Digital Nation

            After watching this video, I was able to take a step back and look at how involved my life was with technology. I don’t go anywhere without my Blackberry. If I did, I would probably have a panic attack. Like the MIT students, I’m constantly texting while doing homework and checking emails and even Skyping. All of these different technologies have become an integral part of my life.

            I found it interesting that in South Korea some schools are so involved in educating their young students about the internet and internet safety. When I look back to my days in grammar school I do not recall any real education about computers and their different aspects. We may have practiced some typing, but it never continued past that. It makes me wonder if we did have that education, would our generation use the internet in a more responsible way?

            I do however think if we had access to computers in class all through middle school and high school I would never have learned as much as I did. I know a lot of my time would have been spent on Facebook or chatting with friends. The internet definitely does cause for more distractions. Also, I know that if computers were more accessible in classrooms I would never had done the assigned readings. I would have been online and reading Sparknotes like the student in the video had been doing.

            Also I found it interesting that even the MIT students were criticized by professors for a disconnect between paragraphs in essays. Since they are some of the brightest students in the world I assumed that technology would not get in the way to that extent. It made me wonder is the amount of technology we have in our lives is getting in the way of our ability to excel.

            Of all the things involved in this documentary the portion I found most ‘eye opening’ was the sections including video games in both South Korea and the United States. In a way, I can understand the relationships that people build through the games and how strong the bond could be. But the part that amazes me is the amount of time people could spend on playing the game. I can’t even imagine spending hours on end sitting in a chair, jeopardizing my education and even my job. Maybe I just don’t understand the benefits of the games, but I do not think that is good for anybody to be that involved in something.

This video allowed me to see the world in a more technological way and how reliant we have become on the internet. Afterall, we were watching the video online.