For me personally, this began at the beginning of 7th grade when I purchased my own custom built PC. From there my love of technology has only grown. I periodically order and replace parts of my computer, I splurge for special peripherals (for example, the mouse I am using as I type this has 14 buttons), and generally keep up with newest advances in computing technology. With these additional aspects added to my free time, along with video games, the purpose for which I acquired a computer more than the average Dell or Lenovo PC, my free time has become uniquely advanced in my own way, not to mention the fact that many of my friends join me in these respects.
In terms of negative experiences, when I was still new to the world of efficiently managing my time, I let my computer and my phone get in the way of grades, but a brief probation period and some inward inspection on my part quickly resolved this dilemma and left me more responsible for it. However this is a recurring issue for many, adolescent and adult alike, in that technology can get in the way of responsibility, leading many to speculate that powering down and disconnecting leads to a more healthy lifestyle, but I respectfully disagree. The increase to productivity and connectivity that high speed internet and quickly advancing technology has brought to humanity has not only improved the us a race, but generally makes life easier. How many times have you found that simply having the largest database of information in the history of the world in your pocket rather useful? Or what about being able to capture and store ultra high quality images on a device that weighs as much as a small book and is about the size of a credit card? You wouldn't enjoy taking selfies with a camera that took 30 minutes of sitting still to develop. Not to mention banking, internet videos, Netflix, social media, the news, etc. all literally at your fingertips at any time.
I can see why some people claim they were "born in the wrong generation" (even though that phrase drives me to no limits of headache) as humanity divulges towards a "less social" world, thought some could say more social than ever, however it makes the situation of people like me unique. When 20 years ago, people who enjoyed super heroes and video games and table top games would've been ridiculed and shunned from teenage, and to some degree adult, society as a whole, I can follow my interests and maintain a fairly large amount of friends without being alienated as a shut-in who likes my tech more than my friends. Considering most of my friends I interact with through online voice chat services, no I would not like living 20 years ago relative to today. In fact relative to the question of which time period you would like to live in, please refer to this graph:
In terms of speculation on where technology is headed, I think the biggest advancement we will see in the next decade is the seamless integration of computer systems into our everyday lives. We already have complex computers controlling the entertainment systems of our cars and houses, and we are also seeing the development of VR and Augmented Reality devices like the Oculus Rift and the Microsoft HoloLens. While seeing people with a Google glass may have seemed stupid a couple of years ago (if you even saw them on account of how expensive they were), having a HUD (Heads Up Display) on your life in the future may not seem like such a strange prospect in 10 years.
Credit for the graph goes to CGP Grey, I took it from this video. He does short educational videos that I find highly entertaining, and I would highly recommend him.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.