I truly enjoyed having Brooke speak in class. Being that I am a huge fan the NPR Tiny Desk series, I was excited to be meeting an influential person in the company. However, I did not know exactly what to expect from her presentation. Now after having listened to her wise words about the role of technology, about news and media, and about leading an effective argument, I am glad to have had a chance to hear her speak because I was opened to several new ideas. For example, I thought she brought up an interesting point when she began talking about fear of technology. She began comparing people who are afraid of the Internet today to individuals who in the past were afraid of technology that now seems nearly harmless and very useful. As a person who sometimes drifts towards the anti-Internet side of this argument, this was a nice reminder that change is not always bad. I also really liked her advice about the value of searching for a variety of reliable news outlets and even paying a little bit of money to allow news organizations to provide a good service. Finally, I thought she provided a wise answer to the question of how to win an argument. She said that the best way to get someone to believe what you believe in is to present them with information that makes your argument relevant to them. This is a difficult task. However, I am going to make a fervent effort to implement this and all her other advice into my day to day life.
The debate over technology, especially smartphones and the internet, is captivating in this context. It seems that the balance we must find today is such a fine line- we should use our phones / devices to stay updated on news, but we shouldn’t use them too much for fear of information overload. The internet is necessary and helpful, but dangerous. I do like what she said about taking a step back from devices once in a while, but how can we do this and also stay updated?