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ESL 96 Final Exam Form A

For this exam, you will:

(a) Read and annotate two thematically related articles

(b) Write a summary of reading A at home
(c) Write an essay in class in which you support your statements with the ideas from readings A
&B

Part 1. Annotation and Summary: Reading A (20 points)

Please read the following article using some of the reading strategies we discussed in class, such
as underlining main ideas, highlighting, and annotating. You will be graded on your annotations
and summary.
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Reading A:

Technology Can Make Your Relationships Shallower

But it’s all in how you use it.
(Published: September 29, 2022, the Atlantic)
By Arthur C. Brooks

In 1995, Rena Rudavsky and her family were selected to participate in a psychology experiment:
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University installed a computer in their dining room and
connected it to the Internet. At the time, only 9 percent of Americans used the Internet (in 2020,
nearly 91 percent did). Rena, then a middle schooler, recalled sitting in front of the computer day
after day, participating in chat rooms and surfing the Internet. When she finished, another family
member would take a turn.
Strangely, this experiment didn’t spark much discussion in her household. “We did little
conversing in the dining room when the computer was on,” Rena told me in an email.
Furthermore, “none of us shared our private Internet experiences with others in our family.”
Rena’s experience was typical, as the researchers showed when they published the now famous
“HomeNet” study in 1998. “Greater use of the Internet was associated with decline in
participants’ communication with family members and the size of their social circle,” the
researchers wrote. Even worse, it led to “increases in the participants’ depression and
loneliness.”
In truth, the HomeNet experiment illustrates a simple truth about love and happiness: If
technology is overwhelming our lives, then we will be less happy. In order to reap their full
benefits, we should use digital tools in ways that enhance our relationships.
Social connectedness is a key to happiness. Lower it, and you will be worse off—and so will your
loved ones, especially your kids. One 2014 survey revealed that 62 percent of U.S. children
thought their parents were too distracted to listen to them; the No. 1 reason was parents’ phone use.
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It might seem strange that we would voluntarily adopt technologies and use the Internet even
though it makes us less happy. There is one clear explanation for this contradiction:
convenience. Sitting in front of a screen (which nine in 10 American teenagers say they do to
“pass time”) is simply easier than talking with a person, and virtual communications such as
texting, are faster and easier than a visit or a phone call.
Obviously, abandoning the Internet and eliminating virtual communications from your life is not
the answer. Doing so would isolate you and compromise your ability to make a living. Based on
the research, however, you can learn to use technologies to complement, rather than substitute
for, your relationships. Here are two ways to do so.
1. Choose interaction over sitting in front of a screen: This is nothing new; my parents used
to tell me to go outside and play with friends instead of watching TV. Today, we know that,
too. Much screen time lowers happiness and can lead to depression and anxiety.

2. Create a communication hierarchy: It’s unreasonable to expect anyone to stop texting but
you can use it less if you have an “order” in place for talking with your friends, co-workers,
and loved ones. When possible, make an effort to meet in person—especially with your
intimates. When meeting up is impossible, use face-to-face technology or the phone. Text or
use similar technology for only impersonal or urgent matters.
Rena’s experience from the 1990s made her think deeply about the Internet’s effects and had a
lifelong impact on her use of technology. She had a Facebook account in college but deleted it
after graduating, and she’s never gone back. She avoids other social-media networks, and her
children have no Internet presence.
By today’s standards, her life might sound old-fashioned. Her daughter knocks on neighbors’
doors to visit. The family sits on their porch after dinner, chatting among themselves and with
passersby. She writes and sends snail-mail letters. When she does use technology, it’s as a
complement to her relationships, not a substitute for them.
For most of us—especially people who grew up with it—the Internet is an unquestioned part of
our lives, seeping into every aspect of it. Obviously, we’re not going back to life without
technology. We should, however, use it mindfully to enhance our relationships.

Summary
Please write a short summary of Reading A in the following space. The summary should be
brief, clearly state the source, and include all main ideas from the selected text. You can either
type or handwrite a summary.

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