Question

Essay due Tuesday - prompt ideas? Must be relatable for the audiences since I'm presenting it.

Mainly, I want to write about how something is ruining today's society (e.g. stuff that I found online, like slang, school, music, parents, social media, celebrity obsession, fads, etc.). Social media is a stretch - I've already done an essay last semester on technology and how it ruins people's lives.

Answer 1

Well, if you go for the celeb one, you can use how the whole online obsession is part of it, without overdoing the whole social media thing.

The school one you could look at the double edged nature of online schools. There are many people taken out of a traditional school due to quality issues, bullying, etc. On the other hand, there are ones taken out for religious issues where their parents remove key parts of the curriculum that they disagree with, and there is always a reduction in social interaction when doing things online.

Hmm... soft skills education is a big one now, had some reports in the NY Times and Forbes on it.

Answer 2

Okay, thanks @e.mccormick

Answer 3

I think you could write a paper on the unintended consequences of new technology and you probably find a lot of sources. e.mccormick's idea falls in line with that. But isn't that predictable? Everyone goes on and on about how the new scary technology is going to ruin our children and civilization. What if you looked at the fact that divorce rates, crime rates, teen pregnancy rates have all dropped in the last 30 years, but barely anyone has noticed. Why do we get so worked up over the fear of new things and close our eyes to the evidence of improvement? Just a thought. Most teachers like to see students going in an unexpected direction.

Answer 4

@nickbuns
While violent crime is on the fall, assorted forms of bullying are on the rise. The anonymity of the web and the information sharing capabilities help both of these. People can connect to other cultures, learn more, and have less desire to be bigoted. At the same time, people use the anonymity to their advantage when doing inappropriate things, like cyber bullying and stalking.

Answer 5

@nickbuns I believe the question posted above states that I cannot write anything on technology's effects on society due to having already written one this past semester...