Digital Nation: Teaching with Technology and Family Interactions

  Digital Nation: Teaching with Technology and Family Interactions

    
         
           In the documentary, Digital Nation, it explored many facets of today’s technology. It also suits a wide variety of people, regardless ones age or lifestyle. As a whole, we recognize technology is not going away. Like stated in the documentary, technology is powerful. We must embrace it because it is a large part of society and everyday life in general. I feel it is how and when we embrace it that matters most.

            The topic that resounded with me the most is that of family interactions and children being addicted to the internet and games. Being a parent myself this is something I often pay attention to and try to keep a balance of. Yes, technology is incorporated into daily life but I sometimes fear that the way our children are growing up and the way families are interacting with one another is being somewhat violated. That sounds a little dramatic, but I worry that kids are losing a bit of their childhood by staying indoors and not interacting with other children as much. The documentary mentions that children on average are spending about 50 hours a week on the internet or playing games.

Digital Nation also discussed using computers in classrooms and the importance of keeping up with our culture. One principal in New York stated that the world has changed so quickly and the schools have not. I do not mean to sound one sided. I think it is important that we teach children how to operate computers and other software that is used habitually in our culture. It is the future. However, scholars and researchers in the film both argue that too much stimulation and multi-tasking, which technology allows, is in fact not beneficial to the students. In all actuality it hinders them. Some even argue that students today are not capable of learning as they were in the past. Teaching students the skills to use computers are important, but it seems we are heavily relying on them more than simply operating them. We are almost like a different breed today, and they think all of these distractions and technologies are to blame. I am no scientist, but I don’t doubt them. Whether you agree or disagree, one thing is for certain, our society has changed since the birth of the internet and technology.

In the beginning of the Digital Nation documentary, a woman is being interviewed, she is talking about sitting in the kitchen with her family. Her husband and oldest son are sitting across the table from one another on their own separate computers and the two youngest children were playing on her iPhone and it hit her; they were all in the same room together but they were all in their own world. I have seen this happen in my own home as well. I am sure we are not the only two people that have noticed this. I think it is going on in homes all across the world. It makes one wonder what is becoming of family time and interactions with one another. Is anyone really with anyone else anymore? While people may be occupying the same room, are they really engaged with each other, or has smartphones and iPads taken over a person’s attention span? It is something to take a look at. Where is all this technology taking us, which direction are we going?

Another facet discussed in the documentary is that of addiction—to technology that is. South Korea has been a pioneer for treatment with kids and teens addicted to games and internet. It sounds like a joke but you can take a look around wherever you are, at any given time and witness it for yourself; it is happening in our own society. All day long you can see people glued to their phone screen, not even paying attention to the world around them. I, myself see this every day. Children used to run around full of energy and now they would rather stare at a screen all day. My child is not exempt either. She finds reading and learning to be a boring task rather than something to enjoy. She wants to rush through it so she can finish it and watch television or play games. Another indicator that struck me was reading signs posted in a myriad of offices asking you to not be on your phone while they are helping you. One would think that would be common knowledge and also a respectful thing to do. But perhaps there is an epidemic occurring that people are not even noticing. This reflects back to the multi-tasking argument mentioned. People are multi-tasking so much that they are not seeing the big picture. Have you witnessed this happening? I personally find the evidence to be rather telling and also abundant; it is only going to continue.

Since we know that these technologies are not going anywhere, my hope for the future is that we can come to a happy medium of its use. I hope that people can use it for their needs but also know when to put it down and engage in real life, and not live through pictures posted and conversations had in cyberspace. I hope children can learn to love the simple pleasures of exploring outside with each other again and then maybe just playing video games in the evening. I hope the world can learn to just be in the moment again.