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Module 4: Articles on Dangers of Technology

This list covers:
"Attached to Technology and Paying the Price"
"Can You Unplug for 24 Hours?"
"Guest Opinion: Step Away from the Screen"
14 words 917 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

  1. deluge
    an overwhelming number or amount
    While he managed to salvage the $1.3 million deal after apologizing to his suitor, Mr. Campbell continues to struggle with the effects of the deluge of data.
  2. stimulation
    the act of arousing an organism to action
    Even after he unplugs, he craves the stimulation he gets from his electronic gadgets.
  3. acuity
    sharpness of vision
    And players of some video games develop better visual acuity.
  4. mundane
    found in the ordinary course of events
    They shrink distances and handle countless mundane tasks, freeing up time for more exciting pursuits.
  5. typify
    embody the essential characteristics of
    But researchers say the habits and struggles of Mr. Campbell and his family typify what many experience—and what many more will, if trends continue.
  6. affluent
    having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value
    He and Mrs. Campbell, 39, head to the tidy kitchen in their four-bedroom hillside rental in Orinda, an affluent suburb of San Francisco, where she makes breakfast and watches a TV news feed in the corner of the computer screen while he uses the rest of the monitor to check his e-mail.
  7. barrage
    the rapid and continuous delivery of communication
    Researchers say there is an evolutionary rationale for the pressure this barrage puts on the brain.
  8. bottom line
    the crucial or decisive point
    “The bottom line is, the brain is wired to adapt,” said Steven Yantis, a professor of brain sciences at Johns Hopkins University.
  9. cognitive
    relating to or involving the mental process of knowing
    Mr. Ophir is loath to call the cognitive changes bad or good, though the impact on analysis and creativity worries him.
  10. obsessive
    characterized by an unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation
    Mr. Campbell concedes that, even without technology, he may work or play obsessively, just as his father immersed himself in crossword puzzles.
  11. unstructured
    lacking definite organization
    Lily, a second-grader, is allowed only an hour a day of unstructured time, which she often spends with her devices.
  12. savvy
    marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
    “Connor is, other than programming, extremely technical. He’s 100 percent Internet savvy.”
  13. respite
    a pause from doing something
    The National Day of Unplugging was created by Reboot, a non-profit organization that encourages the hyper-connected to take a respite from all things digital, to leave the virtual world and get real.
  14. frenetic
    fast and energetic in an uncontrolled or wild way
    I will ease slowly back into that busy, frenetic world that lies just at my fingertips.
Created on Fri Aug 14 12:06:34 EDT 2020 (updated Tue Aug 25 15:45:04 EDT 2020)

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