Possible Thesis #1: More and more Americans are taking
prescription drugs in their daily life. People who take prescription drugs
usually need them. But recently there has been a huge incline in American youth
getting a hold of these prescribed drugs and using them when they may not need
them.
Possible Thesis #2: Is technology really doing our society
better? Young Americans are asked to use technology for school or work but are
we forgetting how to do things the old fashion way? If we were ask to research a
certain thing without any use of technology could we find any information in a
timely manner?
Possible Thesis #3: Social networks have become part of the American
society. Just about everyone has used one or knows a person who has used one.
But is social networking keeping us from the real world and making connections
with people in person? Are we losing our working and communication skills in
the real world?
Hi Stephanie! Nice start! I'm immediately more drawn to Thesis #1 and Thesis #2, just because I can see them working well with some of the readings we've done. You could do #1, you'd just have to be a bit more creative with finding something to connect to a class text. For Thesis #2, I can see you building on Carr's argument by saying that the internet is not just impacting our ability to concentrate, but creates a culture of dependency which would eventually lead us to requiring the internet for most basic tasks (which is different than his argument but builds on it, so it would work). Or, you could also choose to counter the What's the Matter with Kids Today? article by suggesting that, yes, kids are writing and reading voluntarily more than ever, but what the author overlooks is that they are dependent on technology to do that work- when they have to handwrite an essay on the spot, or do book research, they usually struggle or cannot achieve the same level. For Thesis #3, you could forward the Facebook article by showing that Facebook is not only effecting how or if we get together anymore, but it is also impacting people's ability to communicate face-to-face (in other words, we've become reliant on the social networking medium to do the hard work of making and maintaing friendships for us), or I could also see you forwarding the iPod World article for this one. You could point out how technology gives us a "world to ourselves" which is not only keeping us from noticing the outside world (Sullivan's claim), but will overtime negatively impact our capacity to listen to, understand, and communicate our thoughts effectively with others (your claim). Both of these options would work well, so it's completely up to you! Good luck!
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