UND Department of English ENGL 110 Assignment 2: Technology Addiction ENGL 110, Spring 2024 INTRODUCTION In "The Case for Nothing" from Jenny Odell's book How to Do Nothing, Odell introduced us to the "attention economy," an abstract and difficult concept to define yet remarkably easy to spot in our society. Herbert A. Simon, who first coined the term, wrote, "a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention." Surely, you can look around your room right now to find an example of "a poverty of attention." Perhaps you are that example. Using art, history, and philosophy as a basis for her argument, Odell implores us to reexamine our behaviors concerning the attention economy and embrace the art of doing nothing as resistance to it. She writes, “...digital distraction was a bane, not because it made people less productive, but because it took them away from the one life they had to live." Odell believes monetizing our time takes us away from place and people, from the present. She continues, "externalities of attention economy distractions keep us from doing the things we want to do [...] long term, they keep us from living the lives we want to live." She asks us to consider how much of our time is lost to the other things of the attention economy and what it might be costing us. Behavioral sciences are also interested in these questions. More and more, we hear discussion of addiction to technology, but where does this concept come from, and who is studying it? For our second assignment, I have asked you to read two psychological studies where scientists conduct experiments and collect data regarding cellphone usage. One study questions the role of mindfulness in moderating cellphone addiction in high school students, and the other considers the cognitive effects of using a cell phone when taking a break from a difficult task. Unlike Odell, these studies use quantitative and qualitative evidence to discuss and ask questions about the role of technology in our lives and, more specifically, on our mental health and cognitive abilities. We might consider that studies like these add to or extend her arguments or are essentially conversing with them despite these texts existing in very different contexts. Odell does not cite any behavioral scientists or studies, and these scientists do not discuss the value of "doing nothing,” yet it is easy to see the link between their work. YOUR TASK Using these studies and Odell as a starting point, I would like you to begin your conversation about technology in our culture, particularly cell phones. You will use yourself as a source in the study, collecting data from your cell phone usage and analyzing it through the lenses of Odell and these scientists. You might begin by writing a reflection on your cellphone usage. What do you use your phone for? What do you think the purpose of a cell phone is? How often would you say you use your phone? What do you feel like when you forget or lose your phone? You might consider asking yourself some of your questions as well, like, "Why do I always get distracted and end up on TikTok when I just open my phone to check my e-mail?" or "How come I am only able to fall asleep at night while watching YouTube shorts on my phone?" 1 UND Department of English Then, create a plan for collecting data. What data do you think you should collect from yourself? How much data should you collect? How might you collect it? Organize it? Present it? How detailed should your data collection be? Should you record usage times or keep a more descriptive usage journal? What nuances do you need to look out for regarding qualitative and quantitative data? For instance, you may have a day where your phone records 6 hours of usage - but that may have been a day where you spent 5 hours reading a novel or doing homework on your phone - how might you account for discrepancies like this one? How might you record distinctive or anomalous behaviors? REQUIREMENTS Your paper should utilize at least two sources we've discussed in class, illustrating how your research and discussion occur in conversation with others (They Say). You may summarize their texts to contextualize your project or explain important concepts related to your work. ENGL 110, Spring 2024 You must also analyze your data carefully, discussing what was significant, interesting, or surprising in your findings and why those details matter. In this analysis, you should return to our source texts, weaving in important concepts, questions, concerns, etc. This space in your paper is a time you might want to reconsider what you wrote in your initial reflections on your cellphone usage - what were you wrong about? What were you right about? What does that mean? You should come to some larger conclusions from your analysis, allowing you to create a focus in your paper, a controlling idea. This controlling idea should be a thread that ties Odell, the studies, and your data analysis together, leading to a big-picture idea: a So What? As you write this essay, consider what this critical process has led you to believe about yourself, "the attention economy," culture, society, etc. Ask yourself: So what? Who cares? Who should care? Your essay should demonstrate They Say, I Say, and Comp Guide conventions, including Quotation Sandwiches and a distinct Controlling Idea. You must produce at least three completed and revised drafts to receive full points on this project. Your final draft should be turned into Blackboard and carefully edited with minimal grammar and spelling mistakes. Formatting and submission details for Final Draft: Documents submitted to Blackboard must be either Microsoft Word or PDF files. Name the file [Firstname] [Lastname] Assignment 1. (Make sure your file name is descriptive of whose paper it is.) ✓ 1-inch margins. ✓ Standard font (Calibri, Times New Roman, etc.), 11- or 12-point. ✓ Include your name and the date on the first page. ✓ Include page numbers. ✓ Include works cited in MLA format. 2 UND Department of English Target length: 5-6 pages, double-spaced. 3 ENGL 110, Spring 2024