Digital Nation

So far Digital Nation has focused on our complete immersion in technology and electronic multitasking, which has become so prevalent among college students. Students are constantly connected all the time. They study while texting, listening to music, checking email, browsing Facebook, etc. Many of the students are convinced that they are good multitaskers, but a study at Stanford University has so far that this is not the case.

Personally, I would like to think that I don't multitask that much. I may not be the worst, but even now I'm writing a blog post, listening to Pandora, texting two friends, and it's quite probable that within the next three minutes I will check my email. There's almost no escaping it. I think I do about 75% of my schoolwork on the computer and when I'm on the computer there are any number of distractions.

The documentary seems to be leaning towards video games next. I know that in some Asian countries the governments recognize video game addiction as national epidemics. I can't see video games as as much of a problem though because turning on an xbox is a conscious choice where as receiving a text is not. Yes I could shut my phone off entirely, but that kind of defeats the purpose of having it right?

I think the most important issue with the rapid expansion of social media is its public nature. My online life is there for all to see. I don't see any reason to post a tweet every three minutes to let all of my followers know that I've moved from sitting on my bed reading to sitting at my desk also reading. I like to have at least some semblance of privacy but many people seem to have no reservations about sharing their lives online. I hope Digital Nation discusses the possible consequences of the open nature of social media.