Over the years, seeing how students are constantly inattentive and unsocial because they are on technological devices rather than engaging in their surroundings has brought me to a breaking point, especially because I am also at fault. I regularly turn my phone off while studying or in class because I know the temptation will be too enticing. Even while writing this paper, I've checked my phone over 5 times. This is a serious issue and the public needs to be aware of the negative effects on their biological and social functions from using technology too much or in the wrong way. I believe I am qualified to write this because I live an affluent lifestyle and have seen first hand with my friends and family the pernicious consequences that come from excessive use of technology. I attended a school where every student was given a laptop to use during all classes and at home. I constantly saw students abuse this and use them for games and imessage.  After doing research, it is clear that technology is not essential in education and precautions need to be taken to decline and redirect the use of it in classroom settings. 

In the article, "Google Makes Us All Dumber: The Neuroscience of Search Engines", Ian Leslie argues that the increased reliance on technology for information has caused the gap between question and answer to nearly cease to exist. He believes that gap is what generates creativity and exploration of the mind so without it; the human mind begins to lack key qualities of development.  Leslie's worried that search engines are becoming a shortcut for learning that they are essentially ridding curiously from people and causing them to skim information without actually processing it. He asserts that people's desire to obtain knowledge is gradually diminishing due to their effortless attempts of research on search engines. In short, people are becoming lazy. Ian Leslie is a rather renowned writer and he uses reliable sources to back up his claim in his article. He mentions the benefits of technology to communicate that he is not being biased but rather stating the facts and his interpretations of them. 

In his article, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Nicholas Carr expresses his opinion on why increased technology is causing people to lack focus. He states that people are no longer reading in the traditional sense, rather skimming through texts to try and get the gist of information using the least amount of energy possible. He uses a large amount of quotes from people that believe Google and this expansion of technology are excellent contributions to the world. He does this in a way to show how they are actually quite wrong in their thoughts. He feels that people are becoming absentminded and ignorant. Carr states that people are starting to function like machines rather than real, interactive beings. He tells his readers to be skeptical of what he is saying and to be knowledgeable of the fact that technology is a great thing if used correctly. Carr tends to use quotes from the same people throughout his article with the hopes of making his readers form a connection to them and find these sources more reliable. 

In the article, "Hooked On Technology and Paying a Price", Matt Richtel argues that while people believe they can multitask more efficiently with the advancement of technology, in reality, it is the opposite. He uses the life of a family named the Campbell's to give a real life example, that people can relate to, of how technology is negatively affecting people's work and social lives. He uses studies and quotes from reliable sources to show how most people struggle with focusing on single tasks these days because they constantly want to find new information rather than processing what is right in front of them. Richtel states that most people can no longer differentiate between relevant and irrelevant information. He is a reliable source of information because of his credibility with the New York Times and his writing accomplishment, such as winning a Pulitzer Prize. He approaches the opposing view with reliable sources and conveys the positives that can come from this increase in technology. 

Due to all of the benefits that technology has to offer, most people are unaware or ignorant of the negative effects it has on society and education. All of these sources share a similar message that increased technology is detrimental to people's attention and ability to process information effectively. After reading these articles, it is clear that I must center my paper on the possible changes that can be done to fix this technology problem in addition to informing the public of the complications deriving from it. While all these authors share a common goal in their articles, they each have a different point they are trying to make. I strongly agree with the central focus in Leslie's article. 

