Digital Nation
Social media, handheld devices and the Internet have greatly improved the quality of life in the 21st Century. This is a good time to be alive because of all the modern forms of communication. This is the statement which I think is correct and is the main theme of the documentary “Digital Nation: Live on the Virtual Frontier. ” The world is now in the age of information and highly advanced learning — specifically in the field of science and technology. It can practically be felt by almost all people in most parts of the world as the globe has become smaller and more manageable, so to speak.
Communication from opposite sides of the planet – which was only possible through long distance voice calls less than two decades ago — can now happen in the blink of an eye through chat and e-mails. Education has become more advanced, information has become more readily accessible, and learning has become less rigid. Offices have now adopted new technology, some even setting up their virtual offices online without necessarily reporting to a regular office to work.
Even military combat – which some years ago entailed much casualties – has become less risky, thanks to virtual technology. As shown in the said video, most kids these days are already trained on the computer shortly after they begin to read and write. This means that the children of today will be more equipped with technological knowledge when they reach our age. It is just amazing what the video shows where very young children can already create blogs, manipulate videos and do other high-tech stuff on the computer.
This confirms what one of the interviewees in the video said that these kids are the natives in this technology, and we are mere immigrants. Some of the things they know were not taught to them but they instinctively knew how to feel their way into this environment which they readily adapted to in an effortless manner. Therefore, at the rate the standard of education is going, it is expected that the world will be more inclined to become a more technologically-dependent world in the near future.
As of now, most people cannot function normally anymore without their being wired to their gadgets and/or not being online. Five or ten years ago, this was not a common scenario as there were lesser technological gadgets, devices and contraptions available, but things have changed a lot since then. These days, students at the M. I. T. who are supposed to be the most intelligent students in the U. S. have become a distracted bunch as they claim to be multi-taskers but fail at all aspects of the test given to them.
Still, there is hope for these kids as they still have the academic capabilities within them – all they need is just a little adjustment from the distractions affecting them so they can be more focused on their tasks. The virtual world has also given most offices the capacity to allow their employees to work on telecommute. This means lesser effort and expenses for the worker to go to his/her regular job and makes work more efficient and cost-effective. This set-up would not have been possible a decade ago since work then meant reporting to the office and actual presence was needed for the 8-hour job.
Furthermore, the prevalence of online jobs on the internet confirms this proclivity towards more virtual employment in the offing as the virtual environment becomes a more familiar venue for human activity. In conclusion, there are numerous advantages which have been brought about by the so-called Age of Technology, and these far outweigh the disadvantages like addiction to internet gaming, gambling and other similar problems. The future is certainly worth-anticipating as current advances in technology are already mind-blowing, hence, a higher degree of advancement will be most likely indescribable.
