'Digital Nation' Write Up (ART 343/381: Critical Play)

Is technology harming my generation, or making us better?

After watching "Digital Nation," a film on the effects of constant connectivity to technology and the Internet, I pondered this question for quite awhile.

While the Internet has increased multitasking and access to knowledge for most people — at least college students, which the film studies — it may also be making my generation dumber. This notion is particularly interesting since the very thing the Internet creates for some people — knowledge — may also be actually decreasing that entity in people.

The Internet, and connections to it via mobile phones, allows us to have access to endless amounts of information within seconds. In many ways, it is making us smarter. For example, I can easily and instantly look up a reference someone makes in passing conversation to educate myself on a subject. I would likely not gain that extra knowledge if I had to go to the library to research the topic. As "Digital Nation" notes, the Internet gives people a broader range of knowledge.

However, these advantages come with consequences. Since people are less likely to deeply research a topic in the stacks of the library — expertise on subjects is becoming less frequent for my generation. On the topic of multitasking, "Digital Nation" studies proved that most people can't do it well.The Internet and technology also brings plenty of non-educational uses for people to spend (or waste) their time.

So the question remains: Is technology harming my generation, or making us better? Are the benefits of constant connectivity and access to information worth the cost?