Have Technology Taken over Some People Lives Essay Example for Free

Have Technology Taken over Some People Lives Essay Is there a concern about people becoming too dependent on technology? Do you think too much technology is too much for your children? Does technology affect the brain? Some of us think that there is a possibility that too much technology is affecting our children. They seem to not get the concept of things. Kids today can’t seem to think in a rational way. Everything done for children is through some type of technology. Technology is taught at such a young age that kids don’t get the opportunity to learn on their own and by the time they arrive teenage it seems to become more evident. Sarah Harris in a MailOne article â€Å"Too much internet use can damage teenagers brains† says, â€Å"Excessive internet use may cause parts of teenagers’ brains to waste away, a study reveals. Scientists discovered signs of atrophy of grey matter in the brains of heavy internet users that grew worse over time. This could affect their concentration and memory, as well as their ability to make decisions and set goals. It could also reduce their inhibitions and lead to ‘inappropriate’ behavior. Researchers took MRI brain scans from 18 university students, aged 19, who spent eight to 13 hours a day playing games online, six days a week. The students were classified as internet addicts after answering eight questions, including whether they had tried to give up using computers and whether they had lied to family members about the amount of time they spent online. compared them with a control group of 18 students who spent fewer than two hours a day on the internet. One set of MRI images focused on grey matter at the brain’s wrinkled surface, or cortex, where the processing of memory, emotions, speech, sight, hearing and motor control occurs. Comparing grey matter between the two groups revealed atrophy within several small regions of all the online addicts’ brains. The scans showed that the longer their internet addiction continued, the ‘more serious’ the damage was. The researchers also found changes in deep-brain tissue called white matter, through which messages pass between different areas of grey matter in the nervous system. These ‘structural abnormalities were probably associated with functional impairments in cognitive control’, they say. The researchers added that these abnormalities could have made the teenagers more ‘easily internet dependent’, but concluded they ‘were the consequence of IAD (internet addiction disorder)’. ‘Our results suggested long-term internet addiction would result in brain structural alterations,’ they said. The study, published in the PLoS ONE journal, was carried out by neuroscientists and radiologists at universities and hospitals in China, where 24million youths are estimated to be addicted to the internet. Wake-up call: Dr Aric Sigman said it was a shame that we needed photos of brains to realise that sitting in front of a screen is not good for childrens health In Britain, children spend an average of five hours and 20 minutes a day in front of TV or computer screens, according to estimates by the market-research agency Childwise. Dr Aric Sigman, a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, described the Chinese research as a ‘wake-up call’. He said: ‘It strikes me as a terrible shame that our society requires photos of brains shrinking in order to take seriously the common-sense assumption that long hours in front of screens is not good for our children’s health. ’ Baroness Greenfield, professor of pharmacology at Oxford University, described the results as ‘very striking’. She said: ‘It shows there’s a very clear relationship between the number of years these young people have been addicted to the internet and changes in their brains. ‘We need to do more experiments and we need to invest more money in research and have more studies like this. The neuroscientist has previously warned there could be a link between children’s poor attention spans and the use of computers and social-networking websites. She is concerned that not enough attention is being paid to evidence that computer use is changing young people’s brains. Professor Karl Friston, a neuroscientist at University College London, told the Scientific American journal the techniques used in the small-scale study were rigorous. He said: ‘It goes against intuition, but you don’t need a large sample size. That the results show anything significant at all is very telling. ’

US History 1790- 1860 Essay examples -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During 1790-1860, there were many reformations taking place and many events that lead up to the reformation of this very inexperienced country, of America. All these events effected the United States different ways and caused many grievances for the young people living in America. In 1790 we firmly incorporated the first American cotton mill which led to the economic augmentation of the United States. In 1791 we established the Capital of the United States in Washington D.C., and Alexander Hamilton establishes the first bank of America. In 1794 in Pennsylvania there was an uprising called the Whiskey Rebellion. People were rejecting the taxes on their way of life, and that was whiskey. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson became President of the United States, and the... US History 1790- 1860 Essay examples -- essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During 1790-1860, there were many reformations taking place and many events that lead up to the reformation of this very inexperienced country, of America. All these events effected the United States different ways and caused many grievances for the young people living in America. In 1790 we firmly incorporated the first American cotton mill which led to the economic augmentation of the United States. In 1791 we established the Capital of the United States in Washington D.C., and Alexander Hamilton establishes the first bank of America. In 1794 in Pennsylvania there was an uprising called the Whiskey Rebellion. People were rejecting the taxes on their way of life, and that was whiskey. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson became President of the United States, and the...

