The invention of technology is one that truly revolutionized the world's way of living as it has penetrated various fields such as communication, medicine, transportation, manufacturing, and so many more. Although technology has caused an immense amount of growth in these fields, there has also been a great deal of negative consequences. As I take the time to reflect upon technology as an entity and the relationship majority hold with technology, I see the relationship as one that is extremely unhealthy.
The video that sparked my train of thought regarding the matter of society's relationship with technology was Julian West's, Mad World Remix of Moby, that illustrates a society that is consumed by technology. From this video I was able to get a new perspective on how much time people are wasting on their technological devices. I believe individuals are wasting their lives online as humans are losing the ability to be present and mindful of what is occurring in the current moment. In contrast of experiencing moments as they occur, society seems to be infatuated with what others are doing, and are looking for the next thing to come. In order to learn more about the effects technology is having on our world today I began researching and looking at previous studies.
Aoife McLoughlin executed research and wrote an article on the concept of one's perception of time in relation to one's use of technology. In the article, "Time Flies: When You're Having phone", McLoughlin discovers that despite technology being a creation that is intended to make tasks more efficient, it creates a misconception of time amongst users. In this study, people were given a survey to gauge the amount of technology they use daily and then were given tasks to do, followed with the question of how much time they thought had passed while doing the tasks. The results showed that those who use a greater amount of technological devices had a greater overestimation of the time that had passed. The great lesson that came from this study was the manner technology has in encouraged fast paced living as one is able to do so much at the tip of their fingers. As a result, there is a dramatized sense of pressure for people to keep up with this fast pace of life in which they lose track of time.
Another aspect that technology has negatively effected is the ability for one to focus and pay attention. For example, the rise of ADHD has been reaching new highs and a huge driving factor of this has been technology. The area I was extremely interested in knowing more about was relationship between technology in places of learning.
Professors, Helen Hembrooke and Geri Gay at Cornell University and published the article, "The Laptop and the Lecture: The Effects of Multitasking in Learning Environments", in which they study this topic in great detail. The study consisted of two groups of students attending the exact same lecture then being tested on the content taught afterwards. One group was allowed to use their laptops during it where as the other group was not. The results proved that students who were utilizing their laptops were more likely to take part in multi-tasking, distracting them from the course content at hand resulting in lower grades.
Unlike other blog posts this one has not only forced me to become more informed on a certain matter but has additionally forced me to carry out introspection. I have never taken the time to deeply acknowledge the relationship I carry with technology however that has changed. To start off my self reflection I have taken the time to evaluate my digital foot print. Currently I am active on platforms TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Snapchat with majority of my accounts being public. If an employer were to look me up online I would feel at ease knowing I have been cognizant of everything I post.
Although I have been consistently mindful of what I post, I have not been attentive to my use of such apps. I specifically struggle with constantly using TikTok as I average an hour a day on the app. It is concerning to think that I spend an hour a day watching 15-30 second videos. Additionally, it is disappointing that I am spending this amount of time on an app that is contributing nothing to my intelligence. Now that I am aware of this I am going to limit my time on the app or hopefully delete it.
Technology is something unavoidable as it is continuing to be more and more relied upon, however it is up to the person who uses it to be mindful of it's possible effects. To whomever is reading this, put limits on your technology use and take the time to live life through your personal experiences rather than living through a screen.
No comments:
Post a Comment