Today’s technology hindering old-fashioned brain power

Chelsea Zaft

Technological conveniences are meant to be just that, a convenience that assists in day-to-day routines and activities, but it seems like Americans today don’t consider the downfalls of over-using our gadgets.Somewhere along the line we have started to become dependant on technology to do all the thinking for us and in effect are creating an uneducated and dimwitted society.

Most grocery stores now have a change machine at the register that automatically counts out your coin change and dispenses it in a small tray.

Try giving coins to a register clerk at almost any store after they already have your total change amount and most likely you’ll get a blank stare in return.

Cash registers and change machines are not solely to blame for the lack of math skills, although they certainly don’t help matters much.

The American Institute for Research conducted an international study that compared the math skills of fourth graders, eighth graders, and 15 year-olds in the United States and 11 other industrialized countries.

The U.S. ranked eighth for fourth graders while the eighth graders and the fifteen year olds placed ninth.

We’re not just failing math, it seems like command of the English language is slowly disappearing as well.

Hardly anyone reads anymore.

Very rarely does anyone pick up a 1000 page book anymore just for fun, let alone write anything thats not required.

Even then, people are likely to be more than happy to let the computer do the thinking.

As a college student and writer, I too have a great fondness for my computer’s spelling and grammar check, but when I see a word or sentence underlined, the first thing I do is go back to see what the mistakes are and
what corrections to make.

I do not automatically hit the spell check icon and have the computer think for me.
Obviously I don’t have every word in the English language memorized and I’ll bet there are only a handful of people who do, but that is what a dictionary or a thesaurus is for.

So next time you’re writing a paper, try looking up that underlined word.

It only takes a couple seconds longer.
Or try figuring out what your change should be before you get it back.

You never know, you might be surprised at what that big ol’ mind of yours can actually do by itself.

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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