Afanador 1

Mary Afandor Professor Brand ENG 101H 88340 December 5, 2013 Writing Project 5 Word Count: 1,1556 If You Cant Beat Them, Join Them Even if a person decides against technology, chances are they are exposed to it whether they want to be or not. The digital world is hard to hide from considering the copious amounts of different kinds of technology there is. From smart phones to the televisions above gas station pumps, there is technology everywhere. Harnessing the potential of technology relies on those who choose to use it for what it was created for. However, because of the rapid advancement in technology, the digital natives of today are finding new ways to use their devices, networks, and other forms of technology to their advantage and some at other peoples expense. Now, people live in a world where identity and personal information are in jeopardy without having the knowledge to protect them. Although answers to their questions are just a Google click away, the digital immigrants and settlers are still ignorant to most of the digital world. It is arguable that so much technology will inevitably dumb-down society; however it is better to understand how much has benefitted it as well. I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots. Albert Einstein. This quote undoubtedly applies to the changing culture of digital natives today. The youth of America has become consumed by technology and social media that it has become what is most important in their eyes. People stand outside for days waiting for the newest version of the smart

Afanador 2

phone they already have. Posting a marriage engagement over Facebook or Twitter is done first before calling a family member or just simply relishing in the moment. The digital natives of today are a separate entity from the digital settlers and immigrants. Although they still use technology, they have not lost sight of appreciating how much easier life has become with the click of a mouse or a tap of the finger. In the book Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives, John Palfrey and Urs Gasser state, One of the most worrying things of all about digital culture is the huge divide its opening up between the haves and have nots (pg. 14). The way technology has been spreading like virus, it is becoming more difficult to keep up with it all. Especially the digital settlers who are getting used to one thing and just months later, a new version of it is introduced. They are the ones who were born into a world where if research for a paper was needed, they would have to go to a library and use textbooks. Libraries are still functioning and optional for the digital natives of today, but why would they use a book when Wikipedia and Google have exactly what they are looking for in seconds, rather than having to hunt for it in an index? The digital natives today will most likely choose convenience over control. Although this may seem like the end of an era and books will soon be obsolete, technology has absolutely changed aspects of the world for the better. New research and medicine could not be done today without all the advancement in technology. In late 2007, the Cleveland Clinic discovered new ways to perform surgery using robotics according to Med Page Today: Putting Breaking Medical Use into Practice (pg. 1). It is hard to say that technology is rotting the brains of young people today because some of these children might grow up to be the researcher that finds a cure for cancer using technology.

Afanador 3

Although there is good and bad, there are still shades of gray that pertain to digital natives and what has progressed over the past 10 to 20 years. Reading stories about young people harassing and cyber-bullying other kids to the point of taking their own lives are what make the bad more prominent than anything else. Its as if parents of these cruel children are so blind of what their own flesh and blood are capable of that it all goes unresolved until its too late. In retrospect, bullying has always been around, but the epidemic of cyber-bullying is staggering. It is much easier to say horrible things about someone without being in front of them. Parents, teachers, and other authorities ignore the signs and what is happening right before their eyes. The digital natives today are maturing at a very young age due to the exposure of technology. It is hard to filter out what a child sees on the internet, in fact it is impossible. Though they see things that could easily be explained by a parent or teacher, it never falls under their radar, leading them to explore things they cannot possibly have the capacity to maturely understand. Therefore, with their newly expanded knowledge, the exploitation of it is publicized over social media and projected onto their peers. How these young people respond to each other is harsh and sad at times. Palfrey and Gasser state, For a typical girl living in a wired society, the digital environment is simply an extension of the physical world (pg. 19). This means that a lot of a young girls life or personality is spent digitally. Their identities are easily altered and modified to accommodate the changing world around them. It becomes more difficult to trust what happens in the digital world because anything can be changed almost immediately. The digital natives today are still growing and adapting to the ever-expanding technological developments. Technology is not only growing at an alarming rate, so are the young people born into it. Every year more and more digital natives are born into the world. The world they will come to know as a world full of technology. If there was a way to filter or train

Afanador 4

our digital natives to use it wisely it will hopefully present itself soon. However, it all must begin with the educators and authorities over youngsters. It is impossible for older people to keep up with technology, therefore impossible to keep it from piercing the minds of children who become more fluent the earlier they are exposed to it. The only thing that can be done is keeping people up to date as possible on the advancements in technology and hope that it will be used for the good of mankind. Basically, if you cant beat them, join them.

Afanador 5

Works Cited Lauren Cox, ABC Medical News Unit, Peggy Peck, Executive Editor, MedPage Today. The Top 10 Medical Advancements of the Decade. Medpage Today, December 17, 2009. John Palfrey and Urs Gasser Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives. 2008 Quote Investigator, http://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/03/19/tech-surpass/ Albert Einstein, March 19, 2013