Annotation for “The Child, the Tablet, and the Developing Mind.”

Bilton, Nick. “The Child, the Tablet, and the Developing Mind.” Bits: The Business of Technology. The New York Times, 31 March 2013. Web. 8 April 2014.

The article explores the idea that a child that spends too much time on technology could possibly have lowered communication skills. The author brings up various studies that state that children who used technology at the dinner tables were not inclined to communicate with people, therefore displayed lower communication skills. Children are not taught reality, and instead are shown constant entertainment via a technological device.
The article reveals how current this issue is, since this was published about a year ago. An anecdote at the start of the article reveals an example of how young children are when exposed to technology. This article provides proof of the age, along with studies that reveal that technology has a psychological effect on interpersonal skills. It suggests lack of reality for these children, who are constantly pacific, fail to learn to communicate properly and what to do when lonely.

Research Proposal: Technology and Youth

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Introduction:

The unknown seems to be the main source of fear for many. In an age where any question can be answered with the click of a button, it is ironic that we are still plagued by this fear of the unknown. What are we afraid of, exactly? Why do parents pull away their children from the computer screen? Why is punishment often stripping a child of TV, cellphone, videogames, and any other electronic device? We don’t know what will happen to our youth. Technology has evolved gradually over centuries, with occasional revolutionary inventions such as the printing press and telephones. With the invention of the internet, technology grew exponentially. Inventions and improved technology shot up rapidly. There is a new version of many phones every year, with the expectation of a new feature and a revolutionary design. The average person’s mind cannot keep up with the changes that technology has made in the 21^st century. Children now have access to information that was never available to them before. How will this digital age affect them? Will this lead them to a sedentary life, lacking social skills and playing mindless games? Or will this lead them to be more educated, creative, and aware of all of the things the world can offer? And, more importantly, what responsibility do we have, as the older generation?

Rationale:

My youngest sister was born in 2004, ten years ago. She has had access to social media, mobile devices, and the internet since she was in kindergarten. Because my family is so large, my parents were unable to monitor her as closely as they had monitored me. But, as the eldest sister, I can see how often she uses technology. The first thing she asks for when I visit home is my laptop or phone. She can utilize a smartphone better than my mother can. A trend had begun to reveal itself: the more she uses technology, the more her grades drop. Is there a correlation? Technology can surely be put to good use. Is there a way to teach her how to use technology for good reasons? Or is it too late? I want to make sure that my sister will be able to understand the benefits and the downfalls of the internet, without making her upset. I want to explore the pros and cons of technology, and how to make the pros more attainable for her. I don’t know what her future will be like without an intervention, and researching this topic will make it clearer to me how much danger she is in right now.

Research Plan:

The focus of my research has mainly been the effects of technology on young children. In an article titled “Pre-school children creating and communicating with digital technologies in the home,” I learned that when pre-school children are exposed to digital technologies, such as toys and games, they are seemingly more creative and have developed communication skills before formal education (McPake 421). On the other hand, articles such as “Study: Teachers Say Technology Sparks Creativity, But They’re Wary of Writing Shortcuts,” give statistics that shows that technology makes students more sloppy and careless when writing (Chavez). I see, firsthand, the effects of technology on my sister such as impatience, short attention span, laziness, addiction, and so forth. More research has to be done to prove those claims (in other words, prove that this is a common thing among children who use technology irresponsibly). I still have to learn about how technology can be utilized in a beneficial way, such as teaching technologies or educational games. I have to learn about ways that this can be implemented in children.

 

Working Bibliography:

Chavez, Stella M. “Study: Teachers Say Technology Sparks Creativity, But They’re Wary Of Writing Shortcuts.” KERA News. KERA News, 16 July 2013. Web. 04 Apr. 2014.

         This article elaborates on a study done by Pew Research Center, stating that  although children become more creative through early access to technology, they began taking shortcuts in writing. This article includes statistics that present the downfalls of technology on youth.

