What It Means To Be Human In The Digital Era

                Technology has changed how we as humans live our day to day lives. It seems now more then ever that we rely on technology more so now then we ever have in the past. With the creation of major technological advancements the human race has been able to do much more then we have ever dreamed of. Advancements in Tech have always pushed us further into the future. With the invention of the Stream Engine which gave us the ability to travel faster over the ocean or the invention of the car which gave us the ability to go a crossed country in half the time as it would take in horse in buggy to even space travel which gave us the ability to go to the moon and travel into space and possibly mars eventually and so forth. Technology has given us the ability to change and make our lives easier. Technology now has made it so we don't really have to do anything anymore. We are becoming very introverted but extroverted at the same time. Humans are in my opinion becoming recluse to our homes and computer and with the internet it has made it so we don't need to go out to learn information when we simply could just go to Google and get just as much information about just about anything. It has broadened horizons with chat services and Internet video games that give us exposure to many different countries and cultures. We are also recluse in that we would rather send a text message because it is more convenient then calling someone on the phone. I find this to be an issue that eventually communications will all be electronic. For example if I was in the living room of my home and my parent needed something she will simply text me to come to where she is in the house or she will just text me and ask me to do something. This to me is silly and abuse of technology in a lazy fashion, which, I’m sure we are not the only ones to do it. We use technology for things because its easier. According to Genevieve Bell who is an anthropologist says that the pre Internet is going to influence religion, life, love, sex, money, relationships and politics ect...  She goes on through this entire speech listing a few great main points.

1  People need friends and family.

2  People want to belong to a community.

3  People need meaning in their lives.

4  People need objects to talk about who they are.

People need to keep secrets and lies.

She is right, We need friends and family to continue to create and advance forwards. We want to belong to a community, which is why Facebook and Pintrist and Etsy and whatever other site is available that has been giving us a place to feel where we belong even if you don’t feel you belong in your current surroundings. I think technological advancements will continue to control how we as people interact with eachother. What helps us push forward is that we are bored. We get bored as humans. Now we have something that will eventually make us be constantly on the move and its true. I could sit my phone down now and get ten notifications from three or four different apps. Ten Years Ago… When I said I was bored as a child.. meant being told to go outside and not to come home until it was dark out. Now I spend most my time either on the computer working on school or talking to friends or on my phone dealing with social media ect. Technology Consumes Us. The final point that I want to point out is something that we could possible have in the next few years and its more directed at the generation below me and the generation after that. There is currently technology out there now that is called the Oculus Rift which is a sort of immersion technology that gives us the ability to immerse our minds/eyes into a digital world. Not only that but television shows that give the hint of what is called “Full Dive” which basically means living in a digital community where we would be put into a state and live in a 3D Computer World with these devices and the technology is mostly already around but the applications just aren’t here yet. There also could be the possibility where people could go dive in this game for many different reasons such as church or hunting or school/learning. The thought of putting something on your head and mentally meshing with technology I don’t think is that far off.

"Being Human in a Digital World." Delight. N.p., 08 Oct. 2014. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.