Newspapers / Grimsley High School Student … / Sept. 30, 2010, edition 1 / Page 5
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T September 30,2010 opinion 5 Tech advances shorten attention spans, diminish personal conversations BY AKIRAH JUSTICE Opinion Editor When we learn of new tech nology, we frequently develop a craving for the products introduced, whether they be iPads or faster internet, because we are under the as sumption that they will some how improve our daily lives. However, has anyone consid ered that these so-called advancements in the technological world are actually setbacks? Apple Inc. is well known for its ability to upgrade constantly as well as to improve and create new prod ucts, most recently being the iPad. As the news of the prod uct reached the public, people eagerly awaited the arrival of this oversized iPod. Before this product became available in stores, it was already backordered because custom ers could not contain them selves. While Apple's consis tent changes are admirable, they do not provide the con sumer sufficient time to enjoy and appreciate the products they already own. Internet use brought on a new speed of information. We can acquire seemingly infinite streams of data without ever leaving a room and all in a matter of seconds, giving the illusion that we have the whole world at our disposal. Having all of this information avail able to view on a screen appears to be a good idea, but perhaps it is too much. People who use the Internet, which includes a majority of our society, may tend to stay away from reading lengthy articles. Attempting to read extensive copy online can be frustrating and often seems not worth the trouble. Seeing an endless scroll of words becomes overwhelm ing. We can barely maintain the focus needed to endure reading a whole page. For those of us who can tol erate reading paragraph upon paragraph of consecutive in formation, there is usually ad ditional pop-ups to catch their attention, as the Internet is loaded with unnecessary advertisements, graphics, and other articles displayed along side the desired website information. By the time we are halfway through a selected reading, we may be tempted to veer off the page and begin reading another. Before the Internet, we relied upon slower alternatives, such as visiting libraries or finding sources firsthand. While it may have taken longer and forced us to venture out into the real world, these methods were just as effi cient and provided opportunities for healthier communication with real human beings. Along with Internet usage, texting, instant messaging, and other shorthand chats are hin dering our attention spans and patience. We cannot keep our composure long enough to type out whole words or wait for a reply. When we send texts, we expect immediate replies. If a reply does not arrive promptly, we become impatient, frustrated, and anxious. The same is true for \4 Seniors Betsy Sumerford and Nikki Neal enjoy multi tasking at lunchtime. With practice, students have learned to text on their phones, listen to music on their iPods, and browse the web simultaneously. Elliott photo instant messaging in that our replies needs to be as close to instantaneous as our fingers can possibly type. As a society, we are losing our patience and forgetting to embrace every second of each day. We hide behind our tech nology and pretend that it is improving our lives when, in fact, we are consumed by it. Although properly applied technology is useful, society today often uses the Internet as an escape rather than as a resource. Slowly but surely, the foundation upon which our society was built is diminish ing, being forgotten, or being replaced with technology that will soon be deemed outdated because of infinite upgrades. Americans show lack of respect for English ianguage with siang, abbreviated texts, careiess grammar BYANNAKANODE News Editor English as a language has degraded over the past few 100 years, but perhaps the most change has taken place within the last three decades. Most of fhese alterations in speech occurred due to carelessness and/or a lack of education among large portions of the English-speaking population. Words have been morphed or dropped, and consequently, many in today's society no longer understand the English from centuries ago. People used eloquent, beautiful poetic words, such as "thou," "withal," and "be twixt," during Shakespeare's era. If people still spoke with such wit and charm today, they probably would find it easier to woo people of the opposite sex, as opposed to saying, "Hey, was sup, babe?" As a society, people have strayed so far from the earlier form of English that many are unable to understand the written word in classic nov els and plays. Vocabulary often diminishes because other words and contractions are easier or quicker both to pronoimce and write in communication. It appears that the faster the world moves, the greater ^ & number of words are changed or even lost. Technology has created a society in which time is literally money, so people must express what they need to say as quickly as possible in order to progress to their next tasks or activities. Spelling errors have become atrocious in recent years as well. How unfortunate that few people remember the lessons involving "i before e, except after c "and when to change y to ie for creating plural nouns. While occasion ally some students may find it humorous to read some of the language written in bathroom stalls, others may consider such an activity quite discouraging when much of what is written is practically impossible to decipher because of the misspellings. Grammar has become a major concern as well. Some English teachers omit the teaching of grammar in their classes, assuming students' previous Language Arts teachers covered the subject, but even when the instructors do cover the material. students often do not apply the skills they learn. Regrettably, several people today just do not share an appreciation for the written or spoken word. It is aston ishing how individuals progress to college yet still require remediation in speak ing and writing properly. Perhaps teachers should col laborate about how they address repeated grammar errors among their students as well as nonstandard dialect spoken within the classroom. English is not the only language that has been bas tardized, Spanish and French have whole new dialects made from gramatical, linguistic, and spelling errors in the origi nal language. Some of these problems stem from the introduction of English in countries that speak French and Spanish, producing Spanglish and English words with a French pronounciation. If civilizations continue on this rollercoaster of linguistic disaster, the everyone will be speaking like cavemen.
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