Living in a Digital World

Today’s world is filled with technology and it’s essentially everywhere we look. One of the first things that come to mind when the word “digital” is mentioned is anything that involves a screen, data, and codes.

 

dig·i·tal: (adjective)(of signals or data) expressed as series of the digits 0 and 1, typically represented by values of a physical quantity such as voltage or magnetic polarization.

 

“Relating to, using, or storing data or information in the form of digital signals.”

“Involving or relating to the use of computer technology.”

 

An object that can be a key feature and a decent representation of the digital ways we live with is the Xbox One. Not only does it have the ability to game, but multiple other functions like voice commands, powerful high-quality streaming, internet browser capabilities, screen mirroring, run multiple apps in the background, music streaming, playing discs, DVDs, and more.

The reason the Xbox One captures a general and crucial overview of our digital environment is that human society, in general, prefers to have things all in one rather than on multiple devices. With our technological advances, we don’t have to “suffer” anymore with carrying a music device, with a map, a separate phone, and entirely separate devices to enjoy different forms of entertainment at the same time. It seems to be that in our cultures, one form of entertainment is not good enough so we must have multiple all at the same time.

Another example of an all-in-one device is a cell phone. Could you imagine with today’s technology, only having a phone as its original purpose… a phone? And nothing else. No texting friends, no email on the go, Bluetooth, maps for when you get lost, having Netflix on a small screen for right before bed, internet browsers to look up facts on the go, games for long rides, no music apps or anything else. Just a phone to make calls. This brings up a legitimate question: Are we technologically dependent?

In Marshall McLuhan’s Medium is the Massage, he brings up multiple points of humans becoming technologically and digitally dependent and hinting at the fact that anything digital will eventually end up (if not already) walking all over us. We use technology for almost everything, as explained earlier. At this point, digital mechanisms and tech are developing so rapidly that we simply expect better things to happen with new models of technology coming out yearly and think nothing of it, and the consumer could care less about how much work is put into these tiny machines. We essentially take advantage of technology. However, the real question is, are we taking advantage of technology or is technology taking advantage over us?

As we continue to grow as a global community, I’m sure every human being has thought at least once what the technology and digital media will be like in the near to far future. We will see if the future meets our standards, yet everyone’s standards and expectations are all diverse. We can continue to keep our eyes open for McLuhan’s claims and warnings of the future, and truly see if technology will eventually take advantage of humans and see if it will completely wipe out human mannerisms and behaviors.