Brett Mecrones
English 110
Wealth of Information beneficial to Young Minds
Is Technology beneficial to young minds? Technology has a big impact on information and it benefits on young minds. Brains continue to developed in the early stages of life and even the later stages. Technology can help gather infinite amounts of information. Gathering information online can help young minds help develop many new ideas. I believed the more information young people are given, they are capable to creating new ideas and being able to be adaptable. Therefore, the use of information online can create wealth of constant information, which will strengthen young minds.
Technology will benefit young minds as it will aid young people’s brains in developing new ideas. Thomas King, who been named Victorian Young Australian of the Year and VCE Leader of the Year last year, is only nineteen. When King was thirteen, he created a website that flourished around the world about deforestation and protecting animals .According to Thomas King, in “TEDxMelbourne”, he spoke about how he is involved in a campaign communications at the country’s foremost animal protection organization, “Animals Australia”. Thomas King had learned through his ideas that Josie had lost her habitat to deforestation.“So, using our clunky old family PC, I developed an educational website which would soon inform over a half million people annually from more than 200 countries about the issue of deforestation and what we can do”(King pg.4). King would not be able to create a website without technology and his clunky PC. King was thirteen when he created this website that flourished around the world. The internet allowed King to develop and explore ideas. Also King was able to find his passions through the PC, which allowed him to find information about Josie who lost her habitat to deforestation. We all have access to information quickly these days by are electronic devices.”We’ve literally got access to the world through something we keep in our pocket. A teenager today with a mobile phone can access information quicker than the president of the United States could 15 years ago, and that smartphone has more computing power than Apollo 11 did when it journeyed to the moon”(King pg.2). Young people are able to find information so quickly that it would develop ideas in their minds.Technology is incredible these days and it’s only going to get more advanced and better. Technology especially online has so much information, which could be very helpful and usage to people. People including young minds can find more answers and gather more information.
Richard Restak a author of, “ Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of Our Era”, explains how digital technology affects the brain such as attention. The brain is so powerful and unique to be able to multitask at once. Technology and civilization is changing rapidly and that’s affecting our attention span by making it shorter for individuals. “Civilization is revving itself into a pathologically short attention span. The trend might be coming from the acceleration of technology, the short-horizon perspective of market-driven economies, the next-election perspective of democracies, or the distractions of personal multitasking”(Attention Deficit pg.377). All are on the increase, according to Stewart Brand, a noted commentator on technology and social change. Restak suggest that too much technology will prevent negative impacts on young minds, such as hurting their attention span and causing problems to the brain. Others could argue that technology could allow these young minds to develop bad ideas. For example they can access online selling sites, which can help develop bad ideas like purchasing weapons, drugs, and etc. Some young minds are capable of this but not all because I think their parents will find out if they are ordering weapons and drugs online. Obviously, some young minds might create bad habits and ideas online but technology is advancing and changing and we can’t blame young minds for that. We can only blame technology because it has a lot of power and information. Digital technology might hurt their attention like Ristak mentions in, “ Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of Our Era”, but ideally digital technology has many benefits that can really help young minds be able to explore, adapt, and develop unlimited amounts of information and ideas.
Digital technology will give young minds a lot of information which will benefit them by making them more adaptable. I think that technology especially computers and other devices that have usage of online can make young minds much more adaptable. But I also think it can confuse and hurt minds. “In Defense of Distraction”, by Sam Anderson, who is a book reviewer and author, who is the critic at large for The New York Times Magazine. Anderson explains and writes the discussion of multitasking and its effects on attention. Anderson explains that multitasking is harming our minds. I think how and when you used digital technology will determine if you are benefiting and adapting from your minds or hurting your minds. One way that young people and their minds can become more adaptable and beneficial is ADHD. ADHD is a chronic condition including attention difficulty, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. ADHD can be an advantage for people who needs to be more focus. “It’s been hypothesized that ADHD might even be an advantage in certain change-rich environments”(In Defense of Distraction pg.12). ADHD is beneficial to young minds because it helps them pay attention and get tasks done. The main point is digital technology and ADHD will make young minds more adaptable because young people can experiment and learn new ideas, accept multiple perspectives, ask different questions, and be able to focus more. All of these different steps can make young minds more adaptable to digital technology. There’s no doubt that young people are getting more adaptable than ever before. Exam results are constantly climbing around the world, and a greater proportion of people possess higher education qualifications than ever before. That alone should demonstrate how the world is growing much adaptable and smarter.
Digital Technology is beneficial towards students in school. I believed students can use technology as an advantage if it’s used for the right reason. If used correctly, mobile devices and the applications they support, will help prepare students for their future careers. Integrating technology into the classroom is an effective way to connect with students of all learning styles. It gives students the opportunity to enhance the interaction with their classmates and instructors by encouraging collaboration. Technology use in the classroom also makes it fun for students. This help students become more motivated and engaged in the classroom.
We have so much access to information these days. Its how young minds use their information to develop many ideas and be adaptable. Being able to use an abundant amount of information I believed young minds can continue to become more adaptable, while digital technology is advancing rapidly. But how do we keep young minds to use technology as an advantage? What can we do so technology doesn’t take over young minds in a negative way? The only answer for those questions is to make sure that young people and students don’t create bad habits and that they are taught to use digital technology the right way like in schools and personally for their advantage. Therefore, the use of information through technology can create wealth of constant information, which will strengthen young minds.
Works Cited
King, Thomas. “Adults, we need to have the talk.” Youtube. TEDx Melbourne, Nov
2015. Web. September 2017.
Anderson, Sam. “In Defense of Distraction.” New York Magazine, May
2009
Restak, Richard, “ Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of Our Era.” The New Brain. Emerging Third Edition, 2003. Book
