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really enjoy shows like this because it is a great way to learn about new things. At the beginning of the clip they related animation to dreaming by saying, “It is the same thing you see when you go to sleep at night”. I loved this because it is very true. Animation is not real but it is like you are in a dream world, full of color, fun and excitement. As I think the television shows and movies I watched as a child, Disney was a staple in my house. The animation became more and more real as the movies have progressed, but that doesn’t make the movie better, just a little more realistic. As I was watching the PBS show, I realized that the quality of animation and how close it is a real-life look doesn’t make it better, it is the dream-like quality makes it real to you and helps you connect.

When I had found out that individuals had become deathly ill and some have even passed away from gaming, I believed the severity of gaming addiction. It’s crazy to think that in this day and age our minds ability to choose a virtual world over reality is actually a decision one might put thought into. Technology is a great achievement amongst the human species and should continue to evolve in such a manner that reduces harmful, irreversible scars we leave behind. The ability to bend technological advancements into a greater learning environment is just the beginning when naming off the pros of our intelligence. Just like the schools in the Bronx that have adapted their ways to minimize violence, this advancement holds promise for those that might doubt its overwhelming stereotype of gamers. So many people around the world are being engulfed in this digital world that has left some of reality in the dark, literally. I’ll be curious to see where this path of ongoing virtuality will take us in the future.

I found it interesting that technology has taken over that much. I had no idea that so many people are addicted and I found it a bit nerve racking that I related to some of it. When they found the college student girl that had to have her phone on her at all times. I also found it interesting that businesses are going to a different virtual world for meetings to save companies money. Then after watching the entire show I was a bit startled because it made me realize how much we rely on technology for the simplist parts in our day. I walk to class with my Ipod and my phone in my hands and I have a laptop in my backpack. Then when I get back to my apartment I text my neighbors to see if they want to hang when really, I could just walk over there. After seeing all the advancements and the results from the advancements I am starting to wonder what the world will be like when all of us are 80 years old. I find it scary to think the worlds technology will be even more advanced then it already is.

There is so much more activity in the brain when the student looked at the Google web search page, this really made me think of how good of a multi tasker I am. I know I am not all that good in the first place, but to see how the brain reacts too reading and looking at the Google page really makes me think I work so much in social media that maybe my brain would react more to reading. People say kids are addicted to games and the Internet.... and I think this couldn't be truer and people think it is a cancerous and people think it is also a plain addiction. Ning is where kids make a social networking site. They can reason as book characters. "Technology is like oxygen" is very true! You do not do one thing that is not involved in technology.

PBS Frontline Inspection

When I had found out that individuals had become deathly ill and some have even passed away from gaming, I believed the severity of gaming addiction. It’s crazy to think that in this day and age our minds ability to choose a virtual world over reality is actually a decision one might put thought into. Technology is a great achievement amongst the human species and should continue to evolve in such a manner that reduces harmful, irreversible scars we leave behind. The ability to bend technological advancements into a greater learning environment is just the beginning when naming off the pros of our intelligence. Just like the schools in the Bronx that have adapted their ways to minimize violence, this advancement holds promise for those that might doubt its overwhelming stereotype of gamers. So many people around the world are being engulfed in this digital world that has left some of reality in the dark, literally. I’ll be curious to see where this path of ongoing virtuality will take us in the future.

PBS Digital Nation

The thing that I found most intriguing about the digital nation video was the severity of the internet, and computer gaming addictions found in Asian countries like South Korea. The fact that there are full on treatment centers for this problem kind of shocked me. I am aware that there are similar problems in the U.S. but I haven't heard of anything so severe as to where two week treatment was necessary. I literally could not believe that some people had even died in the mass PC labs after almost three day gaming binges while depriving themselves of food and water. I hope to never be that seriously addicted to the internet or any type of gaming.

