The Internet Age is in full bloom. Students and educators have moved from mere
consumers of information to active producers of information. Meanwhile, they have also embraced a world
where connectivity is almost complete.
Those who choose to be connected are almost never without that connection.
Some would say that the connections are not without a price. Nicolas Carr argues that Google and by extension
the Internet is making humans stupid.
The stupidity is not in any traditional sense but rather involves lower
personal attention spans. Readers no
longer engage in deep linear thought.
Readers do not examine what is read.
Instead they move on to the next item of interest.
William Powers argues a similar point. He expresses the idea that “screens” are
intruding on the personal reflective time that was present until “Digital Maximalism.” According to Powers, we seek maximum screen
time. The screen time can be
intellectually stimulating or just a time passing activity. Screen time is replacing human connection and
manipulation of ideas that are vital to life.
The question that arises from both of these points of view
is “Why don’t we turn off?” All of the
devices Carr and Powers discuss have off switches. Freedom from them is a flick away. Or have we been conditioned in a classical
sense to always seek the connection? Do
we feel that we are not complete, fully realized individual without them?
Hi Shawn, your post is well done.
ReplyDeleteI agree whole-heartedly with your point about turning them off. The software has evolved. It now contains away modes and silent switches. We as device users have opportunities for disconnecting that were not there in the early digital era.
Why do we seek this connection? Part of it, it's true, is that we are conditioned for it. Part of it, as I mentioned to Anissa, is that we are addicted to it. One definition of addiction is: "being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming." Some people I know, including myself at times, match that profile exactly. I'm not sure if "Digital Addiction" is in the DSM yet, but if not, perhaps it should be.