Download Strong example of A2 Draft

Directions: Please print out this draft. Then, read it over and mark the main argument, 2 strong point,
and 2 weak points. Please bring to class.
Facebook and Technology
In this generation alone, the world has been introduced to many technological advances
that has systematically shaped society and affected the ways in which individuals live their lives.
Facebook, one of the most impactful technologies that has come from the social networking era,
has dramatically altered the ways an entire society communicated with one another, but proved
to have greater detrimental changes than beneficiary effects. Facebook has allowed for the social
connections between 845 million individuals and still continues to influence even more societies
with its growing user base. Through Facebook, the lives of friends, families and co-workers are
chronicled on a regular basis causing for the simplification of communication that turns
individuals into social networking robot-like addicts, lessening one’s ability to function in a
society and enables the detrimental comfort in a virtual societal life.
Social networking can be defined as a quick means of communication with many
individuals at once. Thoughts, ideas and lives are expressed through statuses, pictures and
chatting with others. There is a unique comfort in being able to catch up with an old friend with
whom one had not talked with in weeks, months or years even. The easy and accessible ways of
communicating with another through social networking is detrimental in most cases. To better
understand this idea, one must look at communication in its entirety.
Communication is the conveying of information between two or more individuals. This
exchange is only considered communication if the receiving party actually receives this
information and responds accordingly. In a conventional face-to-face interaction, both
individuals constantly respond to each other’s thoughts and ideas, whereas on Facebook, an
individual may post a status or comment on another’s picture without any time restraints. Time
restraints being the factor that helps an individual develop their social skills and abilities that
allows them to respond on their feet or answer to unexpected situations. Within a virtual societal
life such as Facebook, a user can simply receive the information and can sit there and think of a
response. It could be minutes, hours, or days even before the receiving party could potentially
respond and have the interaction be considered an actual communicational conversation. It
would be silly and even downright odd to imagine a conversation where the receiving party does
not respond normally, but rather sit there, stare and ponder on a response. Such social
networking interactions do not possess the elements of a normal, day-to-day interaction and
detrimentally affects the growth of an individual’s social and communicative skills.
When an individual is exposed to circumstances where activities are performed easier,
they will tend to utilize that service more so than other services. In Nicolas Carr’s “Is Google
Making Us Stupid”, Carr discusses the ways in which Google has redefined the meaning of
research and be able to access a mass amount of information through a mere click of a button.
Carr states that the former ways of research has been abandoned, cultures discarded and
individuals rely solely on Google for all their needs. Carr also argues that Google turns
individuals into inferior versions of themselves by stating that, “People have become so
machinelike that the most human character turns out to be a machine. That’s the essence of
Kubrick’s dark prophecy: as we come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the
world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial intelligence.” Meaning through the
easy and applicable uses of Google and the internet, individuals have become so reliant on its
technological benefits that they have, in turn, given up former cultures and ways of doing things
and has turned into robot-like individuals, acting out their lives as if scripted. In regards with
Facebook, a similar event is happening among many individuals where a loss of former cultures
has changed them for the worse.
Communication between individuals on Facebook consists of written text and images and
like how Carr describes Google as a convenient technology, Facebook is also an easily
accessible technology. In spite of Facebook’s convenience, the seemingly harmless virtual
interactions’ detrimental effects on individuals, outnumber and overshadow any beneficiary
conveniences. The individual will become akin to communicating in a virtual manner, consisting
of text to text interactions only. Such habits developed from Facebook communications would
then deteriorate the real world societal skills of an individual as a result of their preference of
conversations carried out on social networks as opposed to face-to-face interactions. For many,
Facebook is not just something to check up on from time to time, but has reached a point where
Facebook is a part of their lives.
Facebook has become an actual part of many individual’s lives as they constantly want to
check on their friends and what is going on with everyone else. The whole concept behind
receiving notifications on Facebook, getting comments on your thoughts and ideas and being
invited to groups and events is quite intriguing to many individuals, to say the least. The
feedback an individual receives from others is intriguing as they often desire their actions to be
acknowledged. An individual’s actions is altered and affected by those around them. Even from
birth, we are taught right from wrong by our parents and the social norms by our peers. Humans
desire acceptance and to be considered an accepted individual into society. An individual’s
thoughts and ideas are reflected upon through comments and “likes” from others. Both signify
others’ thoughts and opinions on your actions, whether it is a posting of a picture or a writing of
a status. Over time, this can subconsciously affect an individual’s self-consciousness and perhaps
even develop social anxiety.
On Facebook, chances are that when one shares an idea, they aspire to invoke a response
out of their peers through comments and likes. This need for others’ opinions on one’s actions
will affect real world interactions as it subconsciously affects one’s way of thinking before they
act. The alteration is like a tiny, miniscule bug planted into the uttermost depths of one’s mind
and it lays there, determining if your actions would be socially accepted or not. Likewise in
Carr’s Google situation, Facebook affects an individual’s ability to function like efficiently in a
society, or perform without the restrictions of social anxieties and worries of acceptance instilled
into them through social networking.
The constant need for individuals to check Facebook has become more of an addiction to
virtual life on social networks. An avid Facebook user would often times check their Facebook
every hour in their spare time or even let the fulfillment of social interactions become a hobby of
theirs, consuming much of one’s time and may deprive them from a life beyond the virtual
world. It is easy to get lost in the technological advances that Facebook has allowed society to
experience.
Society has evolved from old cultures and styles and we have found better, more efficient
ways to do things. Technology has come into our lives to make them better, so society adjusts to
fit that technology into our status quo. Though Facebook allows for easier means of
communication, it deteriorates and detracts from real life interactions by turning individuals into
robot-like individuals only akin to communicating through social networks.