The article, Social connections by Steven Johnson who is the author of several books, describes the modern American society with a little nostalgia. Johnson wrote the article in response to an article by Thomas Friedman in the New York Times that talks about the social disconnect that people face in the world today. The response by Johnson is aim at disputing what Friedman wrote by bringing another perspective. This essay will critique the article by Johnson and prove that he is more accurate than Friedman about the fading importance of face-to-face communication.
Johnson starts by letting the reader know that he is responding to Thomas Friedman. He refers indirectly to the article by Friedman. For example, he narrate how Friedman wrote about …show more content…
The distance between people that share the same physical space has been made too big while far people has been made closer (Johnson 414). However, Johnson connects the past with the present and connects it to years before the Apple iPod was invented; and on a train journey, he noticed everyone was busy reading his or her newspapers. But there was no public discourse even then. He concludes fact that technology is making us apart and face-to-face communication is losing its core meaning (Johnson 415).
In the article, Johnson writes: “so, the idea that technology is pushing us from the people sharing our local places is only half true” (Johnson 410). This statement carries a lot of significance and meaning since it disproves the fact that technology separates us from our current environment. There no faulty comparisons exist in the article. Instead, the writer does accurate comparisons of all the examples he refers to. For instance, Johnson took us back 15 years ago when he was on a journey on the subway. He says, “I can say with confidence that the subway system, for all its merits, was not exactly a hotbed of civic discourse even then” (Johnson 414). In this case, he is referring to an earlier time regarding the current situation; and there is no significance difference between
Johnson starts by letting the reader know that he is responding to Thomas Friedman. He refers indirectly to the article by Friedman. For example, he narrate how Friedman wrote about …show more content…
The distance between people that share the same physical space has been made too big while far people has been made closer (Johnson 414). However, Johnson connects the past with the present and connects it to years before the Apple iPod was invented; and on a train journey, he noticed everyone was busy reading his or her newspapers. But there was no public discourse even then. He concludes fact that technology is making us apart and face-to-face communication is losing its core meaning (Johnson 415).
In the article, Johnson writes: “so, the idea that technology is pushing us from the people sharing our local places is only half true” (Johnson 410). This statement carries a lot of significance and meaning since it disproves the fact that technology separates us from our current environment. There no faulty comparisons exist in the article. Instead, the writer does accurate comparisons of all the examples he refers to. For instance, Johnson took us back 15 years ago when he was on a journey on the subway. He says, “I can say with confidence that the subway system, for all its merits, was not exactly a hotbed of civic discourse even then” (Johnson 414). In this case, he is referring to an earlier time regarding the current situation; and there is no significance difference between