"Digital Life" Response

             I wholly agree with the message this Hawaiian teacher is expressing in her video, "Digital Life", and I believe it is a major issue in today’s society. Just as technology is growing, the anti-technology movement is very visible in action. People are being more and more cautious to accept rapidly growing technology, because some side effects are becoming clear. For example, people tend to care more about their life online that their real life. We are losing our interpersonal skills, along with simple skills like grammar, spelling, and mental math. In addition, things that would have been pointless ten years ago are the center of our lives.  For example, we care about how many followers we have over how many real friends we have. As well, there is this big concept and feeling that if you don’t post it, it didn't happen. This increases our desire to spend time on social media online, rather than in reality. Furthermore, many young children are being exposed to technology, which can stunt their development, and cause other problems.

Youth are becoming more and more dependent on technology, which can diminish their social skills. 

 Personally, as much as I enjoy and use technology on a daily basis, I am skeptical about its effects on us in the long run. Will we be a brand new species of humans? Will we lose the ability to problem-solve, communicate face-to-face, or even have common sense? What are the health risks of being dependent on technology? These questions create a sense of uncertainty of how beneficial technology really is. Therefore, I agree with the intentional message of the video; that we should approach rapidly growing technology with great care. In comparison to the first video “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles, in 1979, it is evident that we are having the same sort of issues and doubt in 2013. No matter how much culture changes over the years, for most of the part society revolves around the same ideas and in turn, the same problems. The messages in both videos are consistent, bringing up the challenges that come with new technology.

Additionally, there is another point in the original video that supports the fact that even if culture changes, some ideas and values are passed on. To elaborate, if you listen closely to the opening of the song, it has the same background music (ignore the lyrics) as this newer song a few years back called “Check It Out”, by Nicki Minaj ft. Will.i.am! This was the first thing I realized when I watched the “Video Killed the Radio Star” video, and it amazed me. Here’s the video (viewer discretion advised, for offensive language):