SPRING 2014 BLOG ASSIGNMENT:
Please post your comment by Wednesday March 11.
Please Watch this PBS FRONTLINE show Online
Digital Nation
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/
Watch the entire 90 minute show in segments online.
Make notes and write a short reflection on what you found most interesting or surprising about the show. (about 150 words)
Make notes on each topic segment…
LIVING FASTER
RELATIONSHIPS
WAGING WAR
VIRTUAL WORLDS
LEARNING
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/view/
Digital Art + Culture 
Kyle Powley
sec 002
I found this document very interesting and surprising. I guess I didn’t really know how much of an impact digital culture on our lives. After watching this I could decide if all this technology is harming us as a whole or helping. Technology is definitely making us move at a faster pass, and it is affecting our attention spans’. I can see why it would be scary to see that our memories are not as advanced as they once were, but that is the way it has been heading since the beginning. Should we have to remember all of this information if we could just look it up in a second on google? Technology is effecting our relationships in a negative and positive way. On one hand, we are not socializing with people right in front of us as we could. On the other, we are able to connect and stay connected with more people than we ever could before. I do think it is sad that people become so obsessed with virtual worlds that they ignore the real world. Also, using these worlds as a work tool is fucked up and makes no sense. It seems unnecessary to me. Technology is a great tool for learning, and it is crazy that kids growing up in this culture pick it up so fast. Learning isn’t what it use to be and I don’t think that is necessarily a bad thing.
LikeLike
Allison Hatz
section 001
This documentary showed me much more to how people use technology and how addicted people are getting to technology. I had no idea that companies like IBM would actually have people log into a virtual world with his/her own avatar and “meet up” with everyone. It reminded me of a sims game or something. It almost struck me as pathetic that they even do that. I get it, it saves on time and plane tickets, but I cannot take a meeting seriously if it looks like I’m playing a game. They could use systems like skype and actually see each other’s faces and interact that way instead, not through an avatar. I also did not know that places have treatment centers for kids who are addicted to gaming and the internet. I knew that the internet can take away peoples time, but not to the point where it turns into a medical/psychological issue. But overall, I look at some things that technology has really helped us with in the last years. We all just need to see when we cross that fine line of taking part in the real world and the virtual world.
LikeLike
Paul Jensen
Sec 002
I really liked this documentary and its exploration of technology, and its impact and effects (both positive and negative). I liked the neutral stance it mostly held on the topic . The documentary explored a lot of the negative aspects of technology such as the solitude, lack of human connections, and fast-paced multitasking associated with it. The documentary also explored positive effects of technology such as efficiency and ease as well as endless opportunities and possibilites. It touched on how this is affecting our youth and the way we learn as well as how this will shape the future of our learning and generations to come. I agree a lot with what they said about technology is evolving so quickly that we don’t really have the time to slow down and understand what is really happening. For example, I feel like we are only truly beginning to understand the effect of mid 2000’s technology had on us and understanding more of the past. There were a lot more interesting topics that were explored that I can’t include just for this being too long of a response but overall I thought the documentary was a very interesting and thought provoking commentary on technology and its effects on modern society.
LikeLike
Losa Jung
Section 1
I agree with the documentary claiming that our fast paced lives are affected by technological development. It’s funny how we list “multi-tasking” as one of the strengths now days. I personally find myself multi-tasking 24 7. In class, I’m paying attention to the lecture but also checking my emails on my laptop and doing something else on the other hand. At home, I’m watching TV shows on the television and checking my emails on my laptop but playing games on my smart phone at the same time. It was interesting to see the research outcomes where they conducted a study with the result of “multitasking effectively” isn’t a thing. However, when I’m not doing two things at once, I find myself thinking that I’m not using time effectively. Maybe, I’m addicted to Internet. When this documentary visits South Korea and introduced South Korea as the digital nation, it was very interesting because that is where I grew up. The Internet café was introduced in the film and that is where I spend at least 2-3 hours per day with my friends. This film was taken in South Korea back in 2008 so it was very interesting to see how much our technology and digital nation has evolved since then. In South Korea, there is Wi-Fi everywhere you go. You see people watching live TV shows on their phones walking down the street all the time. In cars, we have GPS built in to the car with the live TV show features on them. I remember being taught how to go online and how to type fast on keyboards and use Microsoft programs when I was in Korean elementary school. Yes, Internet addiction is a huge problem that our digital nation has but we cannot ignore the fact how much positive impact it has on our modern society as well.
