Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Taylor's Take on Tech
Over the weekend I got the chance to babysit my 20 month old niece Makayla Rayne, as I do once every month or so. I could go on for days about the cute things she does and says and how funny it is to watch her, but I am certain everyone has the same or similar stories, so instead I would like to take a different approach and discuss the thing that I witnessed that really got me thinking. I saw her pick up my iPad at one point, with the cover on and closed, I did not think twice that she would so much as begin to open it to get to the touchscreen. Little did I know my niece is the most technologically advanced twenty month old around, not only had she managed to open the iPad, she somehow knew how to turn the screen on and then proceeded to unlock it, navigate to the home screen, and begin to check the weather. Now I am not sure why someone less than two years old would need to know the forecast, and the conclusion I came to is that it was the most colorful 'app' on the homescreen, but nevertheless I was blown away by her ability to use and seemingly comprehend such an advanced piece of technology with relative ease.
With technology like the smartphones and tablets and the rise of social networking that is so abundant today, the generation that is being born now will be exposed to more technological advances and more influence from the global community than ever before. The ability of the internet to connect a vast audience of people, and the capability of technology to keep us constantly connected to the internet have truly changed society today. For example, cell phones twenty years ago were only that, a phone, and today you can surf the internet, send emails, use GPS, or take HD video and post it to the Internet within seconds. Obviously these things are necessary to some people, but at some point there is no denying that a majority of people are becoming unnecessarily dependent on their mobile devices and technology for the wrong reasons. (Your text or game of Angry Birds is not worth getting in a car accident over)
I will admit I have even seen a change in how technology has changed my life as a student. As a matter of fact, at the moment, I am using my iPad to type my homework, which I will submit to my professor and class via blog. This in itself is somewhat of a new concept for me, as I was used to doing most of my writing on paper, and submitting drafts to receive corrections from the teacher. I am fully aware that written language will not just drop off completely, but I do not think it is outrageous to assume that a decline in written language, as it should be, is inevitable. Another facet of the 'modern classroom' that is new to me is the idea of putting my writing, and therefore my thoughts and opinions, on the Internet for everyone to see. I am an outgoing person, but I still have a bit of an issue with displaying my opinions for others to read and critique, especially a large audience such as, I don't know, the Internet... Only time will tell if the balance, or lack thereof, of technology in young peoples lives will be for the better or not, but I am skeptic. As I feel society has passed the days when writing was an art and reading was compelling, to the days where reading is a hassle and writing is only for authors, and those in college writing courses.
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Brilliantly said.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I will be curious to know how you think society will identify and measure your niece and perhaps my twenty-one months old son, Adam, with regards to Literacy as defined today. My son blows my mind every time he grabs my iPhone. He knows exactly where to go and what to do. This is early exposure like never before. So, to your point, technology is here to stay.
Wow! I actually witnessed something like this over Christmas break. My 5 year old cousin got a laptop for Christmas and was showing me all the games he could play and how to download music and it made me think; what the hell is a 5 year old doing with a laptop? I just got my first laptop before college. It is absurd to think about all these children operating technology by themselves at such a young age. He than begin to sing "Blame it on the alcohol" that he had blaring from his ipod touch. I wish all this technology was around when I was younger.
ReplyDeleteTaylor, you are hitting on a lot of interesting topics here. There is a wealth of information now that suggests the internet is, literally, re-wiring our brains. Some take this to be a negative, such as Nicholas Carr, and others, such as Don Tapscott, argue that the change is merely creating new ways of knowing and doing, which have benefits. A year ago, I would have sided with Carr, but now, I am coming around to Tapscott's argument. One thing that does bother me a little when I start to think of how dependent we are on the internet and technologies in general is the fact that we, as a multi-modal society, are leaving fewer and fewer written artifacts. What happens if something goes wrong? It would be as though the words that I am writing right now had never existed, for there would be no record of them.
ReplyDeleteI would like to know more about your thoughts on sharing your opinions in a virtual space. It seems that you have mixed feelings, which is understandable. Could you elaborate on that a bit for me? Is this something that you have been grappling with for a while or did you just start to think about it when you had to keep a blog?