Digital Nation Growing Up on Online

Wow, this was an excellent program to see how technology affects children and parents alike. I was taken back by the dinner scene with the disconnect of the family immersed in technology. I remember my mom calling me in from outside when it was dinner time. We had Atari, Nintendo, and a commodore 64 but there were certain times we played them, like on rainy days.

I believe that technology is a positive invention, however not when it consumes people. I never realized the seriousness of this gaming in Korea and many other countries. I never knew how people could be in a meeting or in class, texting, on different website, and try to learn at the same time. Even though I went to elementary school in an open concept and could deal well with distractions, I can't multitask like the above and still learn. I was glad to see that MIT students were also not great multi-taskers.

I was also taken back by the soldiers who flew the drons from Las Vegas. It must be so difficult for them to engage in war everyday and at the end of the day return home like nothing happened.

One big problem I see is texting. For example my friend has a 15 year old daughter who was on her phone texting literally every 2-3 minutes while she was at my house for two days. Not only did I find it rude, she was in a house with 6 other kids but did not talk to them. This 15 year old would rather text friends then hang out with friends. I just don't comprehend.



I do have a new opinion on second life since watching this segment. When you first introduced it, I thought well this is just dumb why would anyone want to waste time on this website. Then I saw the benefits that it has for employees who work for IBM and I see the real value. It is not just a voice on the phone, now you can create a person to look like you so the voice matches a face.



I feel technology is positive in the educational classroom as students need to be taught how to use them. However, it needs to be monitored that they stay on task and do not wander to other websites. As a parent it is up to us to set limits on the usage of the computer, and other technology gadgets to help our children become consumed into a virtual world.