This let us know she is not just focusing on one age group. I believe, she writes, this essay because she came across an article about watching television makes you smarter. This allowed her to come up with her own disagreement for Johnson article “Watching TV makes you smarter.” One example of Stevens logical argument is when she writes “Not only does Johnson fail to account for the impact of the sixteen minutes worth of commercials that interrupt any given episode” (Steven 232). I believe she is saying that are brain is still focusing on what is going on during those sixteen minutes of commercials whether its educational or our favorite TV show. We will still be glued to the TV set waiting on what going to happen next.
For expert authority, the author asks an expert for her opinion and the expert responds with saying that we are partially to blame for TV advertisements being in our homes. This is expert authority because a person with credentials that demonstrates expertise in the topic that is being discussed. The author used this text to introduce the idea that the American dream used to be based on this notion that ingenuity and technology and progress were cornerstone to a successful future. She also started with personal experience evidence and the idea of watching television because it is something that everyone can relate to. Also, the author used this text
Is Google Making us stupid? The essay's thesis is: "The following essay appeared in the July/August 2008 issue of The Atlantic.While the title asks if Google is mak- ing us stupid, the essay examines how not just Google, but technology (typewriters, clocks, the Internet) changes the way we think. Nicholas Carr is author of The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains." Carr begins by writing about how he used to be an avid book reader. It was one of his favorite things to do, but over time he believes the way he thinks changed.
Comedy or Subliminal Messages Often times in comedic television subliminal messages underlie the punch lines. Television shows such as Family Guy feed unintentional messages into the subconscious that can unknowingly, shape and mold one’s views on a variety of topics. Anyone who has ever seen an episode of Family Guy can attest to the offensiveness, weirdness and extreme bluntness of the show. Nevertheless, those that are offended by the show usually do not see how it transforms real life situations into ones that Americans can humor themselves with. One article in particular, Antonia Peacocke’s, Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious, speaks upon the overt offensiveness within the show.
Thus, democracy and a fair voting group become tainted. I would definitely say that Comedy Central's Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the Colbert Report are part of the "media" that affects people’s opinion. These television shows are a way to provide comedic relief to the issues our economy faces; however, these shows still have an impact of how the viewer will understand an issue at hand. It is very difficult for anyone to be completely unbiased and with constantly hearing other people’s opinion through the media. We cannot make a decision of how “we” feel about the topic.
Television is simple to regulate, however the internet is more difficult, almost impossible to regulate. Newton Minow has a valid argument when he suggests that television has the potential to influence the taste, knowledge and opinions of its viewers in positive ways, and it becomes even more relevant when one considers the internet today. One way that television has a positive influence on society is the educational purpose it shows. Dora the Explorer is a children’s cartoon that airs on Nick Jr. that teaches kids small/beginning words in Spanish. It shows a young girl doing good deeds while teaching children how to be bi-lingual and teaching good morals such as punishing Swiper the Fox, and instructing him not to steal.
Alexa Forbes Period 4 Ms. K <3 Technology and the Affects in American Society In American society today, there seems to be a conflict about whether technology, including T.V. and the internet, has a positive or negative effect on people. In her article, “What’s the Matter with Kids Today?” Amy Goldwasser claims that the internet has changed society for the better. Additionally, in the article “Watching T.V Makes You Smarter,” by Steven Johnson, he asserts that watching television can intellectually stimulate a person’s mind. Both authors address the emotional health effects of society from T.V.
While being criticized generation because of their overspending, advertisers and marketers target their brands to make sure that they are geared towards these people. While many are enjoying their golden years, Baby Boomers’ buying power is unstoppable. This is even truer when it comes to the use of the Internet. The generation was able to witness the transition between a typewriter to a personal computer, snail mails to e-mails, telephone calls to Facetime, and more. According to Jessica Naziri of USA Today (2015), while the current generation is considered to be more advanced when it comes to the use of technologies, the Baby Boomers are not lagging far behind.
Steven Johnson argues that today’s shows make viewers follow many plots, sub-plots, and characters, allowing for more mental stimulation, and as a result makes them smarter. Granted, contemporary shows provide more opportunities for mental deduction and speculation of future events than programs in the past, but Americans are still wasting their time watching television. Whether or not the shows “make them smarter” is not a scientifically proven fact, and there have been twelve medical studies since 1985 linking excessive television watching to increasing rates of obesity (Johnson, Trubey). Although scientists have not proven that watching television makes you smarter, scientists confirm that television leads to obesity. One might try reading a book while on an exercise bike, training the body and mind.
During this time characters became my friends, characters in TV programs or video games, places I could return anytime I need a distraction. If I was sad, or more often just apathetic, I would watch reruns of Scrubs or 30 Rock; if I needed something more intellectually stimulating than a sitcom I would watch House or Bones; and with my family I would watch more story heavy, less procedural dramas like Firefly or Battlestar. The characters in these shows helped me develop my sense of humor, a lot of my vocab comes from them, even my moral character developed from questions raised during their moral dilemmas. Now that I actually have friends they have a greater impact as real people than TV characters, but their effect is similar. Having lost my brother at a young age, my best friend is like my surrogate brother, and kind of my taller, less attractive clone.