Many people argue that the digital realm of today’s culture is corrupting society’s ability to successfully comprehend, analyze, and store deep and meaningful information. While I agree that technology is altering the way people interpret information, we must also consider that our society and our needs are changing too. People no longer have the time to sit down and read a novel or to contemplate and analyze a research paper. We need immediate and straight to the point results, whenever and wherever. The resources we use, namely digital media, must evolve with us or get left behind.
The internet, for example, is a very important and vital tool in today’s society. By simply surfing the web, users are able to become knowledgeable in many different cultural, political, and social aspects that they might otherwise overlook. We use it to do research, to gain knowledge, to find entertainment, to connect with others, etc. and it is a major contributor to literacy for people everywhere. Without the constantly evolving resources that the internet provides, society’s ability to keep up on current events, share opinions, and collaborate with others would be lost.
I remember when I was a little girl, my father and I used to wake up every Sunday morning and watch the History Channel. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it led me to learn and understand information from new technologies to ancient artifacts. Not only that, but having the ability to learn about what was happening in the world around us inspired me to want to pursue Broadcast Journalism. As Amy Jordan states in “Tele[re]vision” by Jenny Price, “Television that has a clear curriculum in mind…has been shown in dozens of studies to really enhance the way children think, the kinds of things that they know and even how they get along with one another.” The ability of this medium, along with many other technologies, is what allows our world to gather and analyze the information that is necessary in today’s society.
Therefore, we must learn to accept that the way people gather information is changing. That is the nature of our society. Humans evolve and adapt to the world around them. It is only natural for their resources to do the same.