12th Grade Essay

Nakagawa 1
Deannalyn Nakagawa
Ms. Acosta
English 12
23 Novemeber 2020
Technology dumbing down society
Technology’s beneficial effects are increasingly being overwhelmed by its
negatives – distraction, disconnection from real in favor of virtual interactions, and how
anonymity unleashes ugly behaviors such as racism and overall nastiness. Yes,
technology may have some good benefits but at the same time it has almost the same
amount of bad reasonings about it. There are a majority of different people who agree
that technology is dumbing down society and makes them less human but the other
percentage of other people says it make you more smarter and improves education.
And since nowadays we use technology more often for almost everything, it is basically
glued to us because we bring it everywhere and it causes an addiction to almost every
people that owns some type of technology. Although some may say that social media is
beneficial and can help the society, it does cause a lot distraction to everyone that uses
it. Technology is not benefical because people have the less ability to focus on the more
important things.
First off, technology is most likely the main thing that distracts people the most
due to social media, texting, calling or anything that people find that is a distraction
when using technology. Poor attention spans, anxiety, and depression are some
correlations that has been seen by teens and adults that are addicited to using some
type of device and the internet. According to the study of Marist poll, it states that, “49%
Nakagawa 2
of those who surveyed said that technology makes you less intelligent, while 46% says
it makes you more smarter”. This survey shows how many people agree that technology
is dumbing down society than those who think it makes you smarter. Furthermore, this
study also mentioned that, “54% reports said it makes individuals less connected to
friends and family and 71% of residents believes that technology is making people less
human”. In addition, this statement is important to this topic because it gives the readers
a more clearer idea on what others really think about technology and how they feel
about it. According to another study, Pew Research, Rich Salz, a professor of political
science at Stanford University stated that, “ We have already seen some negative
effects, including more isolation, less ability to focus, and more ability to be deceived by
bad actors”. This research indicates that people are having trouble focusing more on
real life situations than on technology, which means that it can lead to less in-person
social communications. The more people who use social media such as snapchat,
instagram, twitter, etc. are more likely to lose connection with friends and family and be
more focused on social media.
Some critics argue that technology does help and improve better education to
students. In “ New Research Answers Whether Technology Is Good Or Bad For
Learning,” At J-Pal, a MIT’s Poverty Action Lab, Phil Oreopoulos, a Co-chair and J-Pal
Education Sector in Toronto argued that educational software helps studets develop
particular skills, especially in math and that’s because they can learn at their own pace
and don’t feel rushed. Therefore, this evidence is stating that technology is a good way
for students to learn at the right pace that they feel comfortable with. Also, it says that it
can help students develop particular skills, which means that their learning level is
Nakagawa 3
adapted by the softwares ability. For this reason, opponents believe that technology and
the internet helps people learn differently. Though it is true that students learn better
through technology and the internet and may have a better education due to them
learning at their own pace, however, students can get distracted easily by getting off
topic and not focusing on their work. This topic doesn’t only connect to just school but
also just in general because people in the world is always using some type of
technology whether if it’s a phone, tablet, computer, etc. all of these devices is a
distraction and can lead to less communication in in-person interactions due to
everyone using a device.
Technology is not beneficial to society because of their side effects such as,
having trouble focusing, distraction, losing contact with friends and family, etc. and even
though there’s some positive effects, there are also negative effects on this topic. It is a
good way for everyone to know and learn from this topic because they may not know
the real positive and negative effects that technology can do to you, mentally and
physically. Reading and writing about this type of topic can change your life from being
an anti-social person to now a social person that likes in-person communications and
not texting on the internet when you can see other people in person.
Nakagawa 4
Works cited
Anderson, Janna, and Lee Rainie. “Concerns about the Future of People's Well-Being
and Digital Life.” Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, Pew Research
Center, 31 Dec. 2019,
www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/04/17/concerns-about-the-future-of-peoples-well-b
eing/.
Poll, Marist. “6/21: Is Technology ‘Dumbing Down’ Society?” Home of the Marist Poll, 22
Feb. 2017, maristpoll.marist.edu/614-is-technology-dumbing-down-society/.

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Nakagawa 1

Technology dumbing down society

Technology’s beneficial effects are increasingly being overwhelmed by its

glued to us because we bring it everywhere and it causes an addiction to almost every

more focused on social media.

students. In “ New Research Answers Whether Technology Is Good Or Bad For

distraction and can lead to less communication in in-person interactions due to

everyone using a device.

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