I remember a time when I was in middle school, there was a special assembly presented to my whole class on the importance of our actions and how they effect those around us. The point of the whole assembly was to impress to us how all of our actions and words are connected together and how if we all embark to be positive contributing human beings, our actions can produce a chain reaction around us.
In the article “The Digital Disruption” by Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen, one of the biggest things that stuck out to me was their reflection on the connectivity of technology. Technology has allowed our circles of influence to expand, geographical distances, clashing time schedules, and normal interpersonal communication difficulties have been remedied with technology.
The power to stay connected to a larger circle of people has in return increased our circle of influence, making this ‘chain reaction’ idea presented to my middle class so much more powerful.
There is so much to gain from this new level of connectivity technology has presented us. A new page has been turned in history, technology is such a powerful force that can be used tremendously well or can be used in terribly evil ways.
It is both impressive and scary to me that it’s as easy as sending a mass text message to send out a piece of information that could assemble thousands of people to do something incredible, or something terrifying. It brings back memories from just last year with all of the unruly mobs in London and Philadelphia.
The opportunities technology has opened up for connecting with people around me has certainly made the 21st century unlike any other before us. I can not wait to see how this level of connection evolves in the future.
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