(Seven Logical Fallacies) New ACT Writing Template

New Technology Makes You More Alone or Not_06

Technology is supposed to make us more connected. We can stay in touch with our
friends all the time on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, and, of course, by texting. But
are our smartphones actually getting in the way of real socializing? Could technology
be making us more alone? How do we best balance the two? How should we think
about conflicts between these two sides?
Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of
thinking about the conflict between public health and individual freedom.

Perspective One

Perspective Two

Perspective Three

Technology make us more

Technology make us more

Technology will do us good

sociable in that information is

alone in that we are

only if we have discipline

on your fingertips.

surrounded by people who

rules for ourselves

are staring at their screens

instead of having
face-to-face conversations.

Essay Task
Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives o the
conflict between public health and individual freedom. In your essay, be sure to:

analyze and evaluate the perspective given

state and develop your own perspective on the issue

explain the relationship between your perspective and those given

Your perspective may be in full agreement with ay of the others, in partial agreement,
or wholly different. Whatever the case, support your ideas with logical reasoning and
detailed, persuasive examples.

(Seven Logical Fallacies) New ACT Writing Template

Planning Your Essay

Your work on these pre-writing pages will not be scored.
Use the space below and on the back cover to generate ideas and plan your essay. You
may wish to consider the following as you think critically about the task.
Strengths and weaknesses of the three given perspectives

What insights do they offer, and what do they fail to consider?

Why might they be persuasive to others, or why might they fail to persuaded?

Your own knowledge experience, and values

What is your perspective on this issue, and what are its strengths and

weaknesses?
How will you support your perspective in your essay?

(Seven Logical Fallacies) New ACT Writing Template

(Introduction Paragraph)
Does technology make us alone? Different people hold different views toward
this issue. On the one hand (
),
information is at our fingertips and we can
interact with people all over this globe incessantly. On the other hand (
),

you must find yourself surrounded by people who are staring at their screens instead
of having face-to-face conversation. How do we think about the conflicts between
the former and the latter. My logics and reasons follow.
(Body Paragraph I)
(perspective one )
In the perspective one, it states that we can
be more sociable by applying some good new technologies. (perspective one

is supposed to make us more connected. We can

)Technology

stay in touch with our friends all the time on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, and, of
course, by texting. In a word, with the spread of mobile technology, its become much
easier for more people to maintain constant contact with their social networks online.
And a lot of people are taking advantage of that opportunity.
(perspective one counter-argument/
post hoc fallacy)
However, the sequence of the two events in itself does not sufficiently prove
that the former caused the later. Some critics claim that our smartphones actually
getting in the way of real socializing as smartphones will continue to intrude more
into our private and social spaces. And also, being obsessed with documenting
everything through photographs and videos preventing us from living in the moment?
(Body Paragraph II)
(perspective two
)
In regards to perspective two, it points out
that it's the new technology that makes us more alone.(perspective two

) One indicator is that some recent surveys of adults in the U.S.

found that at least half of Facebook users check the site several times a day. That
sounds like people are becoming more sociable. But some people think the opposite is
happening. The problem, they say, is that we spend so much time maintaining
superficial connections online that we arent dedicating enough time or effort to
cultivating deeper real-life relationships. Too much chatter, too little real
conversation.
(perspective two counter-argument/
hasty generalization logical error)
However, information provided in the argument is incomplete to make
thorough and justified evaluation about the actual situation. For example,
online social networks supplement face-to-face sociability, but they dont replace it.
3

(Seven Logical Fallacies) New ACT Writing Template

We can expand our social horizons online, deepen our connections to the world
around us, and at the same time take advantage of technology to make our closest
relationships even closer.
(Body Paragraph III)
(perspective three
)
In regards to perspective three, it points
out that if we should discipline ourselves in this regard. Indeed, excessive or
restricted use of technology will both hurt our networking among friends. Only with
proper time allocation could be avoid the distracting effect from using it and hence
could we enhance our real-world relationship.
(Conclusion Paragraph- Choose your own perspective)
Using examples and reasons drawn above, I will be in favor of Perspective
Three.
I will start by saying that I have embraced technology in my life and parents and
schools should teach about responsible technology use and about enhancing
classroom efficacy. The total effect has been to allow us to connect more with the
people in our virtual worldbut communicate less with those who are in our real
world. Our real and virtual worlds certainly overlap, as many of our virtual friends are
also our real friends. But the time and effort we put into our virtual worlds limit the
time to connect and especially to communicate on a deeper level in our real world. As
a result, we need to examine our technology use to ensure that it isnt getting in the
way of our being sociable and getting the emotional support we need from the people
who are closest to us. Sometimes, Sometimes, we need to put our phones away in
social settings and consider making personal contact to remain the deepened
relationship.