In the world we live in today digital technology is everywhere. It is constantly advancing and changing the way that we go about our daily lives. In PBS’s Digital Nation, some startling facts about digital technology were brought to my attention. It was mentioned that technology has made it easier for us to multi task but can our brain actually focus on more than one thing at a time? According to the video, we cant. I thought it was interesting because I couldn’t imagine going a single day without multi tasking. I was also surprised by the segment on video game addiction in South Korea. The fact that people are dying because they are playing video games for 50 hours straight is quite disconcerting. I can definitely find a parallel to this from some of the people around me who are on facebook for hours on end or pinning on Pinterest nonstop. Digital technology is taking over in a lot of ways. Seeing the empty IBM office towards the end of the video made me think about my future career. Will everything be completely digitalized? Will the need for face to face human interaction cease to exist? I hope not. Only time will tell.

There were a couple things I found interesting about the Digital Nation documentary. First of all what surprised me most was the people who multitasked at high levels constantly were actually really bad at multitasking in general. I thought that in some way multitasking constantly would have had a positive effect on someone’s productivity but they proved that when we are multitasking were actually doing a bunch of segmented work. Another thing I found interesting is how technology is becoming something people can be addicted to and the negative health effects it can have. I never really wanted to admit to being addicted to technology myself, but the more I think about it the more it seems likely that I am.

This video really opened to my eyes to how technologically advanced our generation has become. I found it especially interesting that most students think they are experts at multitasking, when in fact it has a negative effect on the overall learning experience. It also was brought to my attention that it has become so natural that most of the time we don’t even realize it’s happening. For instance, while watching this video I found myself responding to text messages and checking emails even though they were things that could have waited until I was done watching the video. One area I specifically related to was when the MIT students were talking about one-on-one conversations, and how it is rarely considered rude to pull out a phone mid-conversation because the action will be reciprocated sooner or later. It would be interesting to monitor this and see how many times it happens in an average outing between two people.

After watching the PBS program Frontline’s special Digital Nation, I was most surprised by the fact that young people who have grown up using technology (a.k.a. “digital natives”) believe that, because of they are such frequent users of laptops, cell phones, tablets, etc. and tend to check their email, their Facebook, do their homework, and listen to music at the same time, they are excellent at multitasking. According to some research, students are actually not performing as well as they should be because all that “multitasking” is actually distracting them from focusing on what’s most important.
What also caught my attention was a comment an MIT student made about texting while hanging out with friends, and how it’s become more accepted when it was once very rude. The MIT student explained that it was okay if his friend texted while they were hanging out because, “I’m gonna do it to him!” I’ve been guilty many times of texting while spending time with a friend, and my friends are guilty as well. Sometimes the word “rude” flashes through my mind for a second, but then I realize that texting during real-life socializing has become too normal to be rude!

Digital Nation

Digital Nation starts out on a bad note by saying that people’s attention spans are getting shorter due to technology. Students especially are being affected. The video goes on to explain that many schools have successfully integrated technology into their courses. I don’t believe that this is a good idea because online courses are not the same thing. In my opinion students are less motivated to do their work and procrastinate a lot more when there is not a teacher standing in front of them. It later shows younger people referring to themselves as “digital natives” and the older generations as “digital immigrants,” but that is not how I feel. I like to use paper more than type things up on the computer, and there are a lot of people who feel the same way. I believe we should ease into using technology in schools and everyday life a little slower than we are now until we know what the repercussions are.

After watching the PBS digital nation special I was pretty amazed at the portion with the Asian students going to a “computer rehab”. They all had to admit they had a problem with computer usage and it was negatively affecting their health. I felt like it was a drug rehab show. I suppose it is a similar idea, just strange it was applied to people with a problem of computer usage. This is something we are not accustomed to here in the U.S. Computers are generally viewed as a good thing with positive effects. The school even has posters with sayings and facts listing the dangers of overusing computers/ computer games, which is a currently a large problem for the youth of the area.

