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Kaitlin Lyford
Professor Keyes
English Composition 1061
20 December 2012
Does Computer Dependency Make Humans Lazier?
As the years progress in the world we live in so does a lot
of what we have in it. Some items that have been created in the
past have become outdated now. This is because a lot of them have
been updated into a better and more efficient version from what
they originally were. Technology, specifically computers, is a
prime example of that. Computers overtime have grown more and
more with how they look and what they are capable of doing.
Nowadays, most people have all kinds of different electronic
devices. This is because a lot of our world has become based
around them and just technology in general. The one that comes up
often though are computers. These devices over the years have
started to show up more and more around the world, especially
since they keep getting updated. Most people own one, whether
its a desktop, laptop, or even one of both. They are used for
many different reasons such as; work, school work or even just
socialization. Are they becoming too frequently used and taken
advantage of though? This is a question that a lot of people have

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debated on, wondering whether or not people depend on computers

too much and possibly for the wrong reasons. A statement said by
Andrew McKillican from BBC News Talk Point on Do we rely too
much on computers? states that, Asking if we can live without
it [computers] is as complex as asking if we could have lived
without the industrial revolution (McKillican). His statement
goes to show that this subject has grown to become a huge topic
of discussion over a period of time. Its become a concern for
some people in the world as well. Computer devices can be helpful
in some situations, but they can also be overly used in others.
These certain devices may have made us humans lazier in certain
situations.
An argument that can be made towards computers making humans
lazier is the fact that they can become distractions. This
situation usually occurs when it comes to people trying to get
work done at their job. In a lot of jobs that involve having an
office they are going to have easy access to a computer. People
who are officer workers usually have a desk where they sit at for
multiple hours in a day. At their desk there is normally a
computer right there for them that they can use. A lot of office
work does involve having a computer. It helps these workers to
communicate with other workers, applicants or customers through
emails or instant messaging. It has also helped with the

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documentation part of an office worker. So having a computer is

helpful for their job, but since these devices are capable of
doing a lot, there are distractions that can be involved. The
most common one is the internet, because there are so many
different websites a person can go on, that wouldnt be involved
with their work. This can lead the worker to get off task from
doing their actual work, since they would have access to this. A
2006 study by Paul M. Mastrangelo, PhD, Wendi Everton, PhD, and
Jeffery A. Jolton, PhD, found that 88% of employees used their
email for personal messages and 80% sent out jokes, 60%-65%
used their internet to just surf the web or shop online, 10% used
it towards some way of sexual activity and 5% used their
internet access at work to make private information public or to
gamble. (Mastrangelo et Al. 735) Its easy for an employee to get
distracted at work, due to these types of distractions that the
internet offers. Therefore, this makes office workers lazier,
since they arent staying focused and getting work done at a more
efficient speed.
High school students or college students also experience the
computer as being a distraction, which leads them to becoming
lazier. This takes place when students have any type of homework
they need to get done. JA Alonzo and Walter Payton, writers from
a Chicago Tribune News article, state how, Research from the

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American Heart Association shows teens spend an average of 20

hours a week in front of a computer or TV (Alonzo and Payton).
This suggests that teenagers may spend too much time in front of
a computer on a weekly basis. Most students now in the twentyfirst century own a laptop or have a desktop at home too. In a
New York Times article called Growing Up Digital, Wired for
Distraction by Matt Richtel, it told a story about a seventeen
year-old boy who struggled to complete his summer homework
because he chose to be on his computer instead. (Richtel) The
boys name was Vishal Singh and he attended Woodside High School
in Redwood City, California. He was going into his senior year,
but over the summer he was supposed to read the book Cats
Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut for homework. He only got forty-three
pages into the book before his first day of senior year started.
He instead spent most of his time either on Facebook or Youtube,
which are accessible through the internet on a computer. This
story leads to the fact that computers have made humans become
lazier, because they play a role of being a distraction. This is
due to all the different aspects that computers offer, like the
internet. In this same New York Times article, Matt Richtel
quotes a statement that Vishal says, If it werent for the
Internet, Id focus more on school and be doing better
academically (Richtel). This goes to show that some people even
see that the internet can be a real distraction for them and make

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them lazier. In some situations a computer can be helpful for

students such as typing up a paper, researching or putting a
power point together. A lot of students get sucked into the part
of it being a distraction though, due to certain websites the
internet has. Some of these include Facebook, Twitter and
Youtube. These are websites that students go on often. Since the
internet offers these websites this creates the problem of
students procrastinating against their homework. Therefore, this
is a cause of why students become lazy, at least when it comes to
getting homework done, because the internet is a huge
distraction.
Sometimes people allow the internet to do the thinking for
them, which can be seen as humans being lazy. This mostly relates
to students who are in high school or college. There are websites
out there on the internet that allow students to have a simpler
way of getting their homework done. Its mostly homework that
involves a student having to read pages or chapters out of a
book. Most high school or college students dont want to have to
read out of a book for homework, especially if they knew there
was an easier way out of it. This is exactly what these types of
websites provide for high school students, an easier way out. An
example of a website like this is Sparknotes. This website is
filled with tons of different literature books that a lot of high

