Technology has become an integral part of our daily lives. We often take it for granted and don’t realize how reliant we are. Our digital footprints were being created for us long before we ever understood the implications. Watching the Mad World Remix of Moby Video (Are You Lost In The World Like Me) shows the scary implication technology, more specifically our phones and social media has on us. The video shows very real elements of the addiction, social image issues, and mental health toll that these elements take on our society. While I think these elements are more real than many of us realize, I think it takes education to combat these issues. If we are giving our children and students access to these devices, we also need to be teaching more awareness and safety measures going forward
I was lucky enough to grow up in a time when technology was truly evolving. Unlike today, owning a phone or iPad was not a common thing. Being able to look back on my life and the part it has played showed me how much of a learning curve and lifestyle change came with it. My first piece of technology was a Hannah Montana iPod that could only play 10 songs. I wasn’t allowed a phone till the end of middle school. If I was spending time online, I was playing games like Webkinz, Poptropica, or on the Wii. This time online was in douses though. We had a family computer that my brothers would use for school or my parents for work.
The moment my middle school switched to giving students iPads in class was groundbreaking. It completely changed the environments within classrooms. All children were given this tool to help improve their learning capabilities. Once I got to 8th grade and into high school a Chromebook was given instead of an iPad. There are still photos of my friends in 2015 on Facebook picking their computers up at the start of the school year. The capability of this change and its use in the classroom only expanded. This felt like such a privilege, and looking back, I don’t think I fully understood the impact that moment had. We were the first students to be given this opportunity, and my school district was beyond fortunate to have this chance. I remember there being a learning curve for our teaching staff, and the school, and finding ways to make sure all students had internet at home if they were assigned out-of-classroom work. For the students that didn’t have access to the internet, our school found a way to bring it to them or allow them to go somewhere with access.
Looking back google made a phenomenal business decision moving into schools. They started a trial program in 2010 and have since grown to a 40 million dollar project. The company has seamlessly entered our lives at a young age making a profound impact as we were academically developing. We grew up and became familiar with iPads and Apple as well as Google with Chromebooks. Having students at that age learn to use their specific form of technology only helps them to form a connection with a younger audience and build them into future customers. To fulfill all needs of this market google invented Google Classroom for teachers to communicate and manage their classes. Our digital footprints were being created for us long before we ever understood the implications.
The reliance on technology only grew when we were quarantined for Covid. For me to finish my senior year of high school, I had to transition to online classes and take AP tests online, and I even said goodbye to high school teachers and friends on Zoom. Now for college, I use my computer each day to complete my school work, continue my internship, and start figuring out my future. I spend a large portion of my time on social media, listening to music, and talking to friends. I understand my relationship and reliance on technology, so I try to find outlets in my life where I actually step away and give myself that separation.
I feel that as a communications major, I would be doing a disservice to dismiss the sheer benefits it has shown me in my life. It is because of services like LinkedIn and the shift to businesses using social media, that I have been able to have two successful internships that have taught me a lot of real job experience. It is because of a service called Letterloop and Whatsapp that I can keep in touch with friends I have met studying abroad. It is because of Social media platforms that allow me to educate people about the incredible nonprofit organization I work for, in hopes of gaining more support. So it is important we acknowledge the implications that the devices in our lives have on us and the people around us, it is important we educate the people in our lives and it is important to be proactive in teaching our future generation how to combat the negative sides to technology.
