paper english 101

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La‟Acura Stevens
English 101
Professor A. Bolton
March 7th, 2012
Double Standard
This article written by Amy Goldwasser is about how kids pay more attention to their
hand held devices other than “real things” in front of them. Goldwasser jumps from when
technology was not popular too today when everything is about the newest technology. In this
article she agrees at first, but then slowly disagrees, realizing that the internet and technology are
learning tools. Amy Goldwasser, writer of Teenage Girls in America, writes on what fires up
teen girls lives today. (She also has other writings in magazines such as the New Yorker,
Seventeen and Vogue.)Goldwasser also wrote “What‟s the matter with kids today?” Although I
disagree with Goldwasser at first that teenagers pay more attention to hand held devise than the
“real world” I fully endorse her final conclusion that the internet should be viewed as learning
tool.
Being that I am a teenager myself, I do play on the internet for hours at a time. I use my
cell phone to access the internet because it is always with me. Goldwasserwrites “Kids today-
were telling you! don‟t read, don‟t write, don‟t care about anything father in front of them than
their iPods”(666).This comment brings me back to my point that hand held devices are
convenient. IPods have access to music, and internet, are capable of taking pictures, and some
also have texting ability. So, we might not be locking ourselves in our rooms to “write letters to
friends”, as Goldwasser says but we are in our rooms doing homework, texting friends, and

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listening to music. Although, it may seem as though we are always on the internet we are still
paying attention to the things around us.
My parents yell me all the time for playing with my cell phone not realizing what I am
really doing. Most times I am checking my email, talking to classmates about homework, or I am
on Facebook. Goldwasser states that the “Internet has turned teenagers into honest
documentarians of their own lives” (667).I have never thought of Facebook as being a place
where I could document my life until reading that. I just used it as a place to keep in contact with
family I do not get to see very often. They complain about the use of the internet, yet people are
finding family members thanks to internet sites such as, Facebook. Most of my homework and
extra credit are posted online. The internet is just not a way of keeping in contact with family and
friends but it can also be used for learning.
I agree when Amy writes, “They drove the presidential debates onto YouTube and very
well may determine the outcome of this election” (667).Years before I turned eighteen, I paid
little to no attention to politics. I became involved when famous people started posting videos on
YouTube. The same adults that are complaining about the use of the internet are the same ones
who are using the internet to target teens to vote. Even though many adults fuss about the
internet, it is a great educational tool. According to Goldwasswer, “Ninety-seven percent of
teenagers in the common core survey connected „I have a dream‟ with its speaker- they can
watch Dr.King on demand” (667). This statement means to me that if a teacher hands a student a
paper with this same speech on it that they will not connect to it as much as seeing it. When
watch Dr.King speech online we can feel his words it is like can feel how important it was to him
to end racism.

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On the other hand, I believe that some parents are afraid of what their kids may be
learning. It is like a fear that the internet can teach them something they cannot. Most parents
really do not know how to use the internet or know what the internet is about because all they
know is bad and what they hear. My grandma always says something negative about the internet
because she really does not know that it could be used as an educational tool. Goldwasser points
out “we‟re afraid our kids know things we don‟t” (667). If parents sit down with their kids and
actually talk to them about the uses of the internet, they will not have to worry about what is
being taught to them via the web.
Just as important as it is for kids to embrace and be knowledgeable, adults should
embrace the fact that some kids use the internet to actually learn. Amy makes a statement were
she says “Once we stop regarding the internet as a villain, stop presenting it as the enemy of
history and literature and worldly knowledge, then our teenagers have the potential to become
the next great voices of America”(669). I find this statement to be true; if adults stop saying what
can and cannot be viewed online, maybe their kids will not take an interest in those things.
Another among Goldwasser many quotes “Teenagers today write for fun; it‟s a part of their
social lives” (669).On these social networks kids post a status to let their friends know what is
going on in their lives. These same kids post status updates to let other kids know what is going
on with them. In return, everybody is reading and writing. It may not be a book; I feel as long as
they are excising their minds it is healthy for the mind.
Yes, kids spend a lot of time on the internet. The internet should not be looked at as
something bad that takes up Childs time. Just because adults think they are not getting the same
information from a newspaper as online. The internet could be a great source of information to

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help people alone with school and finding jobs. We should be thankful for the internet and think
about it as an educational tool and not a bad thing.
Works Cited
Goldwasser, Amy. What's the matter with kids today? n.d.
The norton field Guide to writting . New York and london: W.W.Norton and company , 2010.