HW 22 Final Draft

In today's world, society is run alot more differently than 50 years ago. It has grown both in many ways other than in a physical sense. A main reason why this has happened is because of HOW we live in society. The control over the majority of society is in the hands, or better yet buttons and screens of Digital Technology. In this past century, Digital Technology has grown in mainstream, pop culture rapidly. After numerous studies as to why people, more specifically Americans, almost always use anything Digital, it really comes down to three main points. Despite it's numerous negative aspects, digital devices are still being used by the majority of Americans because it provides entertainment, keeps us in better touch with family and friends and makes the user's lives easier.

Today, no matter what it is, almost every digital device provides some case of entertainment available for the owner of that device. Now because of this, the device has more of a purpose and has a bigger fixture in the user's life than it should have. For example, instead of only being used to call people, cellphones today have many different applications in it. So while the digital user isn't on the phone with somebody, that is no reason why the actual phone shouldn't still be used. These sources of entertainment have become apart of daily life for the people that own the devices that include them, which is why they are so hard to let go of. Without entertaining devices, I do believe the enjoyment level of the device users would go down.

Another reason why Digital Technology is used alot is because of the needed bonds of the digital users with family and friends. Without the phone or computer, interaction with loved ones would be limited. This would be a bad case with alot of people, as not everyone lives in close range with their friends an family. So how can people still interact and be far away from eachother at the same time? This is where Digital Technology steps in. Phones and Chat Services on the computer allow people to interact for an unlimited amount of time which not only makes the bonds unbreakable, but makes them even stronger. Just like the case with the entertainment, i'm pretty sure it would be a big problem for Phone and Internet users at this point if these devices all of a sudden became unavilable to them.

Entertainment and Connection with loved ones are just two interpretations as to why people have grown more dependent on Digital Technology devices. These devices have been apart of society long enough to be considered apart of life. Now that's a strong, bold statment, but considering what these devices are able to do for people, it cannot really be argued against. For instance, if you want to tell a friend something, instead of waiting a period of time until you see that person again or writing a letter, just by using a cell phone that friend will know what you wanted to tel them in less than a minute. Or maybe you would like to show a picture of a new child born into the world, well by using a cell phone or computer, more people can be apart of that special moment in mere minutes rather than having to wait longer than they have to. Overall, Digital Devices although accompanied by some negative flaws, have proven that they indeed makes human life easier to live through.

While Digital Technology does have it's many positives, it does have almost an equal amount of negatives. Although Digital Technology does provide multiple features such as entertainment and better contact, one alternative description that can define the use of digital devices could be Isolation. Stepping back and thinking about how the world is run, I'm somewhat amazed on how far civillization has come. We see old movies about 50 or 100 years ago, which includes old time cars and factories. Now not only are cars and factories upgraded, but society has given people more options, as well as more oppurtunity to get lost in another world. Some may say this is just the beginning of digital takeover. In the movie Wall-E, humans are lazy and fat, while robots are cleaning up after them. Sure this is just a silly Disney movie now, but could this be a very precise prediction of what our world is to become? Only time will tell now.

This is what Digital Technology has become, so far that is. Movies and Books and other multiple sources signal more evolution in the digital world, and that in maybe 50 years, what we think of as obsession today, is nothing compared to what Digital Technology will be looked at as in that time period in 50 years. In other words, what we see as a fantasy in movies such as Wall-E, could actually be Deja Vu towards society's future.