I found Digital Nation very interesting for it's look into modern technology and its frequent use in our every day lives. I most focused on the problems that the video had addressed like video game addiction in South Korea and the younger population’s addiction to Internet use. It was truly fascinating to see first-hand how much we rely on Internet use everyday. Much of the video was about how online gaming has become very popular, but has also become an unhealthy lifestyle for many. One online game mentioned in the video includes World of Warcraft, a game that many have become addicted to playing. I hadn’t realized how bad these addictions really were until I watched the footage of gamers playing non-stop online games. Overall there was plenty of footage in the video that demonstrated the high use of online capabilities in today’s society.

Digital Nation

The most interesting part of Digital Nation I found to be was the segment on South Korean gaming/internet addiction. I feel this documentation did a poor representation of the reasoning behind the internet addiction cycle. In the film it said that South Korea over game economic hardship by embracing the digital age. This would require a lot of the population to indulge themselves into anything and everything surrounding the digital age as quick and as fast as possible. This needed to occur so they as a country could get a jump start on the age and embrace it for what it is, which is a lot of different things both good and bad. This fast paced unknown adaption is sure to cause problems when so many people are doing it so fast. One of the main points I'd like to get across is the fact that people don't just embrace game for what it is. All Massively Multiplayer games have a huge social portion to them, even though it may not look like it. Most of the people I know who go into job fields within the tech industry are the exact type of people this video labeled as addictive and high risk. It's the people who indulge themselves within the culture their career lies within that become successful and beyond.

Digital Nation Reflection
One of the most interesting things I noticed while watching the video was that I had issues focusing on the video, particularly in the beginning part when they were talking about students having trouble focusing on schoolwork because of the Internet. However, I was distracted by the “real world.” The people around me and such. Another interesting thing was when they were talking about how the military is using video games as a recruitment tool. I found it striking that some of the parents were concerned about kids not being to tell the difference between reality and the virtual world, yet kids said that they knew it was fiction. They knew the difference between fact and fiction. I was also fascinated by how there are schools that are based on games and computers. It’s amazing how young kids are when they are introduced to the technology. It’s so different from when I was a kid, which wasn’t that long ago.

PBS Frontline Video
Digital Nation

My mom often times told me that she thought I was literally addicted to my phone. I never took her seriously because I really didn’t think that was possible. So in PBS Frontline video, Digital Nation, I found it incredibly interesting that they talked about how it is believed that people actually can be addicted to technology. It just seems so strange to me that you can truly be addicted to your phone, computer, social media sites, games, and other technology. I understand that the world is becoming way more digital, but still, the word addiction? I found it interesting when in the video they said that the internet can be what one can do, to what one does. Along with addiction to technology, I found it interesting about MITs research on multitasking. I’ll admit that I often times feel like I am a great multitasker. I honestly feel that I do an amazing job at doing two plus things at once. So, when studies proved that students weren’t as good at this as they believed I was shocked. I guess it does make sense that we become extremely distracted.

Digital nation:

I find it interesting that they say in general our brains can’t multitask. I am not surprised that people perform worse when they are multitasking than when they are focusing however. I also find it interesting that it is difficult for scientists to perform research on how technology affects us that is still relevant because the technology is changing so rapidly. Its very eye opening that there are actual Internet rescue camps like rehab programs. It shows that people do struggle managing their lives while infatuated with the Internet and what it offers. It does bother me how much we rely on staying connected these days, even more it bother me how we are expected by our jobs and schools to stay connected in numerous ways. Us a graphic designers are supposed to maintain a website, check our email, join twitter to make connections ect. This documentary makes the point that students now a days aren’t learning to remember things, they are learning to build, problem solve and create things. I think that is a valid point because we now have knowledge at our fingertips. The most concerning type of internet use in my eyes is the online games such as World of War Craft, where people put more effort into their “lives” online than in the real world. I really don’t like how technology is taking people farther away from real experiences therefore distancing emotion especially in the case of war. I think that it makes people more willing and capable to harm others.

