Respones #3

The very diverse documentary, Digital nation directed and produced by Rachel Dretzin, portrayed many affects to how technology is rapidly changing our world. This isn’t the first time that this subject has been discussed, but as much controversy as there is related to the thought, it’s hard to get multiple views, which this film did an extraordinary job of. It’s very different growing up in the years of technology from having to learn how to use it, and trying to adapt to what digital world brings to us. There is conflict with students and using technology while at school. Not only affecting the college level, but the younger students as well. It is always questioned whether it should be allowed, or not because of it becoming too much of a distraction, “ Kids are going to need to be fluent in technology. They're going to need to be excellent at communication. They're going to need to be problem solvers. That's just the way the world is now.” states Jason Levy. There are some schools now that support it to the point that they want to provide each students with a lap top computer for homework and using in class. Little kids are learning in some places how to use technology and not abuse it, but it doesn’t always stick. There are many people all over the world ranging in all ages that do online gaming with one another. These people sometimes never meet in person, but they feel like they really know the people they play with and are true friends. Can you be friends with someone you have never met face-to-face? The main part of technology that people get raped up in is the social part. Pages like Facebook, MySpace, email, and twitter, have made it so easy for us to always have our finger on the pulse. Once you get sucked in you can’t get out, your social life can get in the way of school, work, and things you need to get done. We always think that we are good at multitasking, but there are studies that show we aren’t as good as we think. We have the ability to engage, but we tend to redirect it in what we are interested in, which tends to be the social part of technology. Can we adapt to this new age of technology? Many say we can’t, but our world is always changing and there are always going to be people who aren’t okay with. Our lives have already changed so why not just try to deal with it? We must be open-minded, fighting the change isn’t necessarily healthy, but abusing it isn’t either. Maybe the key is to be flexible with it, to not over analyze, but remember that “you can always turn it off”, says correspondent Douglas Rushkoff… “So I guess that means you can still count me among the believers. I love the possibilities of a digital life. I love being able to experience the world through other people's eyes. I love being able to broadcast a story across the country from home in my underpants. I love being able to imagine almost any possible future and to do so with other people, millions of them, right alongside me. But most of all, I love being able to turn it off.”
For me I have always focused on the negative view of technology and always felt like it did take over some people’s lives and I notice when I feel like it is taking over mine. I like to think that people still like to write pen and paper because it’s good to get away from the computer. It’s good to step back from the technology and remember the things we do naturally and not forget that. It’s important to remember that there is an outside and to take advantage of that. On the other hand I do believe that there if this is what our world is going to be like, than we should have some understanding of it. In my opinion is how you act with it and I think everyone can control it if you want to. I’m not a big computer game junky, but I have a problem with watching multiple shows and movies online. Doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but I have made it a habit of staying up late at night by myself drowning myself in these shows. I get so hooked in the characters’ lives so I don’t have to think about my own. It’s like my own little mental vacation. For some people if they get upset they might turn to food, for me I would rather fill my mind with “someone else’s” problems instead of dealing with my own. I am very fortunate that I see this as a problem and that I’m not oblivious to it. Whether I’m going to fix it is the other problem.