Skynet – a computer system created in order to have command over all computerized hardware and systems. As a result, this system gained self awareness, a thirst for the destruction of all mankind, and began a series of movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger in his heyday. According to Douglas Rushkoff’s book Program or be Programmed, technology is shaping our world and the way that it works. Computers, specifically, are now being described as a “cybernetic mob” that collects human brains. But what is it that we all remain naive to? That is on how computers are programmed. Rushkoff states that we hungrily embrace all that the internet offers but we remain naive on how it works and how it affects us.
It all squarely depends on how you let the computer affect the way you think, learn, and even live. In the documentary film, Frontline: Digital Nation, it shows of young children in South Korea whom are introduced to computers at a very young age. They are taught how to use a computer in a healthy and ethical manner. Despite this, computer games pose as a threat, creating an addiction for hardcore gamers. Deaths have occurred within the country from the amount of time spent in front of a screen. While the death rate is not high, it sends a warning that the screen you are currently looking at can be harmful.
A lot of pressure has been placed on the internet that had only just been invented about 20 years ago. In the article “What’s New about New Media,” it states that, reading a newspaper, doing research or even watching TV has been dramatically changed as a result of the internet. It continues on to explain that when new media emerges in society, it is met with distrust. It is tough to break people of old habits. Now our daily functions have been dramatically altered and adapted to the presence of the internet. I am not stating that the internet is terrible thing to have in a household but it is important to not let computers to shape ourselves. We should avoid a future where something like Skynet can be in control and we become victims to our own technology.
I personally always have the urge to throw my laptop out the window. I do not deny that a computer is useful, but there is a limit to how much of it you can handle in a single day. Many have become addicted to our bright screens that we forget about our other activities. Try taking a break from it once in a while and go take a walk, play with your pet, or have a face-to-face conversation with another human being rather then through a social networking site. We must emphasize the importance of living in our real world rather then through the world of a computer game.
sofiakarin 