Tow #15: How Technology is Changing the Way Children Think and Focus By Jim Taylor

Nowadays in our society, technology is becoming a growing aspect that is a part of people's everyday lives, and is also bringing up the controversy of whether or not it's harmful. Many use it for teaching and ease of everyday life, whereas others choose to keep their children away form it. Jim Taylor, a professor for Psychology at the University of San Francisco, looks to show his perspective differently. Taylor argues that rather than harming children, technology simply changes the way they think and focus through analogy and exemplification.
        Taylor begins by using an analogy of scuba diving and jet skiing to illustrate the different types of focus that it takes to read compared to just easily searching it on the internet. He claims, "book reading is like scuba diving in which the diver is submerged in a quiet, visually restricted, slow-paced setting with few distractions and, as a result, is required to focus narrowly and think deeply. In contrast, using the Internet is like jet skiing, in which the jet skier is skimming along the surface of the water at high speed, exposed to a broad vista, surrounded by many distractions, and only able to focus fleetingly on any one thing". By using this analogy, Taylor shows that even though reading requires a person to focus on one specific thing, searching the internet requires someone to scan many options and focus on many. By showing this to the audience, he illustrates that technology changes the way the younger generation thinks. Instead of learning to completely focus on one thing, technology teaches children to take in large amounts of information at once. The analogy of jet skiing and scuba diving helps the author achieve his purpose of portraying the difference. 
   In the text, Taylor aso uses exemplification to show the validity of his argument and to relay that technology is not as bad as others think. He includes "Research shows that, for example, video games and other screen media improve visual-spatial capabilities, increase attentional ability, reaction times, and the capacity to identify details among clutter". Taylor frequently quotes studies and other facts to back up his argument and provide ethos. By doing this, he is adding credibility to his argument, making his claim even stronger. Showing that studies and other accredited psychologists agree with Taylor's perspective creates an ethical appeal and causes the audience to believe what he is saying. 
   I believe that Taylor does a very good job on achieving his purpose because his argument is different than others regarding the effects of technology. Instead of simply arguing whether or not technology is good or bad, he uses an analogy and exemplification to show to the audience that technology changes the way children think and teaches them in a different way.