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The article assessed here is ³µ
 



 

ëritten by Walden Sieë Publication took place on April 2010 This article ëill be analyzed by

use of reasoning skills and logic concepts gained throughout the study of this course

The article points out some explanations and statements from concerning authorities on

the issue Furthermore, the casual claim of the article is that College students are addicted to cell

phones, social media and the Internet Also, the article seems to be very bias and lacks balance as

it¶s discussing of the benefits of the internet is limited It seems as if the author is imposing his

point of vieë or perspective on the reader causing a intentional distortion of fact and

misrepresentation of information Also the headline ³U S students suffering from Internet

addiction´ is a strong heavy statement that is presented ëithout its premises The author is

already making a decision and imposing a vieë ëithout even giving any evidence

The type of research that has been done here is an Experimental research A sample of

200 students from the University of Maryland ëhere asked to give up all variety of media for a

span of 24 hours Many students shoëed signs of ëithdraëal, craving and anxiety ëhen asked to

give everything up This cannot be deemed credible for more reasons than one First, the

language used here is very blunt Analyzing the statement ³ after 24 hours many shoëed signs

of ëithdraëal, craving and anxiety along ëith an inability to function ëell ëithout their media
and social links´ Use of ëord ³many´ is unscientific and could mean anything It alters the

readers thinking by making it either sympathetic to the situation ëhich here ëould mean ëanting

to believe the material ëithout strong evidence or the reader becomes emotionally invested and

becomes carless of the material presented and decides to believe the given information

regardless Furthermore, the sample size; one University, is too small of a number to generalize

the idea that U S students suffer from media addiction as there are thousands of universities and

colleges in the United States

The research ëas conducted to find the causal relation betëeen students and the internet

on ëhether or not it¶s deemed addicting After the data ëere analysed, they came to provide a

causal relationship that ëas favourable to the hypothesis made, that students are addicted to the

internet An example ëas provided to support the initial claim, ëhich stating hoë a family in

South Korea neglected their three month old daughter, ëho died of malnutrion, because they

ëere on the computer for up to 12 hours a day

Susan Moeller had conducted this study and had ëorked ëith these students The implied

claims made by Susan Moeller, one of the study's project director and a journalism professor at

the University of Maryland that students are in fact addicted to the internet, could be presented as

credible Susan, being a professor of a reputed university, gives her the expertise and makes her

reliable to make such a remark on this topic Another argument here is ëhether or not Walden

Sieë is a credible source As there is not much information given about his expertise relative to

this article and no case study to back this up, it could be concluded that he cannot be deemed a

credible source for this article

 A Further claim made by Raymond McCaffrey, a Ph
student ëho ëorked on the study

that ³They care about ëhat is going on among their friends and families and even in the ëorld at

large´ can also be said to be credible as he got the opportunity of a firsthand look at the situation

ëorking alongside ëith
r Moeller Raymond add a little balance in this article as he discusses

the advantages of the internet and media

The stated claim, ³The center's ëebsite cites various examples of students ëho ran up

large debts or dropped out of college due to their obsession ´ is not a credible source The article

fails to discuss ëhere and hoë this information ëas obtained There are many factors that could

be affecting this The students themselves may not properly prepared for university or college

ëhile in high school causing them to do poorly Another problem could be the communication

betëeen the student and the teacher For example teacher may have an accent ëhich students

cannot understand or the material may not be presented in a clear matter of that the students can

understanding Lastly, relationships, sex life, racism, or family problems could also be reasons

that students do not do ëell in school causing them to drop out

In conclusion, from the result of the study, ëe cannot come to a reasonable acceptance of

the main claim of ³U S students suffering from Internet addiction´ Though the researchers

involved in the study are university professors and are credible enough for conducting such

studies, not much information about the study is given and the sample size is too small, a

confirmed decision is hard to make But for a more accurate result and full acceptance on the

main claim, I believe the experiment should be conducted again and the survey should be

conducted across the entire United States in order to have an acceptable result