Tuesday, September 2, 2008

A product of the 90's

Despite my sheer love for 70's music, I am a child of the 90's (born in 85.)
I grew up with sitcoms like Home Improvement, Titanic as the favorite movie in junior high and every girl wishing she had front row tickets to an Backstreet Boys concert.
However, unlike the kids that are only a few years younger than me, I can remember years that excluded computers, cell phones and MP3 players and were filled with trips to Kinkos to type reports, 50 cents in my pocket for a phone call and listening to Walkmans like they were going out of style (who knew they really were?!)
With the extreme influx in technology over the past 15 years, I know that every generation has dealt with it differently. While generations before me may see it as shocking and slightly cumbersome, the kids ahead of me see it as a daily part of life. (There are eight year olds with cell phones!) As a product of the 90's I've had the ability to look at technology in a slightly different way. I think I'm slower to take it for granted because I can remember a time when I did not have access to The Deceleration of Independence in cyberspace. On the flip side, I was young enough to learn a lot of the technology quickly and integrate into my life so that I knew how to e-mail, blog and properly research before heading off to college.
All of this technology makes it easy for a kid of the 90's to access her favorite N*Sync tunes while on the treadmill and to stay in touch with friends by "poking" them on facebook. More importantly, as a child of the 90's technology effects the type of leaders the 90's will produce. People my age learn how to stay informed, discuss opinions and build networks that will make us stronger leaders in education, business and politics.
With this mass amount of technology at the new generation's fingertips, I worry about the type of problems it may create. Some may wonder what kind of problems are created for this group of 2000's kids...
All of this technology gives us the mentality that more is better right now. This mindset allows us to cure more diseases, talk to relatives far away and create fuel efficient cars. But what is often glossed over is an underlying issue that connects all these advances- too much too fast. I fear that kids of the 2000's will face this issue more than kids from my decade will. Someday in the not too distant future, these eight year olds will lead the country in all areas of study. They will be faced with steeper climate changes, more landfill waste, less oil, more dependency and fewer natural resources- including food and water. Unless the status quo is adjusted these kids will face these problems with little to no effort from previous decades. Although technology gave us great joys, the children on the current decade will be only seeing technology's unfortunate burdens.

5 comments:

stacee wyke said...

I had to laugh when I read the part of your post when you said you made trips to kinkos to type your reports. I did the same exact thing until my parents bought me a typewriter of my own.You comment that at the time of advancements in technology you were young enough to be able to quickly learn and intergrate it into your life. I how ever was too old, and still find myself struggling with it. Computers are still foreign to me and setting up this blog was a torturous event in itself. Our powerpoint assignment was the first time I had ever used powerpoint. Not to mention, my daughters have still not convinced me to text, a cell phone is enough for me. I will be the first to admit my children know far more than me when it comes to todays technology. Hopefully our kids will be able to use their greater knowledge to create ways to conteract the affects that it has had on our environment. Anything is possible just look how far we have already come.

Crystal said...

I laughed at the part of your post that talked about "poking" on facebook bcause I didn't even know what "poking" was until last month! lol. I'm in the same boat as you are-straddling the line between being young enough to know how technology works (at least I like to think I know how it works!) and being old enough to remember life before the internet and cell phones. I know technology didn't happen overnight, but sometimes it seems like it did. Today technology is more of a necessity than a luxery. For example, when I broke my cell phone, I felt naked and thought I would go crazy without it. And I only went without one for 4 days!

Karen said...

Hi Ali
I was born in the 50's, and grew up in the 60's, and 70's,. And I can respect your views on technology because it has made life more bearable and exciting and living is fast paced. When I think of technology I think of a song called in the year 2525, which is a song about how man went to far with technology and how he literally destroyed himself. As for myself I feel that young people don't use there imaginations enough computerized gadgets do that for them. All the e-mailing and texting going on is fine but once in a while use a pen and paper make it personal. You can't speak to people on the street they are busy talking on cell phones. You can't speak to a real person on the phone its computerized. You can't eat, sleep,talk, shop or die unless a computer is involved. I guess I am just too old school. and the world is just moving too fast. Everything is fast, everyone wants it right now, why not cook the food right in their esophaghus you can't get it any faster than that. I believe a pandoras box is being opened and no one is truly aware of the consequences. There is nothing reallly to look forward to because everything is at your fingertips. technology is bitter and sweet there may come a time when man may be able to control the sun and turn it on and off like a light switch. I hope technology doesn't make man more isolated from his fellow man than he already is.

Super_Ally said...

I'm a young un born in 89 and I think kids younger than me have far surpassed me in technology.
They learn things faster and faster and in schools the next generation is going to be unbelievably computer literate

Claire said...

Wooohoooo another blog to follow!

and YEAH the generation difference when it comes to Technology is something that I notice all the time. I feel like kids these days ALWAYS need to have some sort of stimuli coming their way, always an ipod in the ear, or face in a computer. Sometimes my mom even forbids ipods and cell phones in the car so we can actually experience our city and have conversations that aren't through texting :)