McPake, Joanna, Lydia Plowman, and Christine Stephen. “Pre-School Children Creating And Communicating With Digital Technologies In The Home.” British Journal Of Educational Technology 44.3 (2013): 421-431. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.

This peer-reviewed journal explores the benefits of technology on young children, stating that children gain an advantage when exposed to technology, such as early literacy. They explore the effects of “domestic digital technologies,” such as computers, cell phones, games, and so forth, on children. The paper concludes that technology increases communication skills and creativity.

Implications:

Each generation has a challenge that must be conquered. The past few decades have suffered an ongoing problem: how can technology be reined and used to our advantage. My paper will target an audience that is looking for proof that technology is negatively impacting their children, for relief from the fact that technology can be put to good use, and for examples on how to implement beneficial technology on their children.

 

My little sister playing videogame demos whenever she can

Research Proposal

1. Introduction: Almost all of us once visited zoos where we could appreciate performances of animals or fed on them for fun. As our own perspective, those animals seems to be happy about being treated like this. If we are truly clear of their feelings? Are they willing to always stay in the cages rather than living free in the wild? To some extent, zoos indeed provide animals with space, but this space does not mean comfortable living environments. For those lovely animals, the best habitats are where they are supposed to live. Zoos are irrational existence and we should let animals go to places where they belong.
2. Rationale: When I was studying philosophy in Chinese colleges, I met a professor who cared for animals. In his class, he often told students that since animals just like human beings, have feelings, if we do something bad to them, they will sense painful and sorrowful. According to this reason, he does not eat any meat and he even requires his daughter to follow him. I was so touched by his sincerity and persuaded by his argument that I started to reflect what my attitudes toward those animals during my childhood. Have I ever cared about their feelings? Besides, I read some news that some visitors hurt animals for fun, such as throwing stones to them and feeding them on toxic food. When the pictures of an animal lying on the ground with a painful expression, I sense painful too.
3. Research plan: For this research, what I have already known is news telling visitors hurt animals in zoos. And also some analysis paper about the condition of zoos. Most of them illustrate shortcomings for animals, like their gradual loss of ability to compete, visitors’ feed causing animals’ health problems, and badness for the whole ecosystem. I still need to find some concrete examples instead of summary to illustrate these shortcomings. And I have to find solutions for the question. We should just simply close zoos or we can have other substitutes for them. The solution is also worthy of exploring. I will search for experts’ ideas and methods.
4. Implications: As for me, I have been regarding sympathy as one of the most vital features of human beings, so I plan to depend on this research to express my sympathetic feelings to animals. I want to make endeavor to help them to have a better life on Earth. What’s more, I also want to stir my readers to reflect this serious issue and stimulate them to take action to protect animals. For the whole world, nothing is more important than harmony. Only if we treat animals as equal as humans, can we achieve the harmony. As the most intelligent creature, we ought to keep the balance and harmony of the world rather dominating it. Thus, it is more likely for us to reproduce smoothly and keep away from disasters.

 

Source1: Almazan, Ronnel R., et al. “Welfare Evaluations Of Zoo Animals In The Philippines.” Kafkas Universitesi Veteriner Fakultesi Dergisi 17.3 (2011): 409-501. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.

Pro/Con Claims

Topic: animal conservation

Tentative question: Should animals be caged in zoos for people’s visit?

Main argument: We should not send animals into zoos,

Claim 1: It affects genetic diversity.

Most animals in zoos are less likely to mate a better congener, since the couple is assigned by stuff of zoos.

Claim 2: It affects animal’s health.

Some visitors feed animals in wrong way.

Claims 3: It affects the whole ecosystem.

It cut off these animals’ interaction with other creatures and plants, while they altogether form a health ecosystem.

Counterclaim 1: Zoos provide people with much pleasure.

Counterclaim 2: Zoos provides rare animals with habitats.

Counterclaim 3: Stuff in zoos help to increase rare animals’ birth rate.