A man settles onto his horse, his bag over he shoulder. He sets of riding through rain, wind, or snow to deliver your important message to your family who live three states away. Your message tells them of your intended voyage to the state of Ney York. You have sent the message a week before you leave so that your family will have time to read it and respond before you set sail. That was the way of communicating one hundred years ago. It was slow, ineffective, and frustrating at times to have to wait five or six days for your message to get to someone. Thanks to technological advances you can now tell the whole world something in the click of a button. Technology has made the process of communication quick and easy without any waiting periods. People miles away from each other can communicate within seconds at the simple click of a mouse or push of a keypad. Technology is helping mankind advance and grow towards a more perfect world. The youth of America have not only benefited from our technological advances but thrived from them. Kids can now communicate with each other in the blink of an eye. Kids can now expand their social lives and grow towards a more advanced future. Technology is helping kids expand their minds and their futures.


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People can now communicate all over the world thanks to modern advances in technology. These advances have giving kids access to the largest archive of information in the world, the Internet. The shining achievement of a great generation. With the Internet kids can communicate with other people and research for a paper at the same time. It has brought about a new age in multi-tasking. If you have a bad day you can home and blog out your emotions as a way to express your true feelings without the embarrassment of explaining it face to face with people. With the Internet you have access to billions of people who you can interact with. The possibilities are endless. For people who are shy or socially awkward “The Internet can foster openness, self-confidence, and a greater sense of ease and comfort in dealing with others”(Coget and Yutaka1). With the Internet comes a new way to express yourself and become open to new ideas. The Internet offers such great promises to new generations; all you have to do is open your mind to it.

Thousands of songs at your fingertips is the great ability that comes with an iPod. The iPod is a way to express yourself into the music you are listening to. If you are down you can play a catchy tune to cheer you up. An iPod is an extension of yourself to some people. With it they can hear only music that they like to hear. Is just and upgrade of a radio without the hosts and commercials, and its much easier to move around. With an iPod you also can start up a conversation with fellow music lovers, “The iPod does more to unite people than it does to divide them”(Harris1). You can share your favorite songs with people or talk to them about what they like in music. The iPod does more to help then it does to harm.

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Cell phones are a way to talk to people while you are far away perhaps even miles or countries. With a cell phone you have global communication at you fingertips. You can tell someone the latest news the second you hear it yourself. With cell phones you have personal entertainment wherever you go. You can watch TV, play games, and talk to people all at once. Cell phones open up a new way to communicate. Some peoples lives really on their cell phones not because they have to be able to text their Bffs but because the cell phone has their schedules on it too. With a cell phone you can plan out your day, make appointments, send invitations, and pretty much everything else. Some people just have to face the facts that cell phones make people more efficient. They can order a cake for someone’s birthday while traveling on a subway on their way to work. With a cell phone people have become more efficient at pretty much everything. Cell phones were invented to make our lives easier so why not use them?

The Internet, some people say, “leads to small but statistically significant increases in misery and loneliness and a decline in overall psychological well-being”(Affonso1). This is simply not true. The Internet is here for us to our advantage, not for you to consume your lives with it. If you stop talking to your family because your surfing the web that’s your fault. All you have to do is stand up and say hello to your family. The Internet is a way of relieving stress. You come home feeling bad you can get on the Internet and do something to entertain yourself to make the stress go away. The 169 people that Affonso is referring to where people in college who had just started using the Internet. They are bound to be
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overwhelmed with it. They indulged themselves to fast and used it for all the wrong reasons.

Krystle Song states “The main appeal of the iPod is that is preoccupies you so you are no longer obligated to interact with the uncontrollable factors of every day life”(1). The main appeal of the iPod is listing to music to pass the time away, to enjoy yourself and be entertained. It’s a way to get away from your surroundings and go to your happy place. “iPods are a major deterrent to conversation” is false (Song1). When you see someone listing to their iPod don’t you wonder what they are listing to? If you don why don’t you ask them? Its not iPods that are stopping conversations its peoples innate shyness. Next time you see someone listing to their iPod it doesn’t mean they don’t want to talk just that they want to listen to a quick song, so ask them what their listing to, strike up a conversation.

Some people might say that cell phones are putting people in their own personal bubble and denying them the ability to react with the outside world. People using their cell phones are just communicating with some one else who they can’t talk to verbally. People are just trying to entertain themselves. Just because they are on their cell phone that doesn’t mean they cant be talked to in person. Its not technology holding people back from interacting its people. When you see somebody on their cell phone you might think you can’t talk to him or her, they are busy. That’s not true they are not busy you just put your mind to thinking they are. Striking up conversations isn’t prevented by machines it’s prevented by us.


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Technology is helping make positive changed in peoples lives. But people keep thinking these changes are going to ruin us just because these ideas are new. When Elvis became famous people were saying that he was ruin kids lives. He was making them rebels. But Elvis inspired generations to make wonderful music. That’s what technology is. It’s the Elvis of our generation and maybe fifty years from now maybe our computers and phones and iPods will be making wonderful music too.