Non Fiction Analysis: "Smartphones are making us really dumb"
by Jason Aspes
In the article "How Smartphones are making us lonely, "the writer states how dependant
we are on our smartphones. Not only can smartphones impair our memory and attention, but
research also indicates that they are addicting - to the point that they may act as a "gateway
drug," making users more susceptible to other addictions. The purpose of this article is to
express why we should stop relying on our phones as a source of entertainment. To back this
statement, the author addresses, "Smartphones are parasitic to our intelligence. Because when
you grow accustom to the frictionless assistance from technology, a mental atrophy sets in."
The author explains that smartphones get very addicting, and when you use them too much,
you start depending on them even more, proving his thesis. In the second paragraph, it is
suggested that the article's thesis is that we are brainwashed because of our phones in the
author's eyes, "We are dumber than we were 13 years ago when the iPhone was launched.
Because we have been spoon-fed information for the last decade and our ability to do what was
once considered a simple task, like math or spelling has all been lost on us." This also
demonstrates how we rely on our phones for everything from simple tasks such as definition
and spelling to solving complicated math equations right from our phones.
This article displays coherence. Everything paragraph in the article relates to the main
idea of how dependant we have become on our phones, and each sentence relates to the topic
sentence of every paragraph. In particular, the first sentence in the second paragraph of the
article mentions, "We are dumber than we were 13 years ago when the iPhone was launched."
the paragraphs accompanying it all relate to how much our intelligence has dropped since
smartphones came out. To add on, the first paragraph asks rhetorical questions hinting that we
need our phones to remember them. Moreover, the thesis is likewise hinted at rather than
directly stated in the second paragraph. The article likewise has an adequate sentence
structure. For example, the sentences in the fifth paragraph all have distinctive sentence
lengths. Evidence is shown when the writer assumes, "We have placed instant gratification
above all else. Whether it's social media, our news sources, our food system, transportation,
even our pursuit of love, have all been made more instantaneous with the rise of the
smartphone. Facebook, Twitter, DoorDash, Uber, Tinder." As you can see, there are long and
short sentences which makes the reader more engrossed in what the author has to say.
Moreover, the author's tone in this article was casual and informal. One of these qualities
is the sentence in the third paragraph "They know ourselves better than we do and they are
using it against us. And in the process of monetizing what they know about our behaviour, they
are turning us into blubbering idiots, all of us." Although his tone is negative because he uses
words or phrases like" blubbering idiots." the writer shows how severe and furious he is. To
prove this, he uses a negative and fearful tone in paragraph seven, "The confectionary business
is so successful and has invested those profits into such a powerful lobby, it has turned our
crops into crap, corn into high fructose corn syrup. And it's slowly killing us." He utilizes words
like "crap," which is informal, designating that he wants the reader's attention. The author as
well uses figurative language. For example, in the second paragraph, he states, "Because we
have been spoon-fed information for the last decade and our ability to do what was once
considered a simple task, like math or spelling has all been lost on us." He utilized the idiomatic
phrase "spoon-fed." Which means we have been provided information without any effort. He
also states that "We are like that fish in the sea that goes for that shiny worm with the hook in it."
He utilizes a simile to get the reader thinking about what he means. He is stating that we use
our time inefficiently. He furthermore says that companies know us better than we do. He
expresses, "They know ourselves better than we do and they are using it against us." There is
also another use of an idiom in this phrase.
The author uses chronological order to organize his essay. As demonstrated, he starts
with rhetorical questions to hook you. He, later on, gives a startling claim, "We are dumber than
we were 13 years ago when the iPhone was launched." We see the words "dumber" and
"iPhone," which are good words to hook us. Next, the author brings in big company names and
compares us to them to engage us with the writing, "It's why Coca-Cola is so successful, they
take water, fill it with flavor, bubbles, and lots of sugar and sell it to us for a huge profit. We
know it's not good for us, but yet we do it any way. The confectionary business is so successful
and has invested those profits into such a powerful lobby, it has turned our crops into crap, corn
into high fructose corn syrup. And it's slowly killing us." He gives a short generalization of how
coca-cola makes their drinks and how we recognize that yet ignore it. The writer ends the essay
by giving us advice in the hope of us understanding his point of view." So I suggest we take a
break. Turn off the smartphones and have a conversation with our family, get lost in the world,
get comfortable with not know what is going on for the first time in a long time… it is liberating
and you will be amazed by how much you don't actually miss it at all."
Overall, I agree with the author. Despite smartphones being beneficial in our day-to-day
lives, such as ordering something right from our fingertips, it removes the whole experience of
life. It is estimated that more than half of Canadians spend five or more hours on their phones
daily. I believe that this is much time wasted. Instead of spending family time or going outside,
we choose to use our smartphones. We accepted that our data gets harvested and sold at
auctions. I believe the author is correct. We should let go of our phones and perceive how the
world looks from "our" point of view.
Sources:
Smartphones are making us really dumb | by Jason Aspes | Medium