Eric Carl

    The ideas presented in Digital Nation gave me a lot of food for thought.  The movie went over a great deal of the effects of electronics and electronic media in today’s world.  The major effects that were listed were the inability of people to disconnect from their electronics and a possibly desensitized view of our world.
    The video primarily focused on the inability of people to separate themselves from their electronics.  A starting point of the video showed MIT students who were unable to abstain from using their laptops, phones, or even iPods for the length of their classes.  The reason the video stated as to why this is important is because it prevents people from focusing.  Honestly, I’m inclined to agree.  The movie showed tests where people were under similar conditions to “multitasking”, much like using their phones or computers during a lecture.  The results were that the students were worse at each task while multitasking than while focusing on one thing.  When I personally try to multitask I notice a drop-off in my abilities as well.  Looking at how this affects us, we can see that the students in question are not very different from the students here at Georgia Tech.  When I look around my classes I see students using electronics just as the students at MIT.  Sometimes they are using it productively, but sometimes (and I know I’m subject to this) the media is being used as a distraction rather than a helper.  Being able to unplug ourselves from our electronics would help solve this issue.
    One of the great advantages these electronics provide us is the ability to communicate with people across continents either via email, phone, or even video chatting.  Similarly, the internet gives people to see things across the world that they would otherwise be unable to see.  I see this as a great technological advancement, as it allows people to learn more.  However, the video does see some negatives to this kind of technology as well. This kind of technology, which originated with the military, is also being furthered by the military.  The new technology allows for the military to remotely control vehicles which are primarily used for viewing , but can be used as a weapon as well.  This technology is very useful from a tactical standpoint, but it removes much of the human element.  While it possibly gives better information and is more useful, the video brings up the point that a soldier may act differently if they were at the scene as opposed to viewing it remotely.  This idea, that people will act differently depending on whether or not they are actually there, is not new, but it holds weight.  A response on Facebook may be markedly different than one someone would give in person.  Hopefully this will not be the case in the future, as this would mean people would recognize electronics as tools, not as separate from the “real world”.
    Its somewhat ironic that electronics can be seen as an alternate world while some people have the inability to distance themselves from those electronics.  Still, with the advancements being made in technology it’s important to remember that technology is merely a tool to make our lives better, and should not be allowed to define our existence.