Week 4: Technology and Our Youth, Can we keep up with the changes?

I must first start with a comment on the irony of this assignment! A discussion on the possible over stimulation of technology while using technology! Meanwhile as I watch the videos my son has asked me repeatedly when I will be off the computer so that he may play some games on it! J

There are a few comparisons I can make between the two videos but the biggest one I believe is the worry of what being connected to all of this technology is doing to our youth and society.  But what has evolved from the two videos that are a contrast is the kinds of worries.  In the first one, Growing up Online (2008)video, it was more the online predators and what negative things the children were up to while engaging in cyberspace.  In the next video Digital Nation (2010)video, the focus was more on the worry of how our youth are such natives to technology that they are more than ever immersed in the digital world and less in the world of reality and the worry that society has followed them right into it.

I think that it has become such a ritual to say that you are a multitasker that society views it as a positive not a negative.  Think of our resumes and imagine writing in as a special skill, I can concentrate on doing one thing at a time really well.  Duh! But employers want you to do many things at a time well, and the truth is research shows we can’t and that our youth is suffering for that.  I for one know that when sitting and concentrating on an assignment for either work or school I really prefer for my thought process not to be interrupted.  And with technology and this expectation to multitask well I think there is an addiction happening, from the kids who want to update their status on Facebook while texting with numerous friends, to the parent who wants to respond to their bosses email coming in on their phone while simultaneously checking out the new news story coming out.  I think as a society we are addicted to being connected all the time so that we can be in the “know” at all times. But it seems to be that this is the new way of living, and while it is productive to the work place and to the theory of instant gratification I think we should be worried when children and parents alike start having anxiety because they are more than an arms length away from their laptops or phones.  Which quick and interesting note, this video made two years ago can already be deemed “outdated” when I noticed a young MIT student say she could not bare being to far away from her Blackberry, knowing know that Blackberry’s are about to become obsolete I thought the comment was funny and telling of how fast technology is moving.

It was however very telling to see how well technology works for students especially in struggling schools.  Like the school in the Bronx that had only 9% of it students meeting state standards, obviously technology had a profound effect on their schools progress.  I think educational games used in moderation are very helpful tools for any type of students and for all schools, but teachers feeling that that they have to entertain their children rather than teach them is a jarring perspective.  With the fast changing times of how technology is effecting our society as well as our education it is important for our schools and parents to understand that it should be a collaborative effort to teach our children about netiquette and online dangers.  The schools in South Korea seems to be pioneering this in a very helpful way starting young teaching netiquette and how to behave responsibly.  If we in the States could collaborate in schools on this type of message and with parents on board perhaps we can instill a safe and responsible way for our children to behave online.  J

Yes I believe that children are ruining their lives a bit with their digital footprints because we are on the precipice of learning how to live our lives online.  Adolescents are not famous for making well informed decisions, and with that they are sharing too much personal information including pictures, with a world of people they may not want to just because of peer pressure.   And without having enough foresight to know that they should care I worry that in turn they may pay the price for it in the future.  Also with the sharing of sometimes explicit information online predators are likely to try to target our children, but I think that children are becoming savvy in navigating away from strangers online and not responding to anyone inquiring about personal information that they do not know.  The true danger of technology today I believe is children engaging in negative things online like cyber bullying like in the case of that poor boy Ryan who took his own life in the first video, and looking for bad and misleading information like in the case of the anorexic girl.  Parents and school need to be diligent in making sure that their children are not engaging in bad behavior in cyberspace.

I really connected and felt sad for the father who lost his son to cyber bullying and was heart broken to hear that it was a game to some “popular girls” to pretend to like someone and then drop a bomb.  I think that things are changing for the better a bit with these types of issues because of all the casualties due to this kind of bullying, but schools, teachers, and parents need to do all they can to keep a watchful eye on this type of behavior so that we may not lose anymore promising lives to such a senseless crime.  Another surprising issue that has arisen from the over saturation of technology in our students lives is the issue of English professors feeling like they couldn’t assign reading lnger than 200 pages.  It was also jarring to see that teenager from the first video say he couldn’t remember the last time he read a book.  While multitasking and creating things are very practical skills we need to teach our students to be successful in the work place, reading things in its entirety and critical things are also very important skills one must learn to survive in the work place as well.  Telling my boss I skimmed the email he sent does not ring well.  These skills that are children are letting fall y the wayside in order to multitask and create more time for social networking is a huge detriment to our society.