Tech Fast Forward” Families Might Be Blazing New Trails for the Rest of Us
TECH Plug in to see the brighter side of life Despite relatively high life- “Is Technology Making Us “The Dumbest satisfaction numbers, 2 Gallup reported the Lonelier?” Generation: MEREdiTH MELNICK, TiME MAGAZINE, How the Digital Age lowest overall JANUARY 2011 Stupefies Young score Americans and since they began recording Jeopardizes Our Future* that data in 2001.1 (Or, Don’t Trust Anyone 3 GALLUP, WWW.GALLUP.COM, Under 30)” JANUARY 2011 MARK BAUERLEIN, PENGUIN, 2008 There is no doubt that technology is screaming along, changing our world one megabyte—no, make that terabyte—at a time. Our world has gone from 1G to 4G, from chalkboards to smartboards and from face time to Facebook in less than a decade, all with kids in the front seat of this white-knuckle ride. As exhilarating and promising as this technology rollercoaster may be, there is a lot of negative chatter and press about how our lives, our children, our future and our world are headed for total doom and destruction. “The Shallows: “Distracted: What the Internet is The Erosion of Attention and “iBrain: 4 Surviving the Technical Doing to our Brains” the Coming Dark Age,”5 NiCHOLAS CARR, W. W. NORTON Alteration of the Modern MAggiE JACKSON, PROMETHEUS & COMPANY, 2010 6 BOOKS, 2008 Mind.” GARY SMALL, M.D. AND Gigi VORGAN, HARPER, 2009 3 “Is the Internet Parents today spend “Your Brain on Computers: Destroying 40% less time Attached to with their Technology and Your Brain?” 9 Try This Test.7 children Paying a Price.” ANDREW PRICE, GOOD MAGAZINE, than 30 years ago.8 MATT RiCHTEL, WWW.NYTIMES.COM, JUNE 2007 JUNE 2010 IAN JUKES, TED MCCAIN & LEE CROCKETT, 21ST CENTURY FLUENCY PROJECT, 2010 Technology has become a popular scapegoat for many modern issues, blamed for the demise of the family, destruction of human relationships, erosion of our mental state, decline of our physical health, corruption of our values, deterioration of our intelligence and creativity and near obliteration of our safety and privacy.
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