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Michael Borasy, Dev Patel, Jordan Pearce, Nicholas Garrett Jones

Professor Barbara Presnall

UWRT 1104

February 14th, 2019

Technology and its Effect on Creativity

Do you need an answer to a math problem? Learn how to cook? Look at memes on

Twitter? Google will, and always, have your back. It’s one of the most widely used pieces of

technology, and contains an unfathomable amount of information. But, does having instant and

easy access to answers to most of your questions a good thing or a bad thing? Technology has

become such a large part of many people’s lives, and changed how we function in our everyday

lives. Creativity is one of the most important traits for humans, as it’s what makes our species

continue to innovate and improve. After reading “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation”,

by Jean Twenge, and about how social media/technology was negatively affecting an entire

generation, or Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk on the declining rates of creativity in schools, an

important question was raised my group: Is technology increasing or hindering creativity?

The Data Collection Process

In an attempt to solve the question, we carried out a survey, an array of interviews, and

researched through scholarly articles online. The main target audience for both our survey and

interviews were college students, where the majority of ages were 17-25. This age range is the

most enticing for our research, since we’ve been exposed to technology dependency for a little

over half of our lives, but have also experienced life without smartphones and constant WiFi
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connection. We have seen the best of both worlds for equal amounts of time! The survey first

collected information pertaining to sociodemographics and demographics, including age, gender,

education levels, and employment. We interviewed UNCC students, whom were all between the

ages of 18 and 21. The questions for both types of questionnaires asked participants about their

thoughts on technological advancements, and their consequences on today’s society. The

difference between the two was that the questions were structured to be open-ended in interviews

and multiple choice for the surveys.

And the Results Are…

We spread the word of our survey through text messages and social media, and were able

to generate 172 responses total. Although many of the survey takers were acquaintances of the

group members, we collected enough responses so that bias wasn’t a large factor. A majority of

participants were between the ages of 18-22, but it ranged from 12- 23+ years old. More than

80% of surveyors were Asian or Caucasian, and a large percentage of the 172 responders were

full-time students working on their college degrees. Based on the answers we received, the

general consensus showed that creativity benefits from technology. When asked if technology

has created a brand new platform for minds to explore and create, an overwhelming 88% of

survey participants clicked yes. Another 88% of surveyors believed that technology is

responsible for new job creation. There was only one question that contradicted pro-technology,

where 50% (out of the 3 choices) of responses deduced that cell phones decreased productivity

throughout the day.

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One of the articles used for our research was a study done by Linda Jackson and some of

her colleagues, called “Findings from the Children and Technology Project”, which produced

interesting findings on various forms of technology and their correlations with creativity in

children, aged 12, on average. Out of the Internet, cell phones, computers, and video games,

video game users were the only category that showed significant increases in creativity levels

among the children. We were surprised that the other three types showed no increase in
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imaginativeness during the study, since devices like the computer and the Internet opens up a lot

of opportunities and resources for everyone, including kids, to use their imagination.

(questions: rely on technology daily? Hinder or help? Jobs creation? Affect on children?)

The interview participants were all similar in age, and friends of the group members.

Many of the answers to our questions were very similar, showing a connection in the thought

process and personal beliefs of the interviewees. For example, when asked if they depend on

technology on a daily basis, the general consensus was a large and resounding yes. Respondents

were also tasked to explain their opinion on the correlation between job creation and technology,

where many of them referenced to sites, specifically Linkedin, and the Internet’s ability of easy

accessibility for job searches. Overall, there were a lot more pros of technology and its benefits

compared to cons being expressed by our interview partakers. Although there were only four

members answering our questions, the similarities in answers during the interview, on top of the

similarities in quite a few of the survey questions, lead us to believe that college students have

positive outlooks on technology in today’s world.

What We Get Out of the Results

The data that we collected from all of our sources were consistent in siding with

technology, and we agree with the results. Out of our responses and articles, people concur that

the technological devices increase technology because of its ability to provide a plethora of

resources and information, allowing people to think outside of the box in more ways. From the

results, I got a sense that people are accepting that technology will continue to grow and continue
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to become larger and larger components of our lives, which in turn people will learn how to use

it to their advantage in becoming more creative in different ways.

Although it was minimal, there were a few points that were made that disputed

technology and creativity. One pertained to productivity, as seen in the survey where a majority

of participants believed phone use were affecting them in the sense negatively. To a degree, we

do agree that my iPhone holds many distractions that we can rather turn to rather than working

on homework, but it provides many helpful resources in learning and creativity. For example,

most classes require students to bring their phones in class, as it has important tools, like PollEv

and other educational websites teachers use to teach their kids. Cell phones today also hold high

quality cameras where creators can make films, as well as countless number of apps with a

variety of functions. Another thing that was pointed out was that people don’t have to try to hard

to find answers to their questions anymore, as a couple clicks on Google can lead them to what

they need. However, the more information that people obtain, which is very easy to acquire

nowadays, leads to greater innovative thinking.

The Grand Takeaway

In conclusion, the survey, interview, and outside articles supported our answer to the

question, therefore my opinion of the correlation between technology and creativity was not

changed after the research. Technology is growing at an exponentially fast rate, and it’s going to

take some time for people to adapt to it. As long as we continue to adjust to technological

advancement, we will eventually be able to use those resources fully to our advantage, and that

includes improving creativity through technology. Humans are currently experiencing an

explosion of innovation within technological fields, and there are no signs that it will end in the
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foreseeable future. With these new innovations will come brand new approaches to creative

thinking for even more innovation, at increased exponential rates as time passes by.
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Works Cited

“CAT Shows What’s Possible in Creativity and Technology.” ​Advertising Age,​ February 14,

2011.

https://advance-lexis-com.librarylink.uncc.edu/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:co

ntentItem:526D-WF91-DYFH-V005-00000-00&context=1516831. Accessed January 30,

2019 .

Jackson, Linda A., et al. “Information Technology Use and Creativity: Findings from the

Children and Technology Project.” ​Computers in Human Behavior,​ vol. 28, no. 2, Mar.

2012, pp. 370–376., doi:10.1016/j.chb.2011.10.006.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563211002147

Satell, Greg. “How Technology Enhances Creativity.” ​Forbes​, Forbes Magazine, 2 Feb. 2014,

www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2014/01/27/how-technology-enhances-creativity/#1f844

c6f3f50​.

Smith, Rosa Inocencio. “Readers Debate: How Does the Internet Affect Your Creativity?” ​The

Atlantic,​ Atlantic Media Company, 3 Mar. 2017,

www.theatlantic.com/notes/2017/03/internet-creativity-responses/518514
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