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school and college students will have to read throughout their

years of school. Its kind of like a study guide for books. This
site gives the context of the book, a summary of the plot
overview, provides a list of the characters and describes each of
them, points out the themes, motifs and symbols and gives a
summary and analysis for each chapter in a book. The main reason
why high school or college students use this site is for the
summary and analysis part. Students know that reading a summary
off a website is much easier than actually reading the pages out
of a book. It would be a lot shorter for them to read as well.
Thats why a lot of the time high school students resort to
Sparknotes. In an article called SparkNotes Softens Student Life
by Mike OLeary, the director of the library at Frederick,
Maryland, he talks about how it was for him back when he was in
school to how it is now for students when it comes to using
shortcuts, like SparkNotes, for homework. (OLeary 41) In his
article he states,
Today, its even easier to take shortcuts. When I was in school
and didnt want to read an entire novel, I had to go to a
bookstore and buy a copy of the CliffNotes summary of the book.
Now, all you kids have to dofrom the comfort of your bedroom or
dorm roomis go to SparkNotes site and get a complete summary
and analysis of the book for free. (OLeary 41)

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This statement goes to show that shortcuts on getting homework

done has been around for years, but now it has become even easier
for students to get ahold of. Since it has become easier, due to
the internet, more students are going to start relying on that
site. Therefore, its going to create them to become lazier with
their thinking, since they are going to rely on a website to get
their reading homework done, rather than actually reading the
book. Students dont have to buy or spend any money either with
using SparkNotes, so this makes it even more of a reason for
students to use this site. Another statement from Mike OLeary in
SparkNotes Softens Student Life states that,
Some things, though, dont change. One constant is that students
will take the easy way out, especially when facing the prospect
of reading a long, boring novel, play, or poem [. . .] SparkNotes
is a win-win deal: You avoid having to actually read a work of
literature, while appearing to have done so carefully and
intelligently. (OLeary 41)

This statement proves the fact that most students are going to be
lazy and take the easy way out. They are letting Sparknotes do
the thinking for them to give them the answers. Its an easy
website for students to get on too as well. All they need is
internet access, which nowadays isnt hard to come across at all.
This website may seem useful towards students, because it gives
them exactly what they want, but its also creating them to

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become lazier in thinking. This isnt going to help them out

towards their future. If this website happened to disappear in
todays world, most students wouldnt know what to do. Theyd be
lost, since its a common website that is used.
The lack of person to person communication is a concern
leading to why computers have made humans lazier over time. On
the internet there are social networking sites that a lot of
people have nowadays. A popular website like this is Facebook. In
a 2011 study by Maria Kalpidou, PhD, Dan Costin, MA, and Jessica
Morris, BA, they inform what Facebook consists of:
Facebook allows a user to create a profile, display
personal information, upload pictures, access other users
profiles, accumulate online friends, and interact with those
friends through messages, gifts, and other applications.
(Kalpidou et Al 183)

As one can tell there is a lot that someone can do when they have
a Facebook account. Most people use it to keep in touch with
others, because its a handy way of communication. According to a
2011 study by Rosland K. Baker, a psychologist, and Katherine K.
White, PhD, they state in their introduction, Further, SNSs
[Social Networking Sites] have quickly become one of the leading
communication tools for adolescents online socializing (Baker
and White 395). This website has given people a new outlook on

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ways to communicate to others, which is why it has become such a

popular element for adolescents. It doesnt even involve them
having to actually see the other person either. It makes
communicating with someone else much easier, but also less
emotional at the same time too. This is where the lack of person
to person communication comes in to play. Another statement from
Bakers and Whites same study, Conversely, some noted concerns
include excessive use leading to reduced time for other
activities, including academic, physical, and face-to-face social
pursuits (Baker and White 395). Their study revolved around a
certain number of Australian adolescents, who didnt use social
networking sites and the reasons why they didnt, but in their
introduction they still recognized the fact that most adolescents
do use these websites. Other people in certain professions are
noticing the kind of impact these social networking sites are
having on people. It has come to a point where most communication
is now being done through these types of websites, rather than
face to face. This is only contributing to the concern that
people are becoming lazy due to computers and what they have to
offer. People are beginning to take advantage of communication
through the internet. This isnt going to help them with their
person to person communication with others. Itll put a damper on
it, rather than improve it.

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So have computers made humans lazier? There are reasonable

arguments that can fight against that, but over time computers
have affected humans to the point of laziness. People involve
themselves with the use of a computer too much, mostly because of
the internet. It has affected people in ways of becoming a
distraction at work, with getting homework done, doing the
thinking for them, and person to person communication.
Technology, especially computers, has changed our world around
drastically. It has made peoples lives less productive in many
different ways. Time can only tell whether this problem will get
worse or get better.

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Works Cited
Alonzo, JA and Payton, Walter. Are Young People Becoming too
Dependent on the Internet? Chicago Tribune News. Computers,
05 Feb. 2009. Web.
Baker, Rosland K. and White, Katherine M. In Their Own Words:
Why Teenagers Don't Use Social Networking Sites.
CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking 14.6. (2011):
395-398. Print.
Kalpidou, Maria et Al. The Relationship Between Facebook and
the Well-Being of Undergraduate College Students.
CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking 14.4. (2011):
183-189. Print.
Mastrangelo, Paul M. et Al. Personal Use of Work Computers:
Distraction versus Destruction. CyberPsychology & Behavior
9.6. (2006): 730-741. Print.
McKillican, Andrew. Do We Rely too Much on Computers?
BBC News. Talking Point, 12 Apr. 2000. Web.
OLeary, Mick. SparkNotes Softens Student Life. Information
Today 20.2. (2003): 41. Print.

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Richtel, Matt. Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction.

The New York Times. Technology, 21 November 2010. Web.