Alicia Proto’s Big Paper on Digitalization

Representations of reality have changed significantly over the course of the last several decades and it seems that humans are now evolving along with the developments of digital technology. Digital representation devices such as cell phones, computers, televisions and iPods dominate our focus and attention on a daily basis and have for years. The people of tomorrow, or rather the children of today, will be the ones who go through a whole lifetime run by digital technology. You can’t help but wonder what consequences come with so much face to screen interaction and what it means for the future of humanity. It seems today that one can't walk into an American living room without spotting at least one digital electronic, if not more. The widespread integration of digital media in our society has fostered an unhealthy digital obsession and reliance which defeats the original purpose of digitalization. It has become an imperative part of business, communication and safety and quite significant to a well functioning society, causing these various devices to be a necessity that many individuals cannot function fully without. This begs the question if all this advanced technology really benefits our lifestyles or not.

Brief History of Human Evolution

Any native New Yorker knows that the best place to get jam packed information and a clear visual about the evolution of man is at the American Museum of Natural History. Its mind blowing and most of the time joke worthy to observe how humans have evolved from hunched-back harry “Hominidae” - most closely resembling our primate relatives chimpanzees and gorillas- to the what we are today. To think we once walked on fours, hung from trees and relied on plants for food seems extreme, and unless one is a devoured Christian, one should believe it. The textbook definition of evolution is the change in genetic material of organisms from one generation to the next. It is one slow gradual change from one form to another, from an original formation to present state. Species change over time, and with each decade that passes there is a new generation of people that have traits slightly different then the previous. Over time it can be detected easily that our ancestors from millions of years ago had different postures, habits and values then those of modern Homo sapiens. Evolution generally occurs due to climate change, while to human body must shift to adapt skills in their lifestyle required to help them survive. Over past 6 million years, the climate has changed drastically and human beings had to go on adjusting to their criteria’s. Today, global warming, or climate change, is a subject that shows no sign of cooling down, caused by pollutants we put there. We are the ones molding the climate and may have to adjust to the consequences we caused ourselves. It would be a shame to think that after all man has become we would be taking a step back in the direction we came.

Brief History of Electronics

In 1879, Thomas Alva Edison invented the light bulb which allowed light to be accessible in all places for all people. Although he wasn’t the first to experiment with electricity, he did start a trend that would evolve into a skyrocketing business of must need innovations. Electricity, required to light a light bulb, is a basic part of nature and is one of the most widely used forms of energy. We get electricity from the conversion of other sources of energy like coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear power and other natural sources, that power up our daily electronics including digital representation devices.

A digital system is powered by electricity, and uses two state, either on/off or high/low voltage pulse, to encode, receive and transmit information. Digital electronics is a technology that underlie digital techniques (The Essential Dictionary of Science). These powerful little devices provide a means for storing, transmitting, processing and reconstructing information of all kinds. There have been a phenomena of the late twentieth century and an uprising in the twenty-first of these electronics. Thanks to all the digital exposure, many people cannot go a day without using one of these devises to communicate, work or relax.

For every one invention, there are 5 more Interpretations Just like It

In this day and age we are constantly “upgrading” to devices that are smaller, easier to use and prettier to look at. For every one new idea it seems like there are 5 more variations. Although competition is what makes the businesses of this lovely Country keep their prices affordable, it is still mind blowing how many products are pitched to us claiming it’s a “must have”. This as already occurred with cell phones, music players, television networks, and computers. Every other year there has to be the release of a new version of an original device. Companies are always looking for ways to improve their already adequate product in fear that the competition will come up with the next best thing first. “Was good before, now its better.”

These constant innovations encourage us to keep up with the trends, always have the best and flaunt what everyone is bound to have eventually.

“Images challenge us to be better consumers rather then better people.”

