It is no secret that the invention of technology has revolutionized our world in a countless number of ways. While the impacts of this amazing innovation have had both positive and negative consequences, we all have a different experience with technology. When you were born, where you grew up, your family dynamic, social class, and economic status are all things that factor in to your use of technology. During this Media Law and Literacy class, we have talked about technology and reflected on how it affects not only the world around us, but our own personal lives.
To spark our reflection, we watched a series of videos that had different outlooks on technology. First was this video from the New York fair in 1964 that featured an amusement ride called "Futurama". While the features of the ride may have seemed outlandish at the time, they were quite hopeful for the future of how humans use technology. The ride included an increase of space travel, ocean exploration, and even a tourist attraction placed in the sunken city of Atlantis. Comparatively, these things do not entirely exist in the way that this ride fantasized about. When doing my own research, I looked at some of the predictions for modern technology innovations in 2025, and found this article from Forbes Magazine that outlines some predicted improvements in AI technology, among other things. The article points to increase in research on robotics as something that will pose a potential threat in the coming years. This was interesting for me to read because when I was growing up, having fully functioning robots was what seemed outlandishly futuristic, and now this is a technology that is being integrated into our society.
To highlight another incredibly influential piece of technology, especially in my life and the lives of other people born in my generation, is the mobile phone. I first got a phone when I was in sixth grade, which is surprisingly later than some of my peers. I remember how excited I was to get access to this type of technology because it meant I had access to a whole other world that had been created by the internet. I could now become connected with anybody I wanted to, and while it seemed exciting at the time, that brought up its own issues. Despite the entire billion dollar economic industry that the invention of mobile phones created, it wasn't all positive. I found an article that talks about a personal experience from someone in my generation and their experience with having access to such technology at a young age. From The Uproar , the author talks a lot about the value that Gen Z has put on phones and its role in our childhoods. I agree with much of what is said in the article because I feel the same way. By having access to this media at such a young age, my perspectives of the way the world works and my role the world was heavily altered.
While researching some of the impacts that have been found when children have long exposure to the internet and devices, this article from the Conway Medical Center came up. They had many informational talking points that directly correlate to some of the issues that are seen amongst Gen Z, and things that I have found within myself. For instance, one of the main detriments to children using technology is that they develop a shorter attention span. This has absolutely happened to me, because I have found that I have a hard time focusing on homework or in a class that extends for a long period of time. Additionally, what is interesting is that the media has adapted to only make this problem worse. With things like TikTok and Instagram Reels which have a younger audience, they are meant to only entertain your attention span for 15-30 seconds. Even kids shows have become shorter, with episodes being only 20-30 minutes. Going back to my personal relationship with technology, I have tried to find new ways to build up my attention span again by watching longer shows and movies, and even taking a break from the screens and taking some time to read when I am in need of entertainment.
As I start to navigate my adult life, I make a constant goal for myself to find hobbies and interests outside of using technology in order to stay grounded. While technology has very positively impacted my life and allowed for me to pursue a career in media, it is important to set limits for myself. I try to build meaningful personal relationships through in-person interactions, because I believe that you can never truly know someone if you only know their online persona. As I continue my college career, I will continue to make myself aware of how technology is affecting my life, positively or negatively, and to make sure that I am keeping my focus on the moments of my life that I can't capture with technology. This class has been a great way to learn more about something I am interested in, while also helping me be very self reflecting.
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