LikeLike
Alli Robertson section 001
I find this documentary interesting in many ways. As much as technology helps us it also controls us. I know a lot of people that would go crazy if they didn’t have a phone for one day or their computer crashed on them and it took a week to fix it. People use phones and computers for their jobs and completely rely on them for everything. We also use phones and computers for personal use too, I feel like some people use them to fill the emptiness of feeling lonely. You can do so much with technology and multi task but some people get addicted to this fast pace of getting more than one thing done at once.Technology plays a big part into todays education. When the brought those mac lap tops to that school that wasn’t doing so well with their students and it helped them improve the student’s skills it shows the positive affect. With something like technology there is good but it aways usually comes with something bad, like the students not paying attention or getting around the schools fire walls.
LikeLike
Laura Schmidt
Section 2
Many of the issues that were brought up in this documentary shocked me. Even though, I have totally grown up in the changing age of technology, I had no idea just how many things people do with it, and how it can really be applied to anything. I think the thing that intrigued me the most were the issues surrounding technology and the military. The way that men and women can still be fighting in a war across seas, while still living at home is such a crazy idea. I had never really thought about something as complicated as war being carried out through technology, in such a “simple” seeming way. I also have mixed opinions of the military recruiting centers that let teens come into their facility and play combat video games in hope that someday they might consider joining the military. I know that times and technology change and that people and companies are being very smart and using technology to benefit them, but I feel that this may be very misleading to young teens.
LikeLike
I was surprised that so many people besides young adults and teens are just as distracted with phones and social media. Although I do not agree that it is a negative thing to be so multi tasked. In this generation we were brought up to multi task and do not know any different. Another thing that surprised me was the difference in the brain while a person was reading and while on Google. Although many of these facts I already knew and do agree with. An example would be how social media is affecting relationships. If there would be one thing I would change about this generation is the amount of texting and connections we make with people daily. Granted it is easy, fast, and convenient but humans were not meant to be in nonstop contact with each other. I will be the first to admit it can be the most overwhelming and distracting thing about technology.
LikeLike
Gannon McDonald
Section 2
I think, in terms of living faster, multi-tasking has a serious impact on how “fast” we perceive our lives passing by us. By having so many distractions throughout the day, time seems to go by faster, since we always have something to do, check, send etc. In terms of relationships, distractions definitely have an impact on this aspect of our lives. When at MIT, they interviewed one of the students who mentioned being okay with his friend checking his blackberry at the dinner table. These things happen all the time, our interpersonal relationship skills are definitely suffering at the hands of our increasingly digital nation. Something that stuck out, in particular, to me was the PC bars in South Korea. I remember hearing something a few years back about how some kid was playing a game for 72 hours straight, stood up, all the blood rushed from his head to his feet, and he died as a result. Its insane how much time some teenagers nowadays spend playing games like this and being in their own “virtual world”. Overall, this document was different from others that I’ve watched for classes in that it was more recently created and had a different perspective than the previous ones.
LikeLike
Eric Soderberg
I think people are just attracted to the Internet, because it’s entertaining and ultimately everyone just wants to be entertained. In a way you can say it’s addicting, but there are plenty of things that are. We just have to kind of accept it as a part of modern society. You can question it all you want; however it’s only going to progress even further. Some individuals may be more addicted to the Internet than others. It really all depends on how much you let it affect your life. I believe people either lead such boring lives that they resort to the internet or people lives are tailored to being more digital based. Virtual worlds can be fun, but there’s a time and a place for it. The Internet is intuitive, creative and motivational. We all struggle from distractions, whether or not they’re digital related. We’re evolving as a society and have to keep open minds.We’re always living fast, time doesn’t slow down for anyone.
