Digital Evolution
Learning throughout the first week of class has already been very intriguing. Reading the beginning of Jones and Hafner, Understanding Digital Literacies has presented the ideas of ‘new media’ and how the digital world has had a significant impact on writing.
Since human beings are constantly making and using new tools, it is important to stay up to date with various technologies that can benefit society in many ways. For example, the first chapter presents the history of the wristwatch. Before the sixteenth century, timepieces were too big to carry around, so most people relied on the public to tell time. Others would listen to the church bells ring to predict what time of the day it was. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that watches were worn by mostly women, solely just as a fashion accessory. Soldiers during World War I would strap watches to their wrists to be hands-free during battle to know the correct time to correlate their actions with each other during battle.
As the idea of the wristwatch evolved, different possibilities impacted human nature. There were more planned meetings rather than random encounters with people. More schedules were created to have a more organized day.
Technology has evolved so much today as the access we have to tell time is so simple. The iPhone which we can carry in the back of our jeans pocket, an Apple Watch that we can wear on our wrist not only to tell time but to receive real-time notifications. Imagine waiting to hear the church bells to know whether it’s afternoon.
This idea of focusing on the wristwatch drew so much inspiration for my thoughts on writing. You may think how is a wristwatch and writing comparable? I see this idea as a prospering way of how technology shapes human nature and how we connect.
With technology today, we have so many possibilities to be able to connect with people all around the world. Blogging has evolved in such a way that there over thousands of genres for different audiences to indulge in. Some examples include fashion blogs, sports, parenting, lifestyle, and music. Being able to have access to unlimited amounts of information from a simple Google search has shaped the way of being able to connect through the internet.
Social networking has made such a positive impact on the writing community and allows writers to stay connected with one another and expand their online audience.
Although there are always negatives to every situation, I often think of how the use of technology will impact how children receive their education. Growing up and using technology every day, kids in today’s generation will have severe in-person communication problems. Being able to talk to people face-to-face is such a critical part of development. I feel that the younger the child is to get their hands on technology, the more likely it is that the child will have learning issues and even health issues. However, if technology is granted to them in the appropriate ways for learning and not as much entertainment, it could have a positive impact on the knowledge that child has in their learning career.
Overall, being able to receive an education during this time has made me so grateful and appreciate the technology we are granted. Learning online has been an amazing experience and to be able to use tools like this very blog has allowed me to expand and pursue my knowledge of writing.