Digital Nation Response

I found it interesting and slightly humorous when scientists did a study on students who thought they were brilliant multi-taskers. These students were constantly switching from texting, to online chatting, to emailing, and several other things, but were still convince they were keeping time with what needed to be done. I know several people who are convinced they are great multi taskers such as this (though maybe a little less extreme and obsessed). It was interesting to hear the scientists prove that all of these people had significantly lost focus between the tasks causing them to work much slower. One scientist even states that multi-taskers are the worst at multitasking. In the end it was creating people who are unable to think well and clearly.
I also found it interesting that professors are reporting that they no longer can assign a novel over 200 pages and that students are as academically capable.
But it was even more fascinating to think about the fact that the book has not been around forever. It has not always been the “proper” way of doing things or the proper way to learn. New methods of teaching are coming about and the book might not be the proper way to things in our century.

Weekend Blog Posting:
After watching the show Frontline and making some notes about it I was shocked to see the effect that people have from the Internet and technology. I thought it was interesting how people think they can multitask but little do they know its not as good as we think, the show stated that most people are not as productive as they think. This can lead to them falling behind or a task taking longer then needed. I knew that some people were addicted to online games but after watching how bad it is for you and seeing how many people are affected from online games I was in shock. I can’t believe that a lady quit her fulltime job to just play a online game day and night. I thought that the camp that was for kids and adults that are addicted to gaming was a good idea, but does it really stop them from going back and playing that same game after the camp is over? It was interesting to me that people that work from home can logon to a site with there coworkers around the world and have a meeting. They are on the screen sitting around a table all with there own avatar, it makes me think twice about what this world will be like in 10 years.

Reflection
After watching the video Digital Nation I would definetly say I am more of technology and how it effects our daily lives. I am not surprised by the idea of internet being an addiction. But what I was surprised about were the deaths that occurred in Korea gaming rooms. I was also quite shocked to hear about the high percentage of kids that played games in Korea.
I thought it was very interesting to see how much brain activity we use on books compared to internet browsing. I thought it was really interesting to know that our brains can’t fully develop by being on the internet computer and so on so much.
It’s disappointing to know that the digital world more so the virtual world really takes a hold on peoples life and to what I think is brainwashing. I think digital media is a very good thing if it isn’t used in excess. I completely agree with the man towards the end of the video about discussing how the world is constantly developing and how people use to complain about not receiving letters but instead receiving phone calls. Let’s face it the world is constantly changing! Using digital media in moderation and using it for the way its truly meant to be used I think then is a good thing to have.

Digital Nation
I thought the Frontline show was very interesting overall, and some parts really surprised me. It is interesting to step back and look at where our world is coming to, especially since technology is changing and become more and more advanced so quickly. It’s crazy that they said how before when families went on vacations for 2 weeks and when they came back they had no idea what happened during those two weeks, but now everyone is constantly updating themselves with what is going on every minute of the day, and staying connected 24/7. I never notice how much we depend on technology, even when we are having real life conversations, but texting at the same time. It was surprising that some people think they can multitask up to 6 electronics at a time too. Another thing that surprised me were the South Korean children having addictions to games, and even going to camps to try and fix the addiction without having electronics there. It’s sad to see children having less social skills because they are so caught up in virtual worlds. Even the work environments that are completely virtual surprised me because I didn’t know they existed. Technology is not good or bad; it is powerful.

