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Essay 1 Draft

The rapid advancement in technology throughout this modern age unceasingly broadens the scope for entertainment. From the latest portable gaming consoles that display breathtaking landscapes and fantasy worlds to a vast selection of movies available in a touch of a button, technology has made entertainment accessible everywhere making it almost impossible for one to feel boredom. Quoting President Barack Obama, “the whole library of congress can be accessed from the device inside your pocket”. Although present day technology smothers us with a variety of uses for both work and play, it has somewhat disconnected people from human inter-action or has it really?

Compared to my last attempt to disconnect myself from all my gadgets, I find myself lucky the second time around as I was given a Lego starter kit by my dad just the other day. He has always been ranting about how cool it was back in the day to open a fresh box of Legos and begin working on it. He added that we would never visit Lego land unless I try firsthand how it feels to put together one box.

It was a surreal experience for an 18 year-old like me to put together a handful of intricately crafted plastic pieces for the first time. I saw this as a great opportunity for me to let go of my electronic gadgets and concentrate on my building skills. The first few minutes seemed confusing for me as I never encountered so many pieces of Lego parts jammed into a plastic bag. Anyway, after opening the box, I began separating most of the pieces according to color, size and mixed them all up again trying to find the pieces I needed. It was challenging but fun thing to be doing. I was glued to the instruction brochure for almost two hours and I never bothered to check my phone for anything. I was to paying too much attention to the detailed manual.

I was happy to be able to disconnect myself from my phone and laptop for a good three hours. I got to communicate with my dad during all stages of construction just to check and see if I was doing alright. What seemed like an easy task proved to be a myriad of challenging tasks involving securing the tiniest of pieces just to put together a certain section of the toy. I was surprised how I was able to drown out my surroundings and concentrate on the project. I felt no urge to look at my phone for the entire time I was putting together the toy.

Compared to my first experience, I had more control the second time around as I was in a more controlled environment which did not require me to search my current location or call for an Uber. Keeping away from gadgets while walking the streets of New York for the first time does require you to use your gadgets to locate local tourist spots. This was not the case when I was at home. I had the entire living room floor to scatter all my Lego pieces. With no TV, internet or checking for phone messages, I was able to complete the task in record time.

Family evenings together has evolved since the internet began selling their services to housel holds several years back. Gone are the days when autocratic parents told us what to do after dinner as each member of our family now has their own niche to dive into. Scrabble, twister, or some other board game was the standard then for every family. Now American living rooms are not only swamped with huge flat TV screens but more and more people prefer to watch content on their phones or tablets. This dawn of personal entertainment has bridged the gap among family members who nowadays congregate in the living room only to be paying attention to different content. This raises many questions. One of which is whether this brings the family much close or more apart.

Certain studies suggest that having the entire family sitting in one room all wired to the internet on each of their own devises has a good advantage. There is a more democratic atmosphere among parents and children since all of them are allowed to view content which they actually enjoy reading or watching. This focus on one’s interest according to one study encourages interaction from among a group inside the room. This occurs when one family member sees something he or she likes and shares it with the other members of the family. For example, mom sees an interesting dress which the daughter comments on or dad finds this funny clip which he shares with his wife or son brings the whole wired experience to a new level of interaction. This theory runs opposite to the traditional pattern of behavior which suggests that continuous use of devises during family gatherings tend to establish walls of communication among themselves.

In my opinion, human interaction within a tech savvy family home presents more advantages than disadvantages. The sharing of information between family members on almost any topic under the sun has proven useful among the modern family. Weather reports, climate change and other weather occurrences are easily circulated within the household by mom or dad just in time for their children to pack an umbrella or put on a heavy coat in anticipation of snow or heavy winds.

I can say for a fact that Brad Kahn’s theory of being close to each other but on different realities is a true occurrence in our house. My dad while accompanying my mom who watches Philippine telenovelas watches sports at the same time on his iPad. They would have breakfast or eat lunch out with their phones in hand looking at Facebook or checking Instagram feeds from friends and family.

While nearly 60% of American families with children own more than two computers and also subscribe to wireless internet service, this does not erase social interaction within the family. In fact, it is the diversity of interests that keep them together as a coherent unit since each family member tends to leave their screen to look at the other’s interesting find. For example, dad sees a funny video and shares it with mom and the kids. Mom and kids leave their screens to look at dad’s screen to watch the video. Here, there is constant sharing among members of the same family as far as content is concerned. Mom, in one instance may have chanced upon a nice Italian restaurant which she likes to bring the family to eat one day. Endless interaction occurs in a family that share each other’s internet content. Hence, there is no isolation among members of the family who are constantly on their devises using the internet.

Work Cited

Williams, Alex. “Quality Time, Redefined.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 01 May 2011. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.