digital media worries

The rise of Digital Media has brought with it concerns in the form of two basic questions: are people becoming too attached to the screen, and is this a problem? Within these are the subcategories of social, psychological, and behavioral worries. And since digital media is a relatively new phenomenon, people are wondering if this is something we can use, or something that will use us.

The obvious question is, 'does digital media detract from traditional social interaction?' Many say yes, and some say no, and I tend to agree with the latter in most cases. The world of digital media is similar to the world of letter-writing. Before letters people delivered information in person, and then people began doing so with letters. The face-to-face aspect of communication was somewhat removed, but did not become an impossibility. Letter-writing became an alternative form of socialization, and the same is true for digital media. To take my case as an example, digital media is a supplement to my everyday social interactions. It does not hinder, but helps, my interaction with others. In fact it facilitates interaction with people I do not see otherwise. In considering how digital media affects my life I take it as a way to augment my social capital.

The second category of worries, psychological, presents another situation altogether. For most it is seen as a plague that decreases our concentration and makes us dumber, skimming the surface of many things. However, I see it in a different light. Perhaps the reason people see digital media as detracting from concentration is because people treat it that way. There is no reason why one cannot concentrate on a single bit of information provided by digital media. The opportunity for intense understanding is still there, it just seems that people do not make the effort to actually do the concentrating. On the emotional side, the escape into a digital world to escape the worries of the physical world makes sense. There have been many a time when I turn on a tv show or video game to put off worry about homework or a stressful performance. However, this is an area where the media can turn into a negative influence. People can misuse the escape function and let responsibilities slip by in favor of entertainment media.

The final category, behavioral worries, is one that most affects youth. We are a generation of speed, we need to do a lot of things fast, and multitasking is how we try to deal with the sheer volume of information. I found it interesting that while digital media presents us with the opportunity for lots of multitasking, it also allows for the poor performance that comes from trying to do too many things at once, making digital media a double-edged sword.

In my own use of digital media, the only concern that I run into is using media to put off worries. I rarely multitask on my computer, and I often spend time with friends, but I do tend to watch lots of online tv shows instead of getting ahead on work. However, I feel this is an easy fix, one which I implemented just last week by telling my roommates to do whatever they need to do to stop me from playing games or watching tv insted of doing homework. As a result my homework got done quick and I had more time to sleep, always a plus.