In the article "The Many Faces of You," it was brought to my attention that there is a digital wall dividing our lives through what we call social media. We tend to juggle a personal side and a professional side. In a way, technology has changed human nature. At one point in time, our friends and family, colleagues and bosses all saw the same "you." However, with the evolution of technology, human nature has changed to what the article referenced as "segmented and specialized." People now have a different face/mask/facade that they put on for each person in their lives. For example, you act in a different manner with your boyfriend or girlfriend then you do with your parents. The article provides the example of Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner with your family to hit this theme home: "Your mom and boyfriend are rarely in the same room and that's why Christmas and Thanksgiving are such a stressful time for people, because their world's collapse." We try so hard to keep our worlds separated and social media and technology only help us to do so. And unfortunately, as social norms changes, so do we. We adapt to what is the "normal" even if that means losing our ability to be a "single person." And the world will let us live two separate lives while still being the same person, and to me, that is the sad reality of social media. Instead, we need to stop compartmentalizing our lives, and live as we were created to live- as one unique, individual person. YOU.
The article "In Search of a Digital Philosophy," confirmed what I have suspected for several years: we cannot strike a balance between technology and the here and now. This article explains that at the World Cup in 2010, England lost to Germany because the referees did not see what the rest of the world saw- "a goal as clear as day." Criticized by their lack of replay technology, the FIFA, the host of the World Cup, came to its defenses saying that constant replay takes away from the game itself and "the narrative community that defines the sport would all but disappear." One can understand the FIFA's skepticism about technology, however, one can easily see the frustration of the English soccer fans. So here we are with a dilemma: when is it okay to use technology and when is it not? Today, so many people are consumed by technology that they forget to find that balance and put the technology down to enjoy the here and now! "FIFA was making a point that is becoming hard to dispute: To digitize something is not merely to bring efficiency to it. It is also in many cases to change it in a fundamental way, to give it a new essence." To digitize a book means to lose the enjoyment of flipping the pages and smelling the old book smell. To digitize games means to lose the child-like excitement of moving the game pieces across the board. To digitize sports means to lose the sport itself. So I sympathize with the FIFA- technology does have a tendency to take over, but we simply have to find a balance between the digital world and the real world. We mustn't conform to technology, but instead, we must let technology conform to us!
Feel free to read these articles for yourself and share your opinions.
I'm curious to see what you think about these articles and I would love to hear what you have to say!
Addison Foster
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