Homework 3: Initial Thoughts On Digital Unit

Digitization is a huge part of today's world. Our society consists of using technology for everything we do and as humans strive for a better and faster world. Practically every teenager in today's world has some sort of an electronic device, rather it be an ipod, cell phone, camera, or other sorts of electronic devices. If you were to take our electronic devices away from us, we would be lost.

Personally, i like living in our digitized world because everyone is connected. I am able to talk to someone across the country, like California, or someone across the world, like Asia, by sending a simple text or email. Decades ago, people had to send snail mail and wait days for it to arrive to their receiver. In today's society, there is not one teenage who does not own a electronic device, whether it be a cell phone, ipod, laptop, computer, or other forms of electronic devices. our society is so consumed with constantly making what is already good better, that everyone wants the next best thing, especially teenagers. if you were to take our electronic devices away from teenagers, they would not know how to survive, because everywhere we go we are faced with electronics. they make up our lives, sad as that sounds.



However, there are downfalls to technology and digitization. Our entire world consists of electronics, and people have lost their identities. An example of this s the use of facebook. People create facebook accounts to connect with old friends, but instead of calling them up and having an intellectual conversion, people write on each others facebook walls with the basic "hey what's up". Instead of debating on important topics such as the war in Iraq, people talk about what they ate for dinner. Facebook also helps people create "masks" for themselves. They are able to keep secrets, and only tell people what they want them to know. I think that everyone has a mask, even if they do not realize it. i think that people generate masks for themselves because they want to appear mysterious to people, and with today's technology that is possible. when talking to someone over the Internet or text message, that person does not not what you currently look like or what you are doing unless you tell them. it gives you a mask of secrecy, an illusion that stops people from knowing everything about you. i also believe that people are masked to themselves because after creating a mask to keep other people from learning too much about them, they start to believe in that mask themselves. people start to believe that mask, and act like it is who they really are. technology plays a huge role into the masks of our daily lives because it helps set those boundaries. there's no need for face-to-face conversations, therefore the people in the conversation do not get to see how the other reacts.



Besides using the Internet, people also spend a lot of their time watching TV. Although watching TV might seem pointless, it is an easy way for people to escape their own lives. I know that sometimes when i watch TV it is not to put stupid images into my mind, but to distract my mind from thinking about the outside world, such as school or pointless drama. Watching TV is an escape route from dealing with reality. People can also say the same thing about music. When people use ipods on the train, it is not to seem standoffish, but to escape from the boredom of a train ride.



I am really excited for this course because i feel that it will be extremely interesting to learn how technology has affected our culture. Also instead of learning about math or science, which might help us in our future depending on our careers, we are learning about what is going on today, and relating it directly to our life.