Living in the Digital Age
Living in the digital age has been a topic of discussion that has increased more and more over the past few decades. The initial arguments were very one sided, either a yes or no, good or bad, right or wrong. Technologists, engineers and scientists and entrepreneurs advanced technology and digital living to make our lives easier and move faster. Any time a new advancement that seems to change the world comes about there will be those who support the implementation, and those who worry about the consequences of the new technology. Even I have been on both ends of the argument many times. For instance, the other day I came across a video on social media of a tiny robot, named Vector who displays emotions, gives fist bumps and recognizes the feelings and words of those who talk to him. On one hand this is a cool toy that anyone could be entertained with, but on the other the mere thought of a robot conveying emotions and being able to interact with a human in a social constructed situation scares me. I thought to myself, “will this robot be able to recognize his own emotions?” and “what will it do if it does begin to recognize his own emotions?” It’s a scary thought, as emotions have the ability drive human decision, what will they be able to do to a robot if it begins to understand what it is feeling. I think this is a good place to start in the argument of good vs bad, right vs wrong and yes vs. no.
Although the simple answer may have been valid before technology really took over, I don’t believe that the answer can be delivered in one simple word anymore. There are too many factors that go into deciding whether or not technology has ruined a generation. This is what I believe because before and after studying the effects of phones, computers and more I still have the same opinion, that they provide both good and bad.
I’ll start with the good. The connection to anyone, anywhere, anytime. With the access to the internet that there is today it is so easy to find out so much so quickly. You can see that your friend in another country is eating a steak dinner at a roof top bar just by swiping up on your Snapchat map. You can see that your brother is driving home from work by checking his location on your Verizon family plan. If you connect to your car’s Bluetooth on a Tuesday afternoon, your phone will bring up a destination suggestion based on where you travel to most at that time of day and on that specific day, telling you how long it will take you to get there. Our devices track and retain information and then replay it to us without us even knowing. Our devices remember our every move, who we talk to most, what we like to eat, where we like to go and more information that would make the generations before us question how we even find our way home. So yes, there are a multitude of benefits that technology and our devices provide for us, but you cannot forget about the strain they put on us as well.
The bad is a little more complicated. For decades people have argued that technology is bad and “we are the victims of our own technological strength” (Lo and Behold). The argument has grown since the first days of big technological advancements. These days phycologists, psychiatrists, and communications are just a few of the major players in the debate of the effects of technology. Some people may say, “it’s just technology, don’t take it so seriously” and may wonder why phycology has any say in the debate. But to me, this is one of the major factors that causes the bad reputation and negativity surrounding technology. In Jean Twenge’s article “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation” she talks about discussing technology with a 13-year old girl from Houston, Texas. The girl talks about how her and her friends sit around on their phones and how she has spent most of her summer alone in her room on her phone, maintaining Snapchat streaks and posting on Instagram. This is something that I have seen first-hand. I have seen kids from her generation (siblings of friends) sit inside on their phones watching videos and texting their summer, weekends and nights away. This is a very different experience from how I grew up. I spent every summer meeting new friends in my neighborhood, we skateboarded, rode bikes, played baseball, street hockey and just about anything else we could get our hands on, and I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything. So, for me to see the next generation, only a few years younger than me, caring so much about their devices and not connecting in a real-world manner it makes me wonder what changed so fast. I do firmly believe that the rate of devices has caused a need for psychological discussion about the effects of the high device use. Kids these days stress about how many likes they get per post, are they posting too much? Too little? This is something I see every day, even with young adults my own age. I think this stress of “do I look cool/good enough on social media?” really effects how a person sees themselves and the world around them.
As I mentioned before, the argument is no longer a simple one word answer. Do we need technology to get by in the world we’ve created? Yes, I believe we do, but I also believe we don’t need so much of it. It wraps us up, changes our values, our beliefs and our friendships, but hey, at least you won’t get lost on your way to the grocery store, right? Thanks iPhone…
