On the surface, it sounds like a simple question. Is technology distracting? I'm hard pressed not to start jumping up and down, screaming, "YES, YES, OF COURSE IT IS, WHY WOULD YOU BE SO DAFT AS TO HAVE TO ASK!", but something is holding me back. On one hand, all to often do I see students file out of classrooms with cellphones in hand, texting this, tweeting that, no doubt updating their facebook status with a metaphorical roll of the eyes at something their instructor did or said in class. They're like zombies, mindlessly shuffling down the halls, hardly sparing a glance to look up from the glowing, hand-held screens. It irks me, so I'm tempted to agree with anyone that says technology is bad and rotting our brains.
But without technology, could we function? I'm chained to my laptop on an almost daily basis and, according to Marc Prensky's article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, I don't even consider myself a Digital Native. I get recipes here, see what my crazy uncle in New York is doing here, find out last night's box score or trade rumors here. Without my laptop, I don't know what I'd be doing with my free time. Going out with my friends more often?
I shudder to think.
Then again, the computer on my lap does often draw my attention away from academic pursuits. Instead of reading up on the merits of rhetorical analysis by Jack Selzer, I'm pouring over information detailing the likely landing destination of Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett (psst, he went to the Pirates), or reading helpful tidbits about the land of Skyrim, or catching up on TV's Misfits, or adding to my ever-growing, pop-culture heavy wardrobe. Right now, I'm tempted to head over to twitter and write something snarky about how much I hate blogging.
What was I talking about again? Oh, right. Technology.
Is it distracting? Not sure, but maybe I'll have the answer after a couple of games of Curveball.
But without technology, could we function? I'm chained to my laptop on an almost daily basis and, according to Marc Prensky's article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, I don't even consider myself a Digital Native. I get recipes here, see what my crazy uncle in New York is doing here, find out last night's box score or trade rumors here. Without my laptop, I don't know what I'd be doing with my free time. Going out with my friends more often?
I shudder to think.
Then again, the computer on my lap does often draw my attention away from academic pursuits. Instead of reading up on the merits of rhetorical analysis by Jack Selzer, I'm pouring over information detailing the likely landing destination of Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett (psst, he went to the Pirates), or reading helpful tidbits about the land of Skyrim, or catching up on TV's Misfits, or adding to my ever-growing, pop-culture heavy wardrobe. Right now, I'm tempted to head over to twitter and write something snarky about how much I hate blogging.
What was I talking about again? Oh, right. Technology.
Is it distracting? Not sure, but maybe I'll have the answer after a couple of games of Curveball.
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