Consciousness In “To The Lighthouse” Essay

Stream of consciousness is a modernist narrative technique that attempts to create the illusion that the reader is experiencing the unstructured flow of observations, ideas, memories, and associations that occur in the mind of the fictional character. The stream is often illogical and puzzling in its apparent disorganization, but some patterns of association, habits of thought or recurrent images begin to emerge, providing indications of the overriding fears, preoccupations and interests of the character. The stream of consciousness tries to portray the elemental, emotional life, and the hidden psychological life of the character. In To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf develops the stream of consciousness technique as a means of exploring the inner lives of her characters, and she displays life as an aspect and function of the mind. In To the Lighthouse, we find ourselves in a small community of people who are expected to have individual interests and experiences. The Ramsays and their eight children are on holiday on the north coast of Scotland. In addition to the Ramsay family, included on this holiday are friends and acquaintances. Mr. Ramsay is a professional author and philosopher and the characters that Woolf has placed with him all seem to be of the intellectual set; Lily Briscoe is an artist, Augustus Carmichael is a poet, William Bankes is a botanist, and Charles Tansley is a scholar. Part One of To the Lighthouse, The Window, shows us the basic personalities of Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey and the intricacies of their relationship with one another, as well as the mind set of other characters presented by Woolf. As the plot progresses, it appears to move on normal constructional lines from scene to scene. However, it must be remembered that Woolf uses the stream of consciousness technique, so that the change of scene is more a change of aspect, as we move from the consciousness of one character to the other. Woolf has developed her characters to be of similar intellect. Because of the closely knit, homogeneous world in which we find ourselves, Woolf has taken great care to make the movement from one consciousness to another easy and natural. To the Lighthouse is divided into three parts. Woolf marks both the change of scene, as well as the passage of time, ten years, by numerical heading. This does not interfere with the flow of the steam of consciousness, and actually fastens the reader in the plot securely, one knows where one is. The middle part entitled Time Passes, contains the facts that Mrs. Ramsay has died, Andrew has been killed in the war, and Prue has died in childbirth, as well as the decay of the neglected house. Time Passes acts as a connection between the first part, The Window, and the third part the ?The Lighthouse. Since the characters in The Lighthouse, find themselves set in the same environment as The Window it is easy for the reader to find his position in each of the characters consciousness. When I first sat down to read To the Lighthouse, I was a little confused. But as I continued reading, I recognized that through the stream of consciousness technique, Woolf made it possible for me to experience the Ramsays home and the lighthouse, as well as see and feel the characters personal reflections. Virginia Woolf successfully transported me back into a period long gone. As I finished reading To the Lighthouse, I actually visualized the green lawns, the blue ocean and the lighthouse in the distance.

