The rapid advancement of information technology has changed many aspects of human life today, the good and bad things. Within this post I limit on two aspects to make this post not too long to read. The aspects that most get my attentions.
1) Pattern of social interaction.
Frankly I miss the era between the 70s - 90s where my childhood and adolescence with my friends and family. I miss the days when I play marbles with my friends, make paper ships together, play kites, and the like which it called traditional games - maybe still be found in the hamlet or traditional villages. I really enjoy when gather together with friends while drinking beer in real world, Cheers! OMG... truly an emotional excitement sensation that I never found or feel it in the virtual world like Facebook, Instagram, and any social media whatsoever.
Now, where smart phones, gadgets and social media has become lifestyles, I'm worried about getting the fact that my daughter likes to interact with her friends through what I call it virtual world friendships, like Facebook, Instagram, and the like. My little boy likes to play online games where sometimes he looks annoyed if lost and happy if win - but I say that he interacted virtually to a dead object called gadget. Psychologically this is not good for the development of emotional intelligence. I'm worried about our children in this era, especially in urban areas, they tend to become less sensitive to the environment and society where they live or tend individualistic. You may read even Bill Gates limits his children to use gadget. I have a joke about gadget that is: nearby ignored, far away so close.
But the advancement of information technology also brings many benefits to human life. Information is easy to get at a glance. We can easily connect with friends and family who live in the other hemisphere. Simply make life more convenient and no doubt technology can do some amazing things.
2) Business world.
Internet technology is able to undermine some business institution but on the other hand also bring out a new kind of business that we did not imagine before. Some of the real examples I've noted is the post office and telegram business now has been shifted by email and text messaging simply send from smart phone. The wired phone now has been shifted by mobile phone even there is a house that does not have a wired phone. We no longer have to bother going to the post office or payphone booth just to send news or messages even photo. Printed newspapers now have to furiously survive against the onslaught of online news even some have turned to online news subscription. Conventional taxi companies now feel anxious with the presence of online applications Uber Taxi and Grap Taxi, where many individuals with their private car can become taxi driver to get money. Conventional retail business that has many physical stores now have to think hard to compete with online stores like Amazon, eBay, Alibaba.
And now we are presented with the new term that is netizen - internet citizen. Are you ready for cultural shock? Welcome the new era.
We can't avoid it, Tikno, like it or not. The best thing is to guide children to adopt it wisely.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ross.
DeleteThat's a long process to a degree by which children can be aware of it.
Kids her are usually ahead of the adults as netizens - even someone like me who lived in the technological world and computers. I have only been retired acouple of year and I can barely keep up with the changes
ReplyDeleteYou have a good blog, so I'm sure you're ten step ahead of many elderly in my country who even difficult adapting to the features of smartphones.
DeleteI can appreciate the concerns you have about technology today. Some of the concerns you describe are what parents felt about radio in my Mother's Day. Years later, television was the technology of my young adulthood which prompted parental concerns from many. I think what it comes down to is that parents have to guide their children in how to use these devices and technology in a healthy way -- that we control the technology, not the other way around if we can't enjoy life without it. Most everything has positive and negative aspects -- we must understand both, I think.
ReplyDeleteShould we follow how Bill Gate and Steve Job do to their kids? - considering many families in Asia whose both parents go to work by leaving children with housemaids.
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