- We Socialise In A New Way - we don’t learn how to read facial expressions or navigate “real world” social situations.
- It's Becoming Harder To Concentrate - Heavy multitaskers are much more easily distracted.
- The Types Of Friends We Make Is Changing - We're becoming more tribal and less exposed to people with interests or beliefs different from our own.
- There’s An Awe-Inspiring Online World To Discover - Our fondness for the search field may lead to real-life adventures later on.
- Privacy May Soon Be A Thing Of The Past - We might be forced to change our names one day in order to escape our cyber past.
- We Could Stay Sharper, For Longer - Searching and browsing on the internet exercises the brain in a way that is similar to solving a crossword puzzle.
- We Procrastinate More - At the flip of your wrist, there’s YouTube, chat rooms, jokes, humour – whatever’s your poison, it’s all out there.
- Video Games Are Teaching Us New Skills - The skills required for video games are being harnessed to useful ends in education, health and even geo-politics.
- Technology Is Starting To Correct The Damage It Causes - RSI will soon be a thing of the past. Instead, everything we presently see on computers, games consoles, tablets or smartphones will be projected in front of our eyes and we will use hand gestures and voice commands instead of keyboards, mouse clicks or iPhone “swipes”.
- We’re Becoming Less Empathetic - This is down to the superficial way we consume information.
- Our Memory Is Deteriorating - As it is now so easy to find information via Google we are getting worse at remembering any facts at all.
- We're Becoming “Cyberchondriacs” - GPs now estimate a day a week is spent dealing with patients who have diagnosed themselves online.
It will probably be years before we start to really understand the impact of some of these drawbacks and potential issues.
"I'm certainly not opposed to digital technology, whose graces I daily enjoy and rely on in so many ways. But I worry about our virtual blinders."
~~ Diane Ackerman
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| The Twelve Apostles - Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia - April 2014 |
15 comments:
wonderful to hear from you Peggy! Some of those points are worth of discussion! We are so dependent on this new cyberworld.
@Christine - Hey wonderful to hear from you too my friend.
I know I am absolutely dependent on my computer and mobile phone and would not enjoy going even a day without one of these devices.
The addiction annoys me sometimes but gives me great pleasure other times.....I am still working on balancing cyberspace and non cyberspace (nature, reading, interacting with real people).....and so the journey continues.
You're right, Peggy. It is becoming harder to concent....sorry, what was the question again?
Ah Mr Smith the digital age has infiltrated your psyche!
Thanks for stopping by Mike.
Take care xxxxxxx
The internet/digital age question might be more complicated than asking the impact of personal cars or electricity. Most everything has pro and cons but people often forget to weigh them and just jump in. The impact is different for each generation too. The internet was the basis for much of the work I did in my career. Most recently it has helped me with investments. I have avoided and plan to avoid having a smartphone. The internet is a bigger benefit for those that think about their choices and learn details like privacy. So in many ways it is like other things in life. You get more if you put in more of an effort.
Thanks for adding to the conversation Bill, much appreciated.
I think your last line hit the nail on the head - "You get more if you put in more of an effort".
I am sure they had the same debate when the motor vehicle and electricity were introduced to the masses.
So this digital age, which is here to stay, will be like many other inventions and have it's good and bad points.
FYI Peggy this post seems important enough to give a shout out. Also it fit in nicely with my latest post.
thanks
Thanks for the shout out Bill, I'll wander over to your place now. :-)
Peggy, you've given good points to ponder. Interesting that I'm about to take a leap back in time as I'll be teaching at a classical school beginning next year. While I'm still learning more about that particular philosophy, I know they believe in less video and technology until students have LEARNED. Reading is paramount to learning, and students will be challenged with good literature from kindergarten on.
In the meantime, I enjoy my Words with Friends and Ruzzle and browsing FB and Instagram. I think like most things, moderation is the key.
Glad to see a post from you, by the way! XOXO
Roban
Hello Roban
Oh yes moderation is the key....to just about everything in life.
I LOVE the digital age and I dart from using one social media program for a few weeks to another.
I find using them all simultaneously is spending way too much time in cyberspace.
Presently I'm enjoying Pinterest immensely but I do like to return to blogging at least once a month as I love the more detailed feedback in the comments than Facebook and Instagram offers....just like Scrapblog was in 2008/2009.
How wonderful to be teaching at a classical school next year, I can see you revelling in this field!
Be well my dear friend xxxxxxx
I think there are definite negatives to all the plugged in time we spend. However, how else could be be friends? ;^)
Hey Relyn
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
You are 100% correct, without being part of this digital age I would have missed out on connecting with so many inspiring people.
I will now pop over and see what you have been up to.
Take care dear friend. xxxxx
You have said it all the good and the bad about cyberspace. I think we are lucky that we grew op and have had both worlds The one without and now the one with all the technology. When you are able to balance the two it is good but that is hard you can easily drift away in cyberspace
Welcome back Marja you have been missed my friend.
I absolutely agree with you that our generation is one of the luckiest generations.
We remember the times before the Internet, mobile phones etc....a much slower paced, quieter time.
It is much easier for us to find a balance between being connected at all times and when to turn off our devices.
Stay well dear friend....keep shining. xxxxxx
I really cannot stick to any social media for long. The glory days of blogging are over although I went to my very first Bloggers Meetup here last weekend. I was expecting young people but strangely many of them were our ages. It says something about the medium I think. Many of them were just starting blogging.
I like instagram at the moment but probably like the others it will lose its lustre. Facebook is 10 years old apparently. Not for me. I will never give up my blog though. Too many good memories, especially to do with my dear Dad, on there.
I am also rather disturbed of late how ISIS and other terrorist organisations are using social media. In fact, I may blog about that. I do not like to think that terrorists are humans like the rest of us. I guess. What does that say about me? One day they are posting videos of beheading an American journalist or holding the heads of murdered Syrian soldiers, the next they are waxing lyrical about Robin Williams' film career. I cannot comprehend and do not want to know. I guess social media exposes us to a world and people that we would never have been exposed to before. It is good and bad.
I would not like to have young children in this day and age though. It must be hard to parent them given the advent of social media.
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