cell phone in my pocket, and that I almost always have my cell phone on my person. During the cell phone ban in 2006, there were a lot of worried and angry parents freaking out at the idea of their children traveling without cell phones. “Cell phones are the urban parent’s umbilical cord, the lifeline connecting them to children on buses, emerging from subways, crisscrossing boroughs and traipsing through unknown neighborhood, the Times reports.” This shows the dependence parents and children have on cell phones. It says how cell phones are compared to something natural that we need in order to live basically. A baby cannot get information and nutrients from its mother, if there was no such thing as an umbilical cord. Today cell phones are like a lifeline, and a great tool for parents to know where their children are.

Argument II on why digital technology is good, Interview:
Jace and I interviewed a group of kids who said that they are on forms of digital technology ten hours daily. Out of the ten hours, they said that only two hour are productively spent. "We're more dependent on them," one of the kids admitted. There was a very earnest little girl that said that they "need the computer [for things like] Google. [They] use Facebook, in their spare time. FB is a good thing, for keeping in touch with family” the same little girl talked about keeping in touch with her aunts and cousins etc on facebook. A lot of kids are constantly on the computer, using facebook, and playing video games. This little girl honestly felt like facebook is a good thing, because you can keep in touch with your family, which I agree with yet I think that they are on forms of technology too many hours of the day. These kids were explaining to Jace and I how they can keep in touch with people, they use google to look things up for homework, that they watch television: both trashy and the discovery channel.

Argument III: Control:
One of the things that is so enjoyable about technology is that we can control it completely: “All I have to do is click on you and we’ll be joined in the most soul-less way and we’ll never ever ruin each other’s day cuz when I’m through I just click and you just go away.” (I Love My Computer by Bad Religion) People like things that they can have complete control over. You can send texts on your phone when you want to, and you can close websites on your computer whenever you feel like it. This person is not thinking about another individual’s needs, he was saying how useful it is that when he does not want to put up with the computer anymore he just clicks on a button and it disappears. The singer says that they will be connected in a “soul-less way” showing how artificial the relationship between the computer and its operator is. In this song he also says, “I love my computer, you never ask for more, you can be a princess or you can be my whore.” This is showing how computers can be whatever you want them to be; they can be clean and polite, or they can be used to do your dirty work. It is useful to have a machine like the computer to do homework on, or to look at whatever crazy things people feel like looking at on the computer.

Argument IIII: It suits us:
The synthetic things in life suit us so comfortably that we sometimes forget how fake they really are: “Pants fit our body, digital representation is like pants for the mind. Almost like perfume” smells like something, but is not really what it smells like. It is made out of chemicals. Machines that we use today are all made to seem like reality.

Argument I, Counter Argument:
Instead of spending so much time with electronic devices, people should get more in touch with romanticism. “Reconnect the past. Natural cycles like trees, nature… Not with the artificial stuff like living in castles.” Life in the city vs. life in the country. How a lot of city kids do not get out into the country, and when they do they complain about bugs and other things in nature.


Argument II:
Something in the earth that is released when you are gardening and makes you happy.

Argument III: Interviews:
-With Alice
-Interview with Francesca L
-With Kyle
-With Dad

Conclusion:
People are constantly on a form of digital technology. They are basically addicted to it. They like having cell phones, computers, and video games… at their disposal constantly. A lot of people do not spend time in nature, or without technology.
To be continued


References:
- Beepers: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/07/news/a-new-role-for-beepers-keep-families-in-touch.html
-Quote about phones being like umbilical cords, From Gotham Gazette, Please leave a message: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2006/04/27/please-leave-a-message/
- I Love My Computer by Bad Religion, lyrics:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/badreligion/ilovemycomputer.html