Thursday, 2nd March 2017

Reduce screen time for human interaction

IT S the 21st century. Social media is the real deal, whines a child to his mother.
With information technology (IT) developing rapidly, parents are becoming more
concerned about the future of their children whose very lives currently seem to
depend on mobile electronic gadgets (smartphones, tablets and handheld game
consoles).

When I walk into a restaurant these days, it feels like I ve accidentally stepped into a
cybercaf. At every table, there would be people, adults and children alike, fiddling
with their electronic gadgets, perhaps looking at the latest posts from their Facebook
friends or moving to the next level in their video game.

These gadgets have also become handy tools for parents to use with their children. I
was a little shocked at seeing a toddler in a restaurant being given an iPad to play
with just so the parents could eat in peace.

At home, family time together is also being disrupted by IT, of which social media is a
major feature. Most homes, especially in urban areas, would be connected through
Wi-Fi and there would be the attendant personal computer, laptop, game consoles
and, of course, smartphones and tablets. And chances are everyone in the family
would at one point or another, and in some instances all at the same time, be
engaged with the electronic device of their choice. In this scenario, children with
problems might not be heard out because their parents are too busy on social media
and grandparents would not be any help too if they are immersed in their online
news sources.

My mother usually found it difficult to call us all down to dinner but recently, she hit
on a very effective way to do this. She just switched off the Wi-Fi which is
downstairs! Within seconds, we would all rush down, not to the dining table but to the
Wi-Fi to switch it back on. Nevertheless, it was an accomplishment for my mother
because she would get us all down without having to shout herself hoarse in the
process.

Recently, I read an article discussing the reasons why graduates are finding it hard to
get jobs even when they have prestigious degrees. Could social media be partially
blamed for this? Teenagers who are fond of communicating online, wrongly using
short forms of words, are stunned when they go out into the real world. They cannot
make proper sentences and don t even know basic manners during crucial job
interviews.

Don t get me wrong; I am also an avid user of IT but what I tend to question is its
significance to people in today s world. It cannot be denied that everywhere you go, it
plays a big role. Businesses depend on it for advertising. Colleges and universities
bank on it for modern education. There is no way we can go on without IT in this era
where everyone is competing for success.

Although parents often complain about their children s addiction to their electronic
gadgets, they fail to realize that they themselves may be to blame for this. It is said
that Monkeys see, monkeys do. They might excuse themselves by saying it is work
but children these days know better and will no longer just accept what they are told.
So let s all take time on a regular basis to sit back, let go of those gadgets and just
enjoy the company of those we love.

~ Report by : Rani Ismael

*Source: New Straits Times (NST)

2
 QUESTIONS

1. What are the author argument/point of view?

The authors argument is that parents are becoming more and more concern about the future
of their children whose very lives currently seem to depend on mobile electronic gadgets.

2. What are the key point stated in the article?

The key point stated in the article is that, these gadgets have also become a handy tool for
parents to use with their children. It was a little shocking to see a toddler in a restaurant
being given an iPad to play with just so the parents could eat in peace. Furthermore, family
time together at home are also being disrupted by IT, of which social media is a major
feature. Last but not the least, the reasons why graduates are finding it hard to get jobs even
when they have prestigious degrees is because, they are stunned when they go out into the
real world as a result of wrongly utilizing short forms of words during communicating online.

3. Is the article clear and well - supported?

No, This article is not clear and not well supported. There is no strong provided in this article.
For instance, the author only stated that is parents are becoming more concerned about the
future of their children whose very lives currently seems to depend on mobile electronic
gadgets. This author does not provide any statistics nor prove, showing the percentage of
teenagers using the smartphone.

4. Does the author provide any counter-argument?

No, The author does not provide any counter-arguments. There are no reason or evidences
provided by the author that can challenge the thesis made earlier in the article. The author
only explain why teenagers can be addicted to the gadget and the effect of utilizing
smartphones among teenagers which can results towards their attitude.

