This column was originally published in The Davis Enterprise on Jan. 28, 2011.
What’s it like to be part of a generation that cannot recall what life was like before computers? I’m talking about kids who cannot fathom daily life without texting, Facebook, YouTube and online shopping, and who, I might add, feel rather sorry for those of us who can (and if you are reading this newspaper, chances are good that includes you).
Last Sunday, I was privileged to hear a group of high school students from the UU Church of Davis reflect thoughtfully on what it’s been like to grow up steeped in technology. They filled the front of the sanctuary with laptops, cell phones, digital cameras and camcorders, wires and cables, a visual testament to the technological tsunami of gadgets that has shaped their lives. There were no paper handouts—lyrics were shown and videos shared on a digital projector.
Because I work with in a field that provides opportunities for youth to connect with media, some of their remarks were a familiar refrain. One young man waxed poetic about the brilliant invention that is the Internet, with its capacity to bring people from diverse cultures together and promote greater understanding. He proudly proclaimed his allegiance to his laptop and acknowledged he spends 5-6 hours each day online, often when he should be listening to teachers and other authority figures.
His sheer enthusiasm for his gadgets and this connectivity made me smile. I get it. I’m writing this on a MacBook that’s my near constant-companion. I text, Facebook and Twitter. I’d be hard-pressed to do my job without the ability to conduct research on the Internet or share documents online. I’d much rather fill out forms online than on paper. These tools not only make my working life more productive, they facilitate collaboration between boards and committees on which I serve, art groups in which I participate, and even family members.
And yet, I did not own my first cell phone until I was in my early 30s. Texting is a recent addition to my repertoire and I can most certainly recall life before email and even ATMs (now I’m really dating myself). In the early days of my career, we wrote inter-office memos and distributed hard copies to everyone’s mailboxes.
These youth never knew a time like that. I’m fascinated by them, as a demographic, but thoroughly impressed by them as individuals. As they spoke, what reached me were their less-often voiced fears about what technology does to our society—and what it says about us.
One young woman asked us to imagine our comfort level if we’d lost our smart phone. How long would we last before replacing it. An hour? A day? Weeks? What level of panic would we experience? She also addressed the unspeakable swell of discarded consumer electronics sent from the United States to developing nations each year, and of the rising risk of identify theft. These, it was obvious, were aspects of technology she’d thought about at length.
The teens also spoke about the pros and cons of technology, the most oft-cited drawback being a loss of connection to real people in the real world, and with it, a growing sense of isolation.
I can’t argue with any of those points. It’s precisely because I believe that media and technology have the capacity to create positive change that I work at Davis Media Access. It’s a place where we work to connect others, not only to tools and technology, but to each other. Technology has many positive attributes; isolation, few.
To find out more about what we do at DMA, consider attending a monthly general orientation. The next one is Feb. 2, and you can get more information here http://davismedia.org/content/general-orientation-9
Autumn Labbé-Renault is executive director for Davis Media Access, an organization providing access to, and advocacy for, local media. She writes this column monthly.