Growing up In a Digital World
The Juxtaposition of biology, society and technology
Evolution is determined by two factors, the environment and the ability of an organism to adapt to its environment. We humans as a species have undergone several changes in lifestyle throughout our existence, we went from living in water to living on land and from a nomadic species to sedentary and agricultural. The recent rise in technology and more precisely the implementation of digital spaces into our everyday lives marks a new era for human kind. The internet has brought new challenges and opportunities and has forced us to tweak our lifestyles in a very short time frame. Meanwhile mental health is at an all time low in first world countries and I would argue it is because of the fast implementation of technology into our lives.
What could we do as parents or older siblings to help the future generations better coexist with technology?
A new labor market
The Need for Digital Skills
Todays children (and adults) are entering a labor market which demands digital skills. Digitalization has given rise to new positions such as data analyst, digital artist and software developer which exist solely in the digital space. Other jobs have merged with online resources, accountants, teachers and even police officers are expected to navigate websites and make use of software’s such as excel, PowerPoint or photoshop. The main cause behind the introduction of technology and digital programs to the work place lies in the gains in productivity they provide. An accountant with excel will easily outcompete an accountant with pen and paper.
But it gets worse. You’ve probably noticed that most manual jobs are disappearing due to automation, cashiers are being replaced by self-check out stations and factory workers by assembly robots. Earning a wage while being computer illiterate is getting exponentially harder.
Freedom through digitalization
The adoption of communication apps such as zoom and WhatsApp have enabled the decentralization of the workplace giving people more freedom in choosing how they work and where they work from. Recent studies suggest that many people find working online more appealing than having to go to the office. We can expect in the future the workplace to be a mixed environment where some prefer to operate online while others still wish to keep the peer to peer contact.
Furthermore, in recent years the proportion of people working as freelancers has dramatically increased and is mostly composed of people providing digital services such as data analysis, programing and online marketing. Working purely in the digital realm can allow us to make a living and finance our needs purely through our interaction with the digital world.
So how do we pick up these digital skills and understand the digital environment?
Growing up in a digital environment
Picking up Digital Skills
Most digital skills are picked up from our interactions with technology and more precisely by learning them through the internet. Nowadays most children have access to computers or tablets and can access the online world from an early age.
By browsing the internet children can learn how to find information online and make effective use of websites. Nowadays one can get a university level education simply by reading through online resources. Furthermore, by following online tutorials on social media websites such as YouTube, Instagram or telegram one can learn plethora of digital skills such as how to best edit photos, make videogames or start a business. There also exist online courses on how to code, with no barrier of entry.
Communicating online
Staying connected allows us to call friends whenever we need their help, whether it be to get help on a videogame or help finding solutions to a coding problem. We also get access to helpful strangers, websites such as GitHub allow people to share solutions to coding problems. And there are plenty of forums such as reddit which allow people to ask questions and get answers from strangers. These websites usually have a trust metric system allowing people to better assess whether the information they are providing is truthful/complete.
Staying connected through social media help us keep up with trends and anticipate global events with economic consequences. Social media has been influential in politics as well as in the stock market.
New environment, new threats
Predatory algorithms
Despite the nuggets of information that can be extracted from the internet, one is still exposed to predatory business practices and algorithms. Most algorithms used by firms as meta, YouTube and tiktok seek to maximize user engagement and retain it for as long as possible in order to generate revenue. Users and online media companies often have asymmetric goals. While someone might go to YouTube to watch a tutorial and want to start working on it, the algorithm is designed to go against that person’s goal and will try to retain the user on the website for as long as possible. As we interact more with algorithms designed to keep our attention, they will get increasingly better at doing to.
Furthermore it has been shown that exposure to online media affects children’s ability to concentrate on tasks and remember information. As people consume more digital media, we become poorer at inhibiting impulses and algorithms get better at monopolizing our attention, thus enthralling us into a vicious cycle of constant distraction and inability to concentrate.
Antisocial behavior
As we become more distracted and real life becomes harder to cope with, we might want to isolate ourselves in digital spaces. In Japan a new form of individual has appeared called the Hikikomori. They are people who choose to alienate themselves from the real world and live purely in digital spaces while living off of their parents. They refuse to work, have a lack of competence and unclear ambitions for the future. As of today 1.5 Million Japanese are reported as Hikkikomori.
Protecting future generations
Not interacting with digital spaces would be a valid approach to solving most of the problems depicted in this article, however we would loose all the positive aspects that come with technology and digital spaces, thus making it a sub optimal solution. Instead we could focus on minimize their downsides.
Warning people and children about digital spaces is good. We can also warn people about the negative effects of some digital practices through social media, such as the no fap November campaign, which seeks to help people to stop relying on pornography for stimuli. Such campaigns can improve peoples lives and make them start questioning whether some practices online are truly good. We can thus reach those who spend most of their time consuming online content are the most susceptible to the negative effects of constant media exposure.
However, due to the predatory nature of algorithms I believe this is not enough. We could pass laws impeding predatory online business practices from companies such as Tiktok, Facebook and google. The Tiktok in china is different from that of the west, partially because the Chinese government owns the company and has shaped the algorithm to be less disruptive towards its citizens.
Personal Reflection
Throughout this course I was able to build a better understanding not only of the problems that technology brings but also of all the positive aspects that it can have. This course has forced me to introspect on how technology and digital spaces have shaped me as a person. All the ideas that I have been exposed to from social media and all the online friends that I have met have played a curtail role in determining who I am today.
I also started to reflect on the negatives of online media and how digital media shapes my way of thinking on a daily basis. As a consequence I’ve stopped looking at Instagram or YouTube as they do hinder my ability to concentrate. Replacing my time online by more real life activities such as sports and reaching a healthy balance between the online world and real life. No matter how much we try we cannot replace real life by the digital.
Since technology is used by almost everyone in developed countries, it affects and influences everyone. I’ve thus started to adapt a broader view of the consequences of technology on our social fabric and us as a species.
This course has also allowed me to take the final step as a digital citizen. Like most people I would always read content but never post it, probably because it is easier to be an online consumer than a creator. The digisoc assignments have nudged me into creating content and made me realize that creating content can be as rewarding as consuming it.
