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Your thoughts on
multitasking. Do you agree? Can you multitask?
Do you
disagree?
“Technology keeps out-distancing the
research”.
In
Frontline: Digital Nation, experts discuss how technology cannot keep up with
the digital world. Researchers get approval and funds for an experiment, but by
the time they start it, the information is old news. The reason I address this
is because there is not a lot of data supporting or discrediting digital
multitasking. One particular study addressed in this video said that although
the younger generation of multi-taskers feel like they excel at it, current
research states that virtual multi-taskers are actually worse at absorbing and
retaining information.
In
Frontline: Growing up Online, teachers state that the constant immediate access
to new material has caused students to struggle with their attention and focus.
It has also caused students to become more easily frustrated and lack problem-solving
skills when coming to an unknown. One teacher stated that she felt like she had
to perform and be an entertainer because kids today are so plugged in and
everything in their life is about immediate gratification.
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| http://bit.ly/1nmGF7e |
Personally,
I feel like I’m pretty good at multi-tasking, but I’m also aware when it’s not
working. An example of this is when I do homework or work for my classroom.
Sometimes I enjoy watching tv, listening to music, or checking Facebook, while
other times I need absolute silence to complete my work. However, I feel like the
constant digital feedback has also affected my attention span. I used to be
able to watch movie after movie. Now-a-days, it is rare to see me watch a full
movie and if I do, it is usually done with my laptop in front of me so I can
do ten other things during the movie.
~~~
Is
there an addiction happening in society today with technology or is it just
a
new way of living? Should we be concerned?
“The internet has gone from a thing one does
to the way one lives”. –Doug Rushkoff
I
definitely think that there are addictive qualities when using technology
today. If you look up addiction in the Merriam-Webster dictionary it states, “an
unusually great interest in something or a need to do or have something”.
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| http://bit.ly/RlSbEK |
If I think about the Frontline videos I just watched, I think addiction would be a perfect description of those who can't "live" without the digital world. Examples of this are seen especially in the today's teenagers. A segment of the Digital Nation video discussed Asia and internet cafes and how people have actually died from lack of food and water during intense 50 hour gaming sessions. The video also stated that Korea has gone so far as to diagnose computer addiction as a psychiatric disorder.
Disclaimer: I understand some of the images below are unsettling, but they give visual reference to how strongly some feel digital technology has taken over the life of today's youth.
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| http://bit.ly/1ikhvFe |
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| http://bit.ly/1kJT5lL |
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| http://bit.ly/1s0WGQq |
Overall, I think technology is a great tool. However, with that said, I also believe that there is an addictive quality to it and that today's youth, those who have grown up with it from the start, have a hard time existing without it.
I think of all the times growing up when my power went out and we drew pictures or played games as a family. I then think about the snow storm that happened a few years ago and how many of the students stated that they were bored and didn't know what to do when their electronics and internet connection no longer worked. As one expert stated in chapter one of Frontline's Growing up Online, the internet is "a continuation of their existence" and today's youth are, "unwilling to be out of the loop" for even an hour out of their day. I think that kind of devotion is unhealthy and definitely something to keep an eye on.
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Do
parents of today have any idea what their kids are doing online?
Whose
job is it to teach them the safety and digital responsibility?
Parents/Teachers/Community/Government??
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| http://bit.ly/1o4wN4G |
I think even the most informed and knowledgeable parents still are missing pieces of their child's digital footprint. Children can access the internet from so many different sources that it is hard for parents to have all consuming control over the pieces of the internet their child is exposed to.
As for internet safety and digital citizenship, as much as I would love for the responsibility to lie on the shoulders of parents, I feel like it needs to be taught in schools to make sure students get a proper introduction and education in what it means to be a good digital citizen. More and more in today's society you hear about cyberbullying and how tormentors are given a new level of anonymity through online sources. This allows kids to say horrible things over the internet that they would never dare say to someone's face. It also accelerates the pain of the victim because home is no longer a safe haven. The students are targeted and the words are out there as if they were published in a book where kids can read them over and over. One professional in one of the videos thought that the hurt and pain was amplified and accelerated because the words do not disappear, but are read over and over again.
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I took all of my notes that I typed about the two different videos and made a
Tagxedo graphic. Enjoy!
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