Digital technology has great potential to be beneficial and equally detrimental in the same stroke. Digital technology as we know it has changed many aspects of our every-day lives. It changes how most of us choose to eat, sleep, consume information, and even make impactful or meaningful life choices. The barrier to entry for certain tech has also become progressively less, further exposing people to certain tools, mediums, and capabilities across many demographics and age-groups. While this can be extremely beneficial for overall familiarization and certain forms of task-based learning, it can also act as a hindrance for certain critical-thinking skills or social nuances that may be prove to be useful in our society.
“Resistance is futile, but so is the abandonment of personal experience scaled to the individual human organism. We are not just a hive mind operating on a plane entirely divorced from individual experience. There is a place for humanity — for you and me — in the new cybernetic order.”
As easy as it is to be cynical about all the bad places digital technology can take us, or how accessible it can be as a “crutch” or excuse to not remember information – I still remain relatively optimistic towards the future of what it has to offer and how we, as people, utilize it. I find myself enthused more often than annoyed – smiling more often than frustrated, even if it is over some of the most ridiculous or menial stuff. That’s what’s most important, at least to me. Enjoyment, fulfillment (to some extent), and growth – and these mediums available to use seem to be providing that for a lot of living, breathing people today.
Sure, there are still people out there I can’t force into conversation over dinner because they’d rather glue themselves to their phones instead of speak to me. Why do I care though? I don’t think I’m that interesting either, and what’s the tradeoff? For every person ignoring me on their phone there is probably a kid out in the world learning to program and using that exact same technology in an equally meaningful way. As infuriating as certain things can be for some, I think these are small, necessary steps towards propelling ourselves into the next age of innovation.