| Describe your overall ability to pay attention when it comes to school work (<100 words) On a scale of 1 – 10, indicate how addicted you are to your phones |
| 9. I have a lot of stuff on my phone that I feel the need to pay attention to, it could be to make sure my finances are in order, somebody may have called or texted me and I need to get back to them, or just need some relaxation time and put on YouTube. |
| While reading “My Distraction Sickness” please note how long it takes you to get through the piece (Google says it’s a 45 min read); also, count the number of times you get distracted (for whatever reason) and tally them at the end. |
| It probably took me around 1 hour flat just because I would take breaks in between just to rest my eyes or to honestly go on social media quickly but come back to the reality that this reading needed to get done. |
| Describe the tone of all three articles, how do they differ? (<100 words) |
| In Defense of Distraction, the author promotes his viewpoint that, despite the significant negative effects that technology has had on people’s lives, distraction is normal and beneficial for people. The tone of My Distraction Sickness was really personalized, giving numerous personal stories and how the author’s viewpoints on the matter had changed over time. The Distracted Student’s voice was educational and It was heavily based on science and the psychology of humans. |
| What are Sam Anderson’s primary arguments in defense of distraction? (see part III of In Defense of Distraction) Do you find them convincing? Why or why not (<150 words) |
| His main points are that distraction in people is normal and that the concept of focus itself is counterintuitive. I found his points to be convincing, I always felt like distractions allowed me to ironically refocus, similar to when you refresh a webpage online and it may bring up new information. His case is strengthened by bringing up the skill with which advanced Buddhists multitask and also how studying attention isn’t like an organ system, which you can just examine physically. |
| After reading all three articles, what are your thoughts on this “epidemic of distraction”? (<50 words) |
| With all this new technology, these newer generations are going to be a lot worse. Kids grow up with tablets and tiktok now that is a recipe for disaster. |
| Please annotate “My Distraction Sickness” – highlight at least three instances for each of the following rhetoric concepts: InventionStyle Memory Pathos Ethos |
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