Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Think of the Children!


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For some people, the above is a bit of light reading; for others, it looks like a jumble of numbers, or maybe the work of a modern-day Einstein. In reality, I have no idea what the series of 0s and 1s above mean, but I can tell you it has SOMETHING to do with in-depth technology.
Modern technology clearly has its ups and downs, but no matter how much or little we fight it, our generation has been labeled many things…”Generation Y” and the “Millennials” are just two of those countless labels. There is a lot to be said in these names—a lot of implications are made—by not just our generation, but those before and following, as well (“Generation Y”). A main assumption of Generation Y is our grounded technology skills and advancing technology market will eventually take over the world.
Elementary schoolers now have their own laptops, iPods, and the latest of smart phones. Tell me, when you were in 5th grade, who exactly did you call or talk to online for hours at a time, and where were you that it was vital to have email access on your person at all times? Among the amazing things technology allows us to do, this is definitely not one of them. Last I checked, my 9 year old cousin did not need her own Facebook to talk to me. While my Facebook is generally kept clean, I personally do not deem 100% of my posts appropriate for 9 year olds. Furthermore, I cannot guarantee that all of my received posts are acceptable either. Growing up, I was fine with the occasional television show and using a typewriter for my homework.
I cannot accept the collaboration of advanced technology and children; it’s just wrong and deprives truly living. At the same time, technology is necessary in some aspects of my own life. Because I study Spanish & Hispanic Cultures, I use technology to communicate with friends living in foreign countries that I may only see in person a few times in my entire life. Without technological connections, I would not be able to continue communicating with many of the people I have met throughout my life, especially in the last 5 years. I cannot express how much technology has done for me in this way.
So, while I believe a grand emergence of technology is ruling our generation, I rely upon it heavily to maintain ongoing communication with dear friends of mine in multiple countries around the globe.

Source:
“Generation Y.” Wikipedia.com. Wikipedia, 11 Jan. 2012. 17 Jan. 2012.

3 comments:

  1. Just so you know, your comment at the beginning says " º Rø5UZ¼". There's handy binary decoders out there, and I like this one: http://nickciske.com/tools/binary.php

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    Replies
    1. Awesome! Thanks for letting me know, that's actually pretty cool.

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  2. Cool link Alex, I find it difficult to draw the line between generations. Some parents who adapt to the technology prove to be efficient by learning the skills of manipulating the codes. Some things that we grow up with pertaining to technology braces us for learning more in depth things later but I feel like there is a great deal needed to LEARN about technology that makes the generation before us level on this playing field of technological competence.

    As for you comments of kids being kids, I feel there are many things offered to children now that I would have appreciated growing up, I'm sure that is also the same for Generation X. When looking into the idea of 'childhood activity' I can see some issues at we are facing with concepts like obesity and the ever so slow loss of the human memory, but when looking at things from a more bread spectrum I think overall growing into technology will be a good thing for our children.

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