Technology is everywhere in society today. It does everything from making food arrive at your doorstep to providing instant entertainment. It connects the world both physically by transportation and digitally through video calling. It has become a great power that humanity has continued to advance and develop over the last century. I absolutely love this fact. Not only is it making the world easier but also continues to get better at doing so. I have been surrounded by technology all my life, for better or worse. That is why I chose this research area. I feel as though I have the most experience and knowledge in this field compared to the others. I know so little about food or the environment compared to technology. So, I have decided to write my research paper about how to maximize efficacy in the use of technology. However this does not stop there because technology, while it is a super power, has great benefits as well as terrible detriments. Technology can sometimes get a bad reputation but rightly so, but this causes people to forget the praise it also receives. My goal is to find the way to balance the two so it is doing the most good while also not being so bad.

 My first source is an article in the Carolina Rhetoric titled, "Hooked on Technology, and Paying the Price" by Matt Richtel. Richtel is known for winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2010. He received this reward for a series he wrote about driving and multitasking and the dangers in combination. That series inspired legislative efforts to end this danger in society. In this article, Richtel explains many of the dangers that can come with the use of technology in everyday life. His main example is a man named Kord Campbell. Mr. Campbell uses technology to such a degree that he is almost removed from his family entirely. When he is away from his computer, he is itching to get back to it and escapes to his phone most times.  It has literally an addiction for him. Richtel points out that Mr. Campbell barely can hold a relationship with his family because of technology. He explains that Mr. Campbell has been so consumed by technology that it is damaging on his real life. He connects the rapid flow of information to Mr. Campbell's inability to focus. Basically, technology has severely impacted Mr. Campbell's life for the worst.  

My second source is also from the Carolina Rhetoric by the author Ian Leslie called "Google makes us all Dumber: the Neuroscience of Search Engines." Ian Leslie is the author of the book Curious which was published in 2014. The topics he often writes about is phycology, trends, and politics. He crosses the two topics of trends and phycology when he wrote this article, being like a bridge to connect the two ideas. This article first points out how great it is that everyone can whip out their smartphones and have instant access to any answer they are looking for online. As an author himself, he writes that it has become incredibly easy to find any research information or inspiration for whatever he is currently writing. However, he draws the conclusion that this has in fact made people dumber. He explains the use of the search engines with an instant result has killed the search for knowledge, just the search for answers. Without the time spent in searching for the answer, no new knowledge is gained so Leslie states this creates a dumber society. 

My third source was found online. The author is Ted Hasslebring who is a research professor of special education at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. He is the author for many programs including the intervention program READ 180, System44, and FASST Math. The article I will be using is "Five Reasons Readers Need Technology" published in Reading: The Core Skill. The first reason he states, is that technology is adaptive so each individual gets the best learning environment possible. The next is that it is good at creating repetitive practice which is important in the areas a student is struggling in. The last reasons are technology is available all the time, it excels at gathering and processing data, and it is very motivating. Because of these reasons, Hasslebring claims that technology would be the best tool for struggling students especially those having a hard time in reading. He states that technology is already a part of their lives; however, it does need to be tweaked in order to be used to its full potential in the classroom. 

My research question is so much black and white. Everyone will have a different opinion on how much technology will be implemented into their lives. Some believe it needs to be extremely limited or taken away completely while other say technology is not being used in order to maximize efficiency. There are even disputes in my sources, one wants to change how technology is used in the classroom while another blames technology for people's lack of knowledge. I might have to revise my question so that it is more specific once I find all of my sources. It would become more specific in the way that it would describe the perfect balance instead of keeping it at just an ideal. Then it would become extremely controversial to some and coincide with others personal thoughts. 

