Robert Soliz
Dr. Estermann
English 104-15
1 June 2012
Millennial-ology
When near a college campus, it can be seen as reaching the limit of its carrying capacity of students. In a class room there might be 38 students when it only holds 30, in a computer lab the computers might all be taken, and in the Starbucks all the outlets to charge your lap top might be full. The campus Wi-Fi could be running very slow because so many students are using their smartphones, lap tops, tablets, and other technological devices. When observing a college campus it is clear that Millennials are engaged in positively furthering their education with the help of technology. In spite of this, it is questionable that technology is damaging the minds of Millennials. The technology used by Millennials can help their education and social life greatly.
Technology has several positive effects on the Millennials education. An excerpt from “The Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change.” By Pew Research Center, stated that the “Millennials are on course to become the most educated generation in American history, a trend driven largely by the demands of a modern knowledge” (165). Thus, these days of modern knowledge are all based on technology, from ipads, to laptops, to smartphones, and to high tech article databases. These technologies enhance Millennials to do more and increase their efficiency. In addition to, I observed my peers on ipads, laptops, and smartphones searching for articles on high tech databases that if the technology was not available would take weeks to obtain instead of minutes. This fast and efficient way of obtaining materials with technology greatly benefits the Millennials education and gives them a “unique and distinctive identity” as stated in “The Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change” (166). Also stated in “The Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change,” “24 percent of Millennials say it’s because of their use of technology” that makes them “unique and distinctive” (166). Millennials can be easily identified in a college campus because of their use of technology to complete school work in any part of the campus or in any part of the world for that matter. Millennials are able to be in a Taco Bell eating and still being able to do and complete assignments. I’ve personally experienced being able to complete an assignment in Utah and submit it on time in California. In “Bad Student Writing? Not So Fast!” Fendrich quotes “Technology isn’t killing our ability to write. It’s reviving it-and pushing our literacy in bold new directions” (179). Furthermore, technology does not only help Millennials with being fast and efficient, it also helps their writing by being able to “express themselves clearly and concisely” on social networking cites.(179) I see Millennials on Facebook writing their views on certain subjects and other Millennials expressing how they feel. This creates Millennials to see other views and to see different styles of writing that they can learn from each other. Technology clearly affects Millennials positively and their education greatly benefits from it.
Millennials use Technology not only for education, but for their social life as well. Singham mentions Millennials are “good multitaskers, having juggled sports, school and social interest” (172). Moreover, technology plays a big role in Millennials being able to be good multitaskers. In high school I juggled football, school, girlfriend, and a job. I heavily relied on the use of my smartphone to communicate with my parents, girlfriend and boss. Technology made it possible for me to be a good multitasker. As well as, I also observed my friends relying heavily on the use of technology to stay connected and be a good multitasker. Pew Research claims that “technology…brings family and friends closer together (167). I strongly agree because family members and friends can live in a different country and technology allows us to communicate