This post is will talk about an issue that does not have to deal with hockey, but is one that is interesting enough to be talked about anyway. I have recently watched an episode of the PBS publication "front line". This episode talked about how technology has "taken over" or dominated some area's of today's society, especially when it comes to children. The first thing that stuck out to me, was the fact that kids today just seem to "get it" when it comes to matters of modern technology. I mean, I adapt to new technology fairly quickly, but in the documentary, I witnessed a middle school student who probably has the same qualifications, if not more, than I do as a Sophomore in college. This was just mind boggling, as I watched him surf the web, through his classmates blogs, and through web sites that he has created. I am just now doing some of these things as a 19 year old, I can't even imagine what this kid could be doing when he is 19. The main thing that I think I am trying to get across here, is that technology is becoming a bigger and bigger part of the education system. While I was in my senior year of high school, my teachers started using smartboards, and more modern technology. Now, my old high school has virtual classes, where they can stay at home, and still be in class via a laptop and a webcam. I have this same option for most of my lectures in college, which prove to be very helpful for exam reviewing. Most kids in my old high school bring their own laptops to school, which is also similar to a lot of my college classes. This was unheard of when I was in middle school, nobody had their own computer, nevertheless a laptop. I feel that computers and technology will become more widely used for educational purposes, as well as health purposes in the near future.
With all being said about how good technology, and the internet can be, there are also some severe risks to using this modern technology. People can become addicted to the internet, and technology, most often it is videogames that people become addicted to. I can’t say that I have never played a videogame for an extended period of time, but I knew deep down that it was not good for me in some way. Kids and adults alike can become dependent on video games and virtual reality simulators in ways that are disturbing to me. Kids in South Korea have become so addicted to their videogames, that the government has actually had to set up “camps” for kids with an addiction to videogames. We haven’t quite gotten to that stage in the United States, but having seen some of the kids behind me in school, I can’t say we are too far away from that. Another thing coming from the use of all this technology is distractions. People who use this technology are very opt to getting distracted easily. I, myself can get distracted by my phone, Ipod, facebook or many other means of technology. Kids say that they are very good at multitasking, while scientists beg to differ. I would have to agree with science on this one, I know I am not a very good multitasker, although I make my best effort to. All in all, technology is great in some area’s like education, health care, and business, but can also prove to be problemsome when it comes to helping us focus on the task(s) at hand.
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