Thesis: Nowadays personal technology can negatively impact users because it can disconnect us from family and friends.
Summary: In the same way, Lisa Segelman the author of “Family Roadtrip:Strangers in a Minivan,”Presented a similar view when describing how technology affects relationships. She believes that technology gets in the way of family interaction. In the story she had gone on a road trip with her husband and children. She chose to go on a road trip because it brought back memories she had as a kid. She didn’t want to fly to New Jersey because she wanted to do activities with her family on the road. To get prepared for the trip she would talk about audible books and activities she wanted to do in different states. Once everyone was in the car with everything in it she realized how much technology was packed. When they were passing a new town with beautiful scenery the kids didn’t even bother to look up. She bought tour books to show them where everything is but they didn’t even use it because they had a GPS.Most times when they were going to stop to eat they would almost always eat quesadillas. When it was her turn to drive she would ask a question but they never responded. The only thing that caught the kids’ attention was when a semi truck overturned. She felt that she was in her own world because she had no one to start a conversation. She was hoping that the road trip could have been the same with her kids like when she was little. Acknowledging how devices distract family from spending time together, Segelman states, “ For much of the vacation drive time, I was in my own virtual reality. I had no one to talk to, no one to share whatever the freeway I-95 had to offer. I tuned into some scratchy country- music stations and empathized with their loneliness. I yearned for the old days in my mama’s Buck station wagon, rolling around the back hills of suburbia” (Segelman,2007,2). In other words, Segelman believes when you are with your family on a road trip you should interact with each other and talk about life. She feels that the kids just want to be stuck on the device and don’t want to do anything else. She just wishes that the road trip with her family could have been the same as the one she had when she was younger.
BP#1: Segelman accurately argued that technology can distract people from talking with one another. An example of this is about my friends Frankie and Alyssa. Some time around December, Frankie came to my house to sleep over. When we went up to my room she had brought her laptop. We talked for five minutes but then she went straight to her phone. She was looking on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. I tried talking to her then she stopped using her phone to answer but then went back on it. She started texting Alyssa and asked me if I wanted to facetime with her and I said sure. We talked and Frankie kept saying that she wished she could come over. I asked my mom if she can and about 10 minutes later Alyssa came over. When she got to my house we went upstairs and then five minutes later they were both using their phones.Then Alyssa started calling someone on snapchat and i was just sitting there because i wanted to play the game incoherent. Then we went downstairs for a snack. Then Frankie started making Tik Toks. After a few hours we started to settle down and went to sleep at 2 in the morning. Along the same lines,Segleman describes how we should take a break from technology to talk with people. She states,” In our quwa to be tuned in at all times, i hope we don’t tune out some of the basic things that have kept us going for generations-things like simple tools, a Sunday drive, Everyone singing the same song in the car. I hope we can occasionally”single-task” as passengers and just look out the window, perhaps offering the occasional comment. Spotted cows, retro cars, and even rainbows may be just around the next bend in the road” (Segelman,2007,2). In other words, Segelman is saying how technology can separate yourself from the real world. Technology can be distracting because people could try to start a conversation with you and might not be paying attention. Your brain needs a break from technology every now and then to have some quality time with the people you’re around. My example of my friends being on their phones most of the time shows phones can distract from talking or hanging out with your friends. We cannot ignore the significance of this point because it reveals technology is in the way of people spending quality time together. This issue matters because in today’s society everyone is on their phone and is not paying attention to their surroundings. If people are on technology all the time this could limit how people interact with each other. Technology is a manipulative thing that won’t allow you to make as many relationships with people. All in all, when you are with your family you should share quality time together instead of being on the device.
BP#2: Another example of technology causing an issue is when my cousin was on it when I was with him. My cousin is an amazing guy but when I was with him he was on a device. Once we went to a family reunion and he was on his phone while we were outside together. We would talk but then he would just go back on his phone. Then the next day I went to the movies with him and my other two cousins. We were driving to the theater and he was on his phone again. After that I just went home and got ready to pack for Palmdale. At about 5 p.m I went with my cousin for 3 days to go to his house in Palmdale. When we made it to the house it was about 8p.m.We went inside and gave me a tour and then we headed back to his room. When we went in he just went on the PS4 with no hesitation. I stayed in his room till eleven and while i was there he was also facetiming his friend from Georgia. After a few Days we were going to La Quinta which was about a 2 and a half hour drive from Palmdale. When we got in the car everyone was talking with one another. After thirty minutes everyone was doing their own thing. The rest of the car ride there was quiet because they were just on their phones. Then we got to the house and when we got in we set our stuff down and then he just went back on his phone. He stayed there for a little while but then we went outside and talked about everything. Agreeing that technology is not a healthy thing to have in life, Segelman states,”Companionship and shared experiences have been replaced by individual desires and personal technology. I knew I’d have to combine the old with the new. I made speeches about library books, but also borrowed a two-screen DVD player. What I didn’t realize was just how much technology was packed already.”(Segelman,2007,1)” Mostly what segelman is saying is that if you are on the phone all the time you aren’t able to have as many memories with one another. When you are with your family you should cherish the time you have because you might never know how long you will have them for. Instead of being on any device you should try to make conversation and try to make memorable moments with you and your family to look back on when you get older. My example of my cousin being on the device shows how disconnects you from the people you’re with. We cannot ignore the significance of this point because if you’re on the device all the time you can’t create new memories with the people you’re with. This issue matters because people in this generation only pay attention to their phones. Technology is stopping people from interacting with one another in person. If people are on technology all the time they won’t be able to experience their whole life. All in all, when you are with people you should just put down the device and just take a break from it.
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