America has become one of the most in demand countries in the world. Once something is invented and can be produced and shipped internationally, there is no doubt that it will be available to American’s who seek to purchase it. Thanks to constant updates on our digital representation devices, most of the gadgets we surround ourselves with have an ulterior motives aside from supplying us with temporary entertainment. We may think we’re taking a moment to check our email, or sit down to relax while watching a guilty pleasure gossip or reality show, but really we are allowing ourselves to be advertised to and labeled as consumers. In this economic crisis, we are encouraged to buy so that businesses don’t go bankrupt and we won’t have to pay as much tax for a bail out plan. But is all that money really going to a good place? We are wired to be compulsive consumers, trained to buy and buy and buy what can be bought. Millions or billions of dollars circulated, yet to little is seen in third world countries or to truly cater to the environment. In a New York Times Business section, there was an article by Claire Cian Miller entitled Twitter Serves up Idea’s From Its Followers where it states “Companies big and small monitor twitter to find out what their customers like and what they want changed. Twitter does the same.” It seems everything is a marketing opportunity and if big businesses can improve their sales by snooping on possible consumers, they do. If this is true, then perhaps anything is available and nothing is truly that private from other people on the internet.

No Hiding from Big Brother

Author’s like George Orwell and Aldus Huxley wrote books like 1984 and Brave New World that anticipated the effects of a totalitarian government that controlled society by the use of technology. In Brave New World, digital representation devices were used to spy and brainwash citizens of such a Utopia into thinking they were happy, which agrees with the phrase ignorance is Bliss. “A happy slave doesn’t run away” because we don’t rebel against things we enjoy. The devices could supply the people with whatever information the government wanted them to know, and they would never know the difference. Although this is a far fetch from what society is today, in some respects it can be inferred that we are headed down that road. Instead of cooking up our own thoughts in a kitchen, we read off a menu (Andy Snyder).We don’t challenge what we’re told as much as we accept it, meaning we don’t think outside the box nor do we encourage ourselves to participate in constructivism. According to Gavin McCarthy “Its much easier to remember stuff then think about something new.”

Take for instance, the media. Every provider of information can be criticized for being biased or having a lack of an alternate perspective. The issue that can be overlooked is that hardly many people question the sources in which provide them with such information. Andy Snyder once said “Most people don’t think. They regulate what’s been said to them, then eat it back up again.” Although almost anyone can have an opinion, do we ever truly question the facts? Since there are so many sources of information, there are constant updates and new releases. But how often to people view all sources or compare and contrast? Its not as common for people to go out and get original data or research anymore. Therefore we can be told one thing by one source and have to believe it because we didn’t test its validity ourselves. “He hardly knew why he rebelled. Everything was easy, except!- Anything could be true.(Pg 248 of 1984)” How do we know what’s true? How can we know if our belief’s are justified? How do epistemologists explain this?

Happiness

Are we taking some of the simple pleasures out of life by digitalizing everything? Why go out to a movie when you can watch it from home? Why go on the internet when the library is around the corner? Why text when you can talk in person? Some of the most exciting experiences of life are being cut short because there is a quicker more efficient way of doing them. How can we ever truly appreciate things that come to easy for us. These fast easy working electronics turn us into impatient on edge robots who cannot cope when something doesn’t work as well as our devices do. The screens seems to memorize us rather then induce happiness upon us. Isn’t entertainment more fun to talk about after then to actually watch? In times of boredom, struggle or stress we turn to distractions to experience, if just for a small amount of time, the pleasures from a source that doesn’t really exist. What’s the point of human interaction anymore when there are computers, iPods and televisions. According to a report on Social Isolation and New Technology,

“A widely-reported 2006 study argued that since 1985 Americans have become more socially isolated, the size of their discussion networks has declined, and the diversity of those people with whom they discuss important matters has decreased.”

And on the other hand, it isn’t even about convenience, but social expectation and conformity. These once useful gadgets are now serving a different purpose, to higher our ranking of power and popularity. We use our cell phones, iPods and gaming systems as accessories to show how in demand we are, how many trends we can conform to and what little originality people strive for anymore. Its all keep up with pop culture and not falling behind the curve. In M.T. Anderson’s novel Feed, his main character Titus struggles with this very expectation he is pressured to follow. “

Alternative Point of View

Of course, not all technology and representation devices are bad. Its not easy to resist using them because they have made life so much easier, bearable and functional.

For those with social disorders, and escape from reality is comforting. Televisions don’t discriminate, challenge or require work to understand. It is just a series of images that catch the interest of the eye, as opposed to a scrambled bunch of words on a page.

Bibliography

- http://karachi.metblogs.com/2009/06/18/the-next-big-invention-after-electricity-a-hand-held-fan/

http://en.hnf.de/Permanent_exhibition/1st_floor/The_invention_of_the_computer/The_invention_of_the_computer.asp