LikeLike
Being born in the 90’s, I grew up with birth of all these video game systems and my parents used it as a way to keep me from possible bad influences. Like the boy from Korea and some of the WOW players, I used to play to multiple hours straight too so I can understand their addiction and urge to keep playing. As much as I love playing video games and being on the internet, I also love enjoying the outdoors and other real life activities, so we all just need a good balance. There are both many pros and cons to all these advancement into a more digital world. I agree that any sort of change in the world we grew up with can be a little scary, but in the end, I believe we will all be able to adapt to this technology lifestyle and make the best out of it.
LikeLike
I was born in the early 90’s and I remember having a computer that looked like a modern cheap t.v. It was white and thick and heavy with a very small screen and we had very slow start up. However, I had fun playing the few CD-ROM games we had and they were not the greatest quality as far as graphics. They were more learning games. The thing that shocked me the most about the video was how much people are attached to technology. I know I am too but I also remember being little and entertaining myself with my sisters and building forts, playing board games and with dolls. Now a days kids are playing online games and not really getting out that much. I didn’t get my first cellphone until I was fifteen and was in sports and even then it was a simple Razor with nine keys, little memory and no camera so no selfies. Today I’ve seen kids as young as five with tablets and cell phones to keep them entertained. To me that’s just sad and a damage to children’s creativity and an easy way out for parents to keep their kids under control.
LikeLike
This video was very eye opening to me. It was interesting to me to see how much brain activity is increased during a Google search as compared to reading a book. I thought more brain activity would be good, but it turns out that is bad. I also was amazed by the findings of brain functionality while multitasking. I consider myself to be a good multitasking, but now I kind of doubt myself.
The thing I don’t enjoy about this video is that they took such severe cases of gamers and Internet addictions. I don’t agree that every person that uses the computer or plays video games is horribly addicted. This video felt more like a scare tactic in that sense. I play video games, but I am nowhere near that addicted.
LikeLike
Keegan Burckhard
Section 2
The advancing technology has made our lives more fast pace. We are having faster conversations and communicating with more people in less time. The progressing cell phone technology allows us to connect with so many people through calling, texting, emailing or messaging on social media websites however these conversations have become less meaningful because there is no face to face interaction. This way of communication is fast but it is no substitution for real meaningful conversation. In a way it is separating us and making us less social in the real world. I personally know a few people that have thousands of followers on Twitter, but in real life they are quite unsocial and have minimal interaction with others. People are often in their own digital worlds gaining self worth through the amount of likes on a social media post while they have forgotten about the real world and what really matters. I think the biggest positive that digital technology has to offer is the learning benefits. Students have access to so much information on the internet, and you tube tutorials can be very helpful tools and it’s free. I think it is incredible that I have access to programs like Photoshop and PremierePro, programs that professionals use.
LikeLike
The documentary is a strong thought provoking analysis on the technology of the age effecting human lifestyles. There were a few run of the mill ideas that have been overworked such as computer usage in education, video games and virtual realities in culture. These conversation topics have been worn out with both sides posing valid reasons and liabilities to each other. The conversation that was most intriguing to me was the ideas discussed by the MIT professor involving changing knowledge and focus. The example he used was poets from the eighteen century and how they could recite entire books from memory until writing became common place and the skill was turned obsolete. Now writing is on the drawback as new technology continually draws attention away from it. It is examples like this that showcase the trends of what we call progress and while human’s strife to reach it we end up leaving behind skills and knowledge in are wake. We may not enjoy or agree with these changes but we have to except them unless we want to life in the past.
LikeLike