by Jack Dietz

Our lives revolve around the media we consume. For many, the first action of a new day is to check their cell phone as they dissolve into a mindless world of digital distraction. Technology’s role has evolved at a rapidly increasing rate, and our world seems to be restructuring itself according to the parameters laid out by technology. During what is considered to be pivotal time in our society, this increasing burden placed upon us by the digital world is feared by many. However, fear that our civilization is being reduced to touch-screen tapping monkeys is irrational. Additionally, some of the articles and claims made in recent years commenting on these trends are ridiculous.

Fearing this constant technological growth would be to accept a narrow perspective of our societal change, and how the tools we use truly influence us. It is important for us to recognize that we are not losing something with our new modes of communication, rather, we are reframing the terms of communication entirely. Our society is not worse, just different. The complexities and intricacies that accompany our digital world fulfill society’s desire to grow and adapt. We are evolving as a society at an unprecedented rate, evolving at a rate made possible through technology.

Marshal McLuhan’s famous quote “the medium is the message” remains relevant today when examining the digital age developing in our evolution. With every new technological breakthrough, new contexts and normalities emerge in communication patterns that reflect the new medium. David Carr’s critically-acclaimed novel The Shallows explores the claims of McLuhan, and further investigates the deep connections between technology and our brains. Carr summarizes it in saying “the technology of the medium, however astonishing it may be, disappears behind whatever flows through it—facts, entertainment, instruction, conversation.” (Carr, 23). Although Carr adopts a rather pessimistic view of recent technological developments, many of the points made and studies referred to in The Shallows are very noteworthy. This quote reveals how the development of new mediums has rapidly changed the messages of our media, and the modes in which we communicate. The important question to consider, however, is have we changed for the better?

Many journalists and researchers (including Carr) would say “no,” and then would continue to cite some statistic about our shortened attention spans or distracted natures as they yearn for the good ole’ days. It is pretentious to insinuate that paper writing is somehow superior to computers and typing. There is some truth wrapped inside of their criticisms, however. In 2000, the average human attention span was 12 seconds, and in just fifteen years that average dropped all the way to 8.25 seconds. That is shorter than a goldfish’s attention span of 9 seconds (Digital Information World, 2018). The statistic was drawn from an infographic on Digital Informational World, which included many more interesting statistics that gave insight on this . The average page visit lasts less than a minute, and users often leave a web page in 10-20 seconds (Digital Information World, 2018). These figures may seem alarming from a certain perspective.

From another perspective, these figures tell me something completely different when considering our life-long educations in technology. Rather, I feel that our short attention spans and rapid navigation of the web demonstrate a generational increase in skill and knowledge of technology which has been fine-tuned by the continued exposure to different gadgets throughout our developments. Our actions on the Internet reflect our societal mastery of the medium, as users are so well-adept at this point they can swiftly bounce from site to site, collecting whatever data or information they see fit. Students like myself have much more extensive databases of information and accessible due to modern technological capabilities. Nobody before 2000 was able to run multiple complex programs at once and meet the level of multi-tasking required of advanced college courses. Therefore, I feel that society’s communication and digital habits have changed out of necessity in a way that allows us to better navigate our busy, expanding world- for the better.

Our ability to collaborate with technology and expand previous possibilities today surpasses any sort of traditional knowledge previously measured. Our society has essentially mastered the art of working in conjunction with computers, which has led us to new discoveries and endless links to different portals of information. A prominent example of the potential our collaboration with computers can yield comes from an excerpt of Clive Thompson’s book Smarter Than You Know adapted for They Say, I Say. In this passage, Thompson describes how the role of computers in high-level chess has evolved throughout the years- as well as the stigma surrounding them.

“The idea of a machine outplaying a human has always provoked both excitement and dread.” (Thompson, 441). This idea would become a reality in 1997, when IBM’s supercomputer Deep Blue beat chess world champion Gary Kasparov. People were feared technology was on the brink of taking us over, until we realized how successful we could be working alongside computers. This was the birth of “freestyle chess” which allowed players to combine the speed and endless possibilities of the computer with the insight and skill of human players. Players were reaching new heights and optimizing the sport as a whole. The 2005 victory of amateur chess players Steven Cramton and Zackary Stephen over the supercomputer Hydra (probably faster and stronger than Deep Blue itself) demonstrated the results that collaboration between humans and computers is capable of producing. These results reflect the strengthening of the relationship between humans and technology, and how our uses of the Internet are making us even more web-savvy.

Many of those who discredit web-based interactions fail to recognize some of the social discourses and new methods of communications it has fostered. Now more than ever, there are a multitude of creative platforms where people can express ideas. Social media platforms and instant-messaging apps like Snapchat have arguably brought us closer than ever. The level of intimacy and comfort in our interactions has been aided by the expressive natures of the platforms provided. New York Times writer Jenna Wortham’s “How I Learned To Love Snapchat” is wonderful piece that explores the rise of app and its context in the digital era. The brilliance of her article is her analysis of where Snapchat compares to other communication methods. She says: “Snapchat is just the latest and most well realized example of the various ways we are regaining the layers of meaning we lose when we began digitizing so many important interactions.” (Wortham, 474). Her stance recognizes the importance of new communications such as Snapchat while still addressing that meaning has been lost in our transition to technology. Like Wortham does, it is important that we recognize and understand some of concerns while resuming our digital habits. We are not worse at communicating- we just communicate differently.

This generational difference in communicational methods represents the classic opposition from those who fear the rapidly-changing world. The digitalization of our world does not mean a complete destruction of paper books and phone calls. You can still enjoy the traditional feel of a paper book, however, who knows how long they will be here to stay. Inversely, the digitalization of our world is definitely here to stay. Our world of social media, blogs, and streaming is becoming our new reality. Regardless how you feel about our communication trends, it is impossible to argue that technology is the most central aspect of our culture. Therefore, accepting and adapting to the changing world of technology is much more useful than resisting an inevitable present.

Works Cited

Carr, David. The Shallows. HW Norton & Company, 2010

Digital Information World. “The Human Attention Span [INFOGRAPHIC].” Digital Information World, 10 Sept. 2018, http://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2018/09/the-human-attention-span-infographic.html.

Thompson, Clive. “Smarter Than You Think: How Technology is Changing Our Mind for the Better.” They Say, I Say, edited by Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, Russel Durst, W.W. Norton & Company, 2014, 500-504

Wortham, Jenna. “How I Learned to Love Snapchat.” They Say, I Say, edited by Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, Russel Durst, W.W. Norton & Company, 2014, 500-504