The film “Digital Nation” was interesting because it brought up things I think about a lot. Everywhere I look, people seem to be glued to some type of screen. One lady mentions “This is meant for us to be our most creative selves, not to distract ourselves to death.” Instead of thinking hard about things, we are googling things and it’s changing our brains. We seem to constantly need a distraction.
The segment on virtual worlds was also interesting and I’m torn on how I feel about it. I remember learning about “Second Life” a few years ago. I’ve never tried it because I worry that it’s harmful for people to immerse themselves in video games and virtual realities. Second Life is interesting because it seems that it’s more of a fantasy that allows people to live lives they can’t in real life, instead of competing to win a game. One thing that I thought was pretty cool is that office people use it to have meetings.
It’s also somewhat terrifying that we can fight wars from a computer; it makes life a little more dangerous and seems to disconnect people from the reality and horror of war. It seems this is a step away from peace instead of toward it. However, using a virtual reality for treating PTSD seems to be a very innovative treatment and if it can help soldiers with PTSD I think they should definitely look further into this treatment.

Short reflection on “Digital Nation”

Digital Nation I found this program to be very interesting. I am not that heavy consumer of digital media, I did find one aspect of this program to be lacking: What careers are built around the ability to browse the internet, find information instantaneously, or communicate independent of time and space? I understand that there are many fields where you have to be engaged by digital media and its use, but what skills are being developed? The only skill this program talked about was multitasking and in that it was not clearly articulated. I do believe our creativity is supported and encouraged by this ubiquitous interaction with digital media but what is the product of communicating information apart from communicating information? How is universal knowledge being enriched? What careers can be established from our modern inter-connectivity? I think technology in education must be applied in the right places and in the right dose and in the right match. I can not think of many learning activities that exercise the brain better than challenging reading. The brain is required to convert arrangements of 26 otherwise meaningless characters into complex ideas, images, emotions, etc. Likewise also a challenging math or science problem or political discussion develops the brain.

One of the main ideas I took from this documentary was that the most technologically forward countries in the past are now the ones having the most issues with gaming/internet/technological addictions. We are starting to use newer technologies in schools such as ipads, smartboards, and computers, much more than we have before. Other countries such as Korea implemented these things much sooner than us and are the ones with the problems arising due to the early exposure to these things. How long will it be until books and non-screen learning are obsolete in classrooms? Another thing that was interesting was the study on multitasking, the students thinking that they were doing several things very well. The truth was that instead of doing one thing well these students were doing an average or less than average job as there attention was spread between multiple projects. This changes the whole idea of multi-tasking as you are making your work worse because it was one of several things you were working on at the time.

I think this show did a really nice job of staying unbiased I think. While they do ask some hard questions like are students getting dumber because of all of the distractions we deal with, they also show the other sides to this technology like more dynamic and engaging education. I argue that these strong negative and positive side effects of technology have always been part of our culture as humans. Guns for instance, a technology that has been with us for quite some time, can offer protection, but at the same time can offer aggressors more power over the victim. The atomic bomb was the same way. I believe that now computers have the capabilities of offering the world extreme knowledge and extreme stupidity. It is all in the way the human behind the computer chooses to use the device. If learning on a computer was capable of producing an engaging and entertaining way of transferring knowledge that was more interesting than gaming then you know for sure that would be the main thing people would do. Instead we live in a world that has not evolved online education to fit with the technological advances that offer much more interesting content like social media and gaming. I believe in the near future we will see a rapid change in the way we learn, especially when we see the introduction of wearable computing and neuro computing.

This documentary has focused on how rapid the development of digital media is spreading and invented while compared to the ideal on how our modern daily lives are affected by such innovation that tend to evolve way too fast than we can keep up to it. In the documentary the discussion on how this media is sneaking into people’s lives as a normal thing as affected the new-borns who are easily integrated into the digital world in a sense that this acts as second nature. Young children have easily grasped technologies and keeping up to date with it so rapid that scientists and philosophers don’t know what to expect of the generation in the future.
Digital media such as games have allow digital worlds to be created for social interests and even business meetings to take place whereby showing that people in our modern life have adopted to multitasking. These virtual worlds have enhanced human life in some people with serious interests. These evidently proves to humans that we are always evolving and it’s our duty to cope with the world we are living in.