In Praise Of A Snail's Pace

In praise of a snail’s pace by Ellen Goodman

Essay Example on In praise of a snail’s pace by Ellen Goodman

The author says that some rituals cannot be done faster without destroying them. This is because people want to send them via technology. She says this method will not deliver the message with the required impact since it will sound plain. Another example is communication between a teenager and the parent. The parent fears that phones and email will underestimate the significance of her message.

Goodman tries to show technology can make people lose attention of some important thing in life. The world seems to be so connected through technology but there is still a problem. People have been carried away by the convenience of technology and they seem to abuse it.

Goodman gives an example of a lover who uses abbreviation to write a text message. She says he is too distracted even to write short words.

She narrates how she used snail mail to send condolences and says people want to do this via email. This is unacceptable to her because it is not effective. The message will look simple, which is not the sender’s intention. Teenagers are trying to multi task when they do homework, send text messages and download music simultaneously. This is not possible yet they do it due to the effect of technology on them.

Continuous partial attention is people’s way of multi tasking. It results to divided attention, which might make them ineffective.

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For instance, when the teenagers are involved in many activities along doing homework, they will do their homework inappropriately. According to traditional practices, people did one task at a time. Students also did their homework without any other distraction. The culture of multi tasking is instilling partial attention in people. They cannot pay full attention to one thing. This is why even lovers cannot have enough time to write a text message in correct grammar.

The phrase sums up our era because many people have embraced having partial attention. This is why a person will opt to send a condolences note with email. He or she does not take time to think about the significance of the message. He or she does not realize it shows insensitivity to do such a thing. Traditional methods like sending mails via snail mail maintain the importance of certain actions like appreciation or expressing sympathy to the concerned people. Goodman is unhappy to realize that people are too busy and preoccupied to realize such important things.

Continuous partial attention is a problem to the people. It might affect their effectiveness eventually. If a person cannot pay enough attention to one thing, efficiency will be reduced. For instance, students will do their homework wrongly if their attention is divided. Lovers who just send improper text messages may have relationship problems because they do not pay enough attention to it. People should learn to regulate their activities and take one task at a time. It is important to think about the positive and negative impact of technology in life. Technology plays a significant role in people’s life but they must control it influence on them.

Goodman says she specifically takes a trip to the mailbox via road. She is aware of other faster means but she wants to have a moment when she is not hurrying. People in the world insist on using faster means of doing things because they are always in a hurry. Goodman intends to tell the people they cannot apply speed in everything. For instance, O’Keeffe says it is not possible to increase the growth of leeches in a garden. A grieving friend can never recover fast through the help of technology. Some things are naturally slow and no technology can make them increase their speed.