Alexandra Samuel, writer of the article “‘Plug In Better’: A Manifesto”, argues “families need to embrace the potential of online tools as a way of reconnecting,” (3), and while I agree with her that families need to embrace the potential of online tools, I also think that families are using online tools way too much in today’s society. The families of today are using these online tools to just give a distraction to their young children in order to complete more tasks throughout the day. In this situation, using the online tools is more of a hindrance to the child’s mental growth and it will negatively impact them for the remainder of their lives. In addition, Jean M. Twenge, author of “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”, claims that “[t]he number of eighth-graders who work for pay has been cut in half” (6). While I agree that the statistics show these declines, I beg to differ that it is because child labor laws have reduced the amount of eighth-graders that are legally able to work. Finally, Sam Anderson, author of “In Defense of Distraction” writes “[i]t’s too late to just retreat to a quieter time” (2). While it is true that technology has already taken over our everyday lives, I do not believe that it is too late. If everyone in today’s society wanted to go back to a world in which there was less technology, then we could do it. It just takes everyone to work together to make something happen.
Jessy Shore
Be the change you want to see in the world
