Addiction to technology...
Do you think it is possible to be addicted to technology? Do you personally have a problem with technology addiction?
I think it is definitely possible to be addicted to technology, I however do not feel that I have a personal problem with technology addiction... And the first sign is always denial. The definition of an addiction is this:
Habitual psychological and physiological dependence on a substance or practice beyond one's voluntary control
And while I do sometimes subconsciously type in "t" or "f" into the web address bar which leads me directly to Twitter or Facebook, I would say that it's not voluntary, especially considering that I've had the willpower to not go on Twitter or Facebook for the last 48 hours. I will however admit, I did WANT to, like REALLY badly, but I didn't. This just proves that I do have some sort of control over this "addiction". I did however use other types of technology, TV, using the computer for homework, in which case I wasn't completely distanced from technology, only the distracting types. I would say that my life would be a lot more boring if I weren't able to use technology and it would be hard for me to really... function. I'm finding it hard even with this detox to just be productive, I'll just stare blankly at the screen if it stops me from doing homework.
I think that in the society we live in today where people are so dependent on technology, I wouldn't necessarily call it an addiction, it's more of a lifestyle, a new way of getting things done. To completely distance one's self from technology would just make life so much more inefficient. We require technology to communicate with others, type out information quickly, learn new things. And although we can learn new things from books, there are some things that only the internet can show us. There is however, a possibility to be addicted to technology that makes us inefficient. Things like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, etc. For those who like to tweet, update their status every two minutes.. well THEY have a problem.
Does technology affect your attention span? If yes, in what way? If no, why not?
My attention span is very much affected by technology. *Goes on Facebook for an hour*. I find it difficult defining the line between when I should be doing school work as opposed to doing other things like going on Facebook, Twitter, etc. and I end up doing both at once. I often lose my train of thought for whatever school assignment I'm doing because I get distracted by a new notification or something. This is probably not a very good thing going into university and it is definitely something that I am trying to work on.
At the same time, a distraction is a distraction. If we're working on something that is completely uninteresting, we will find something to distract us whether it be technology or not.
Are digital distractions a problem for you? Do you see a problem among your peers? Should teachers do anything to help students manage digital distractions?
Digital distractions are a problem for me and I find it is a problem among peers as well. We often find each other telling one another to get off Facebook, or Twitter to continue or school work. Teachers can really only do so much, I believe the only thing they can really do is help us manage our time more than anything. They really don't have no control over my own actions at home and shouldn't have to, they're our teachers, not our baby sitters. It's up to us.












