How is the Digital Age Changing Us?

             The documentary Digital Nation highlights the idea that we are entering a new age of technology and we do not yet know the effects that this may have on us. People are beginning to incorporate computers and even digital games into schools for learning, which is causing some concern. This is especially because there are concerns about addiction problems with the internet and gaming in the United States and more prominently in other countries. So, we need to begin to ask ourselves if the digital age changing us in a harmful way in the long run or just making us different.¹

            In today’s world people are constantly on their computer or phones doing multiple things at once. They can be texting someone, checking their e-mail, writing a paper, watching a movie, or studying for a test all at the same time. This is called “multi-tasking” and many believe that they are good at it. While, they may think so researchers found that people who do this a lot are actually slower to react to changing media than those who do not really multi-task. Multi-tasking, however, has become a huge part of society today because it helps us get a lot more done. Apparently, things are just not getting done well which is a scary thing because I am a multi-tasker myself, but I believe that the problems associated with multi-tasking cannot be as bad as those associated with addiction. The problem of internet or gaming addictions are occurring more and more, especially in Korea. There they go so far as to have camps for addicted children to be treated for their gaming addictions. People can get too wrapped up in the games that they lose track of time and play for hours.¹ Games are made so that there are many different levels and so many different options that it is easy to get caught up in trying to finish the game and needing to get through it.² When someone is addicted to the games it is almost as if they do not know how to communicate anymore and they do not know how to stop. It can really take over a person’s real life because of the one that they are living in the gaming world.¹

            Technology is all around a person in their everyday life and because of this, schools are starting to incorporate this into them. In some schools kids are completely on their computers. This is a concern to many because of the addiction problems that we see in gamers and also the negative consequences of multi-tasking. In one school’s case, it saved the school by increasing attendance rates and test scores. I believe that technology is a way to keep kids interested. Many times kids do not understand why they have to learn some things, but I believe that by being on computers they are not only learning the material like math or writing, they are also learning a basic skill they will need in the work place. Another school has children learning through gaming. Gaming is a very interactive way of learning, but the effectiveness of it is not known yet. There are many online learning games that have been used to help children learn basic material they may be having trouble with even as I was a kid growing up. These games have been very successful, so maybe gaming will be a successful form of learning in today’s world. People have said in the past that alienation is occurring due to gaming and technology, but there are many developments that are actually bringing us closer together like gaming community sites where people can share ideas about the game. Many people have friends in these “massive multi-player” online games that they may never meet or even romances. These relationships can sometimes be brought into real life through conventions set up by the gaming companies where people from all over the world who are fans of the game come together.^1,2

            It is still too early to tell how the digital world will actually affect us. There are many different viewpoints on how it could, but no one knows for sure. The developing digital world will challenge us as humans to find out what is really important and what we value, but we cannot try and stop these developments. We could be losing some skills that we thought were important, but gain other, new skills that are just as good.¹

 

Works Cited

 

1. Dretzin R. Digital Nation. Available at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/view/. Accessed May 31, 2013.

2. Campbell R, Martin CR, Fabos B. Media & Culture: Mass Communication in a Digital Age. 9th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/ St. Martin’s Available at: https://reader.cafescribe.com/reader/Reader.html. Accessed May 22, 2013.