5. Do you agree with the authors point of view/argument? why?

Yes, I do agree with the author point of view since nowadays people tend to give their children
access to electronic gadgets despite knowing the disadvantages of the gadgets that will not
only make their children lazy but also addicted. Hence capable of destroying the future of their
so-called children. For example, parents often find it difficult to call their son for dinner
because their son are drawn so much into the gadget itself. Apart from that, teenagers who
are fond of communicating online, often wrongly utilize short forms of words, are stunned
when they go out into the real world.

3
 6. What is your stand about this issue? Provide appropriate reason to support
your answer.
My stand on this issue is that parents nowadays are using the smartphone to their advantage.
Parents are using smartphones as a medium in making their children happy. For instance, it
is used to distract their toddler from crying or as a reward for their sons ace in some events.
As a result, children who do not know what a smartphone can really do, found themselves at
the bottom of there barrel, being extremely addicted with the so-called gadget. Thus, directly
resulting to both their mental and well-being. They would tend to be anti-social, being less
active, lag in soft skills, they will unnecessarily feed their time with the gadget itself. This
issue will only become more pandemic as it already is when these children turns into
teenagers. Not only it will ruin their lifestyles, indirectly it is also hazardous yet detrimental to
their futile future. Parents are advised to only provide their children with electronic gadgets if
they feel their children are mature enough to utilize the gadgets in a righteous manner,

4
 ESSAY
REVIEW

In this article, the author is trying to convince the readers that children nowadays are so
engrossed with electronic gadgets. However, she is not very convincing.

Firstly, the argument that the author has is parents nowadays are becoming more and
more concern about the future of their children whose very lives currently seem to
depend on mobile electronic gadget.

This is clearly written when the author stated that gadgets have become a handy tool
for parents to use with their child. To explain this, the author provided examples such
as, seeing a toddler in a restaurant being given an iPad to play with just so the parents
could eat in peace. This shows how parents are neglecting their child by simply letting
them to fiddle with gadgets. Next, the author also stated that family relationship is also
affected by the use of gadgets. The sentence family time together at home are also
being disrupted by IT, of which social media is a major feature proves the statement
above. Also, the author pointed out that, the reasons why graduates find its hard to
get jobs even when they have prestigious degrees is because, they are stunned when
they go out into the real world as a result of wrongly utilizing short forms of words
during communicating online.

In order to convince someone to accept our point of view, facts have to be clearly
stated and be well supported with evidence. But, in the article, there is no strong
evidence provided. Thus, making this article unclear and not well supported. However,
the author is trying the readers that parents are concerned about the future of their
children. For instance, the author only stated that is parents are becoming more
concerned about the future of their children whose very lives currently seems to
depend on mobile electronic gadgets. This author does not back her statement with
statistics or data to be proved. Let alone, showing the percentage of teenagers using
the smartphone, mere examples.

As for the counter counter-arguments in the article, the author does not provide any. There
are no reason or evidences provided by the author that can challenge the thesis made earlier
in the article. The author only explain why teenagers can be addicted to the gadget and the
effect of utilizing smartphones among teenagers which results towards their attitude. Hence,
the author does not provide any counter-arguments in the article.

5
I would have to agree with the authors point of view since nowadays people tend to give
their children access to electronic gadgets despite knowing the disadvantages of the gadgets
that will not only make their children lazy but also addicted. Hence capable of destroying the
future of their so-called children. For instance, parents often find it difficult to call their son for
dinner because their son are drawn so much into the gadget itself. Apart from that, teenagers
who are fond of communicating online, often wrongly utilize short forms of words, are stunned
when they go out into the real world.

In conclusion, parents nowadays are using the smartphone to their advantage. Parents are
using smartphones as a medium in making their children happy. For instance, it is used to
distract their toddler from crying or as a reward for their sons ace in some events. As a result,
children who do not know what a smartphone can really do, found themselves being
extremely addicted and drawn into the gadget. Thus, directly resulting to both their mental
and well-being. They would tend to be anti-social, being less active, lag in soft skills, they will
unnecessarily feed their time with the gadget itself. This issue will only become more
pandemic as it already is when these children turns into teenagers. Not only it will ruin their
lifestyles, indirectly it is also hazardous yet detrimental to their futile future. Parents are
advised to only provide their children with electronic gadgets if they feel their children are
mature enough to use the gadgets in a righteous manner.