Just finished watching a Frontline (PBS) episode called "Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier". It discusses many provocative and unsettling ideas and questions that I have been thinking about myself. It shows the blurring of the virtual world with the real, and how testing (although inconclusive) shows some correlation between high online usage and inability of those who frequently engage in "multitasking" (several digital mediums) to stay focused for longer periods of time and that there also seems to be a correlation to a state of mental disorganization in such techy persons which were studied. There is also a portion of this episode which discusses the military's remote control use of drone aircraft in actual combat, which I personally find very disturbing, and I must admit, find it even more disturbing after having watched this report. I hope you can take the hour and a half to watch this important program about something we are all going through....if you are online, you are affected by the things discussed in this program. Something that is concluded from this is that each age takes away things but gives things in exchange for what it takes away....what is being taken away? And where are we headed?These are among the good questions that are being discussed in this Frontline episode:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/view/
I'll bet that is a good show. Things are certainly changing. It's exciting but scary. I'm babysitting this week, so I don't have much downtime at all, but I'll try to check it out later.
ReplyDeleteHi Ma,
ReplyDeleteIt is a bit long; 1.5 hours. I watched parts and listened to parts while washing dishes, cooking, etc, so I do hope to review it again. This program digs a little deeper into things that I also have been sensing to be true about the computer age.
Babysitting :) that'll keep you busy.
Also, there are some very good comments, excerpt from one:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/
3) If this type of "tech" enviroment was pressent in 1776 there would not have been a revolution. It would be likely that too many of the key individuals would have been sitting at home pretending the world outside was roses and sunshine. Democracy as we know it would likely not have come to be. When I speak to other young people at my college about our country and the problems we are facing many roll their eyes, say they do not care, and start texting on their phone.
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteI only watched about 1/2 of it but what I saw was really good. When I told my kids about the affect on the brain by multitasking and doing school work, well the response from my son was, "That's them mom, I'm different." From my daughter was just silent and the look of knowing the results are right but not wanting to change a thing.
The internet can be so beneficial but there are so many downfalls to it that when you really look it is scary.
Blessings,
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So true, everything in this world has a downside, doesn't it? Everything can be taken to an extreme, or overdone (too much of a "good" thing?).
DeleteWe all think that the "bad things" only happen to other people, I find myself thinking the same thing sometimes...is that "the flatterer" at work? The devil sure knows our weak points and how to use them against us.
The next 10-20 years will be interesting, if the Lord doesn't put an end to it before then, eh?