Reflection - Digital Nation

My thoughts after watching Digital Nation, was not necessarily the flipside of technology, but the speed in how it have occurred and the gluttony of it. For instance, the MIT students who were convinced that they were “multitasking” and not “distracted” learners were a prime example of the overuse of technology. The same goes for the person talking or texting on the phone while driving, which is now comparable to drunk driving. The concerns of the professors teaching these students said the students of today are different in that a majority are now just passing.

I agreed with the movie that technology can be addictive, just as anything can be addictive if not used in moderation as over use has its consequences, i.e., poor grades. I think it has it place, but as we have preached for years for people to have a balanced diet, a balanced life style is also a necessity. In some ways, we are behind the technology fast track, whereas it comes in fits and bursts, but after watching this movie, there is a benefit to this. Korea being a technology leader technology has evolved very quickly and internet cafes is a good example of the mismanagement and lack of structure and discipline for technology. You may be worse off with it then you would have been without it. I work all day in front of a computer and the last thing I want to do when I come home is sit in front of the computer. We need to use this technology as a means to an end and not the end all and be all. 

In the movie when they were talking to the gamers who had played for hours and hours but had not met face to face, something is lacking. I am not a doctor, but that is so one dimensional, folks, life is messy, chaotic and far from anyone’s control. There is something to be said for human interaction or interactions with living things. Until we can create the technology to make us immortal, the virtual world has a place but it’s not “the place.” I think the piece about “Bubbe,” we want to feel connected to something real, we just want to be anonymous?

Lastly, the piece on the military drones killing enemy forces was disturbing. Whether you are fighting the world’s biggest evil, you’re taking a life, you need to at least give the person the respect of looking them in the eye before you do it. Again, life is messy and technology should not be there just to do our dirty work.