Death of a Salesman Who Is Willy Loman

Death of a Salesman   is a non-linear play. It interweaves the protagonist Willy Lomans present (the late 1940s) with his memories of a happier past. Because of Willys frail mind, the old salesman sometimes doesnt know if he is living in the realm of today or yesterday. Playwright Arthur Miller wants to portray Willy Loman as the Common Man. This notion contrasts much of Greek theater which sought to tell tragic stories of great men. Instead of Greek Gods bestowing a cruel fate upon the protagonist, Willy Loman makes several terrible mistakes that result in a meager, pathetic life. Willy Lomans Childhood Throughout Death of a Salesman, details about Willy Lomans infancy and adolescence are not fully divulged. However, during the memory scene between Willy and his brother Ben, the audience learns a few bits of information. Willy Loman was born in the late 1870s. (We learn that he is 63 in Act One).His nomadic father and family roamed across the country in a wagon.According to Ben, their father was a great inventor, but he doesnt specify what sort of gadgets he created, with the exception of his hand-crafted flutes.Willy remembers being a toddler, sitting around a fire and listening to his father play the flute. It is one of his only memories of his father. Willys dad left the family when Willy was three years old. Ben, who seems at least 15 years older than Willy, departed in search for their father. Instead of heading north for Alaska, Ben accidentally went south and found himself in Africa at the age of 17. He made a fortune by the age of 21. Willy never hears from his father again. When he is much older, Ben visits him twice — in between travel destinations. According to Willy, his mother died a long time ago, probably sometime after Willy matures into adulthood. Did the lack of a father negatively affect Willys character? Willy is desperate for his brother Ben to extend his visit. He wants to make certain that his boys are being raised correctly. Aside from being unsure about his parental abilities, Willy is self-conscious about how others perceive him. (He once punched a man for calling him a walrus). It could be argued that Willys character flaws stem from parental abandonment. Willy Loman: A Poor Role Model Sometime during Willys early adulthood, he meets and marries Linda. They live in Brooklyn and raise two sons, Biff and Happy. As a father, Willy Loman offers his sons terrible advice. For example, this is what the old salesman tells teenage Biff about women: Just wanna be careful with those girls, Biff, thats all. Dont make any promises. No promises of any kind. Because a girl, yknow, they always believe what you tell em. -Willy This attitude is adopted all too well by his sons. During her sons teen years, Linda notes that Biff is too rough with the girls. Happy grows up to become a womanizer who sleeps with women who are engaged to his managers. Several times during the play, Happy promises that he is going to get married — but it is a flimsy lie that no one takes seriously. Willy also condones Biffs thievery. Biff, who eventually develops a compulsion to steal things, swipes a football from his coachs locker room. Instead of disciplining his son about the theft, he laughs about the incident and says, Coachll probably congratulate you on your initiative! Above all things, Willy Loman believes that popularity and charisma will outdo hard work and innovation. Willy Lomans Affair Willys actions are worse than his words. Throughout the play, Willy mentions his lonely life on the road. To alleviate his loneliness, he has an affair with a woman that works at one of his clients offices. While Willy and the nameless woman rendezvous in a Boston hotel, Biff pays his father a surprise visit. Once Biff realizes that his father is a phony little fake, Willys son becomes ashamed and distant. His father is no longer his hero. After his role model falls from grace, Biff starts to drift from one job to the next, stealing petty things to rebel against authority figures. Willys Friends and Neighbors Willy Loman belittles his industrious and intelligent neighbors, Charley and his son Bernard. Willy mocks both individuals when Biff is a high school football star, but after Biff becomes a jaded drifter, he turns to his neighbors for help. Charley lends Willy fifty dollars a week, sometimes more, in order to help Willy pay the bills. However, whenever Charley offers Willy a decent job, Willy becomes insulted. He is too proud to accept a job from his rival and friend. It would be an admission of defeat. Charley might be a surly old man, but Miller has imbued this character with a great deal of pity and compassion. In every scene, we can see that Charley hopes to gently steer Willy onto a less self-destructive path. He tells Willy that it is sometimes best to let go of disappointment.He tries to praise Willys accomplishments (especially in regards to putting up the ceiling).He doesnt boast or brag about his successful son Bernard.Sensing that Willy is contemplating suicide, Charley tells him, Nobodys worth nothin dead. (Perhaps Charleys double-negative confused the salesman!) In their last scene together, Willy confesses: Charley, youre the only friend I got. Isnt that a remarkable thing. When Willy ultimately commits suicide, it makes the audience wonder why he could not embrace the friendship that he knew existed. Too much guilt? Self-loathing? Pride? Mental instability? Too much of a coldhearted business world? The motivation of Willys final action is open to interpretation. What do you think?