Communicating is a part of human nature. It’s what we do. With advancements in technology, there are no limitations to when and where we can communicate.
Over twelve billion text messages are sent worldwide every day and over a billion people are on Facebook. In addition, the number of personal computers around the globe is expected to double in the next four years. But is all this technology a good thing?
Are We Digital Dummies? is a documentary that discusses how the latest technologies affect your life, family, and co-workers. How has it affected your life? You may say that it has made your life better and easier, but does this mean that you’re constantly plugged into the digital world?
People interviewed for the documentary say that they can’t live without their personal devices. They also complain that their computers and BlackBerry control their lives and increase the amount of time they spend on the Internet. Aside from personal use, our careers may require us to be reached at any time when we’re away from the office.
Are We Digital Dummies? also examines the consequences of using our cell phones while driving, at home, and during office meetings. Prolonged technology use has turned us into a distracted, superficial nation. We have difficulty multi-tasking all these personal devices because our brains simply can’t keep up with all the modern demands for our attention.
But some people can’t unplug from the digital world. They need to immediately read that text, take that call, or update their Facebook status. Studies show that between six to ten percent of the population are addicted to the Internet.
Are We Digital Dummies? looks at the pros and cons of technology use, and how it affects our lives. It prompts us to answer this question: Can I unplug from the digital world at any given time? Be informed about the affects of the digital world and watch Are We Digital Dummies?
I think we have conditioned ourselves to become reliant on technology. We now see technology as our one of our top methods of communication. If the electricity and resources we require technology to run out disappears, we will still have a chance to use old-fashioned methods such as writing letters or visiting a colleague. In the next few generations, the reliance on technology will only increase.
Technology has become an integral part of our lives, at this point I think it’s impossible to turn back the hands of time. I rely on my smartphone not only for communication, but for a variety of practical uses. My iPhone serves as my GPS and the main line of contact when using social media and receiving/sending e-mails. Smartphones and other mobile devices are an essential in the workplace now, even in non technical jobs. I love the innovation that technology has brought to us, but I do believe it has made our lives almost too easy, making us a little more lazy in the process. We have the world at our fingertips at anytime. There’s no real effort that needs to take place unlike in generations past.
Are we digital dummies? Indeed we are, because without technology we will be as lifeless as a dummy gathering dust. I’m happy and cant count the ways on how technology has made our lives easier, but at the back of my mind i’m also adamant on relying too much in technology because it can also make us vulnerable.
Though the internet has opened a whole new way of communicating, for the most part it’s a good thing, I think. I can communicate with people all over the world and even earn money from my couch, which is a good thing, since I have a physical disability and don’t drive, which makes socializing and employment difficult.
With the world at our fingertips, it is hard, not to be surfing the net to do certain things. This can be talking to friends, watching sports, playing games, or reading the latest news.
People not too long ago, use to have to come home and watch tv to find out what was going on, call their friends on the phone, and get on the desktop computer to surf the net.
Now all that of that is possible, and more, with just a smartphone. I think, it is just how times are changing.
That is really what I am thinking sometimes. Does technology really help us? Sure it does but at the same time is making us dumber. So it helps in one way and damages in the other , if technology replaces our basic tasks every day than we just become lazy and if it one day which is not far ,helps with mental tasks then we might even become lazy even at thinking.
I don’t know about technology itself making us dumber. I’d like to think that people’s intelligence would be about the same, just that our situation is very different to previous eras. If there’s a significant difference, it would be a product of many factors. I’m really thankful that information can reach places it can’t before and I’m able to learn things that weren’t available to me a decade or so ago.
But on the other hand, I agree about us being too distracted because of how easy it is to access all sorts of info and to communicate with others. It’s probably because we’re still in the adjustment phase of this technology.
The technology is so new and it is advancing at an unimaginably fast pace. We are both witnesses and participants in the process. I would say that the mere fact that we are able to step back and be reflective is a good sign that we can still refocus and find balance.
So I think that we are going through a continual adjustment, and we will have ups and downs — I think of “downs” as becoming too technology dependent to the expense of our families and friends for instance. I think of the “ups” as the marvelous ways that the technology can help us. It gives us, for instance, the capability to work from home. That’s something I’m very thankful for!
I don’t think we’re digital dummies, atleast not me. Whenever I go to the countryside to see my grandpa, I live without television, my phone, or any gadgets. My grandpa is pretty old and he still writes letter. But I’m too damn sure that upcoming generation will be tech slaves.
These are all very interesting questions. I admit that technology has an important place in my life but I don’t think it is already an addiction. I am actually pretty happy living without a mobile phone and for the last two weeks I picked it a total of 4 times – once for a call, once for a text and twice to charge it. I rarely use GPS and make my lists on a sheet of paper.
And yet, I really enjoy spending time on the internet, in different forums, blogs and communities. I can live without it, yes, but I feel almost robbed as this is often my only way to communicate with some people. So I guess I am a digital dummy too.
Yes, I can relate. I am very appreciative of the opportunity to interact with people from around the world.
When I went online in 1997 this worldwide, instantaneous communication was absolutely miraculous to me. Being able to send an email that a recipient would receive immediately — regardless of how far away in the world — was exciting and it was so much better than waiting for the days for a postal letter, Even more exciting was instant messaging with AOL and later MSN. I also had an early fascination with blogs and blogging both as a reader and a blogger.
And now that I earn my living from home on the Internet I’m online virtually all day. As my work day ends, much of my recreation is also online. So I would have to admit I’m probably addicted.
Yet in many ways I feel I have benefited if, in fact, I am a digital dummy
These days, I’m becoming more like a digital dummy. It’s mostly because I’m starting to earn for my living through the internet. I wouldn’t say it’s so bad though since I still get days where I’m not connected at all and I actually appreciate them more these days.
You know, I feel exactly as you do. I really appreciate the days that I get to spend away from screens. What do you do for a living on the net? I often take days away from smart phones, tv, computers and video games in order to recharge my batteries. I spend those days outside, playing in the park or taking walks by the water.
I love the topic. It is worth talking about at length. We definitely are getting stupider as technology makes life easier. We really don’t know how to create things like we used to due to the stress to consume. There’s way too much coming at us and it is all dumbed down for a better user experience.
I don’t think we are digital dummies–at least, I hope not. I think we simply adjust to technology and how it connects with our lives. The fact that we use technology more often isn’t making us less intelligent. If anything it’s helping us with our daily tasks so we have more time to focus on how to make the world better.
I do not think that we are digital dummies. Technology has improved so much and it helps a lot of people with their business, school, etc. There are some people who still do not use technology to the fullest because they do not understand it. What would we call those people?
A lot of talks are happening in the arts and the academics are starting to become aware of how they are being used by the technology that they are using. The questions being asked are not exactly are we digital dummies, but close. We know of packets of information, and apparently to the machine these packets of information include us, the users. On a separate discourse, art is being used in our art-based approaches to academic research. Digital arts is not that new, which is why many are investigating how to do away with it.
I would say that a lot of people seem to have an addiction when it comes to electronics. And honestly, I think anybody who would have constant connection with everybody and everything, along with a vast database of information would probably get addicted sooner or later. This digital age has morphed into our culture without problem, and it has shaped our race as a whole. Technology is advancing more than ever, and more people are trying to innovate more than before. So this advancement is both a good and bad thing for the human race.