what is the author arguing in this passage? Americans can tap into…
Question Answered step-by-step what is the author arguing in this passage? Americans can tap into… what is the author arguing in this passage? Americans can tap into 50 million websites, 2.5 million books in print, 75 million blogs, and other snowstorms of information, but we increasingly seek knowledge in Google searches and Yahoo! headlines that we gulp on the run. We can contact millions of people around the globe, yet we increasingly connect with even our most intimate friends and family via instant messaging and fleeting meetings that are rescheduled a half dozen times, then when they do occur are punctuated by pings, beeps, and multitasking.Amid the glittering promise of our new technologies and the wondrous potential of our scientific gains, something is amiss. And that something is attention.Yet increasingly, we are shaped by distraction. The seduction of virtual universes, the allure of multitasking, our allegiance to a constant state of motion: These are markers of a land of distraction. This is why we are less and less able to see, hear, and comprehend what’s relevant and permanent, why so many of us feel that we can barely keep up.Nearly a third of workers feel they often do not have time to reflect on or process the work they do. More than half typically have to juggle too many tasks simultaneously and/or are so often interrupted that they find it difficult to get work done. Workers on average spend just 11 minutes on a project before switching to another and, while focusing on a project, typically change tasks every 3 minutes. Once we’re distracted, we take about 25 minutes to return to an interrupted task and usually plunge into two other projects in the interim. We are training ourselves to jump from task to task, even as we sense that our ability to focus, be aware, and reason may be eroding.We have cause to worry. Kids are the multitaskers, the technologically fluent new breed suited for the lightning-paced, many-threaded digital world, right? Yet for all their fluency, kids show less patience, skepticism, tenacity, and skill than adults in navigating the web, studies show.Meanwhile, nearly 60 percent of 15-year-olds in the United States score at or below the most basic level of problem solving. Many high school students can’t synthesize or assess information, express complex thoughts, or analyze arguments. In other words, they lack the critical thinking skills that are the bedrock of an informed citizenry and the foundation of scientific and other advancements. We can’t be a nation of reflective, analytic problem solvers while cultivating a culture of distraction. Arts & Humanities English English Literature ENG 101 Share QuestionEmailCopy link Comments (0)
