I was born in 1985 so I have seen how the world has changed with digitalization. When I was a child we didn’t have cellphones and we had one computer for the whole family and it didn’t even have internet connection until 2000. It has been interesting to see how technology has changed during the years. I remember how in the beginning of 1990 our grandfather had a massive cellphone he just used to call our aunt to wish her happy midsummer and even that had to be a very short call or the battery run out. Children born today in our society often see their first smartphones when they are just minutes old.
In my field of work, working with youth at the church, I see many pros and cons of digitalization. It is very easy to have contact with people, have groupchats where everyone gets the same information quickly and use social media as a tool to reach out and communicate. At the same time I think it’s important to keep in mind that just using our smartphones can’t replace human connection, meeting other people and talking with them. It can be difficult to read real emotions from just written text and emojis. Technology is a great tool but it can’t replace meeting people in real life and connecting on that level.
I think it’s also concerning how technology and social media seems to get faster and faster all the time. The information flow on social media is really fast and made so that it is addicting and people have the need to keep on scrolling. Social media can be described as McDonalds for your brain; quick, easy, makes you feel good but used too much and in the long run, unhealthy and doesn’t give your body what it really needs. What I hope would happen in the future is that we go back to slower media, where you have to concentrate for longer periods on things and not just scroll faster and faster. I think this would be beneficial for children and youth as well, there has been studies that show that children get overwhelmed and tired from the constant information flow and flashing lights on their smartphones.
Open digital society gives us easier acces to information and it can be beneficial. If you think about your medical records, it makes things a lot easier if all personnel who have something to do with your wellbeing can see the records. On the other hand there’s identity thefts and the uncertainty of who can access your personal information and what they can do with that.
The general data protection regulation did change things in youthwork. It made it more difficult to contact people directly. For example after confirmation camp you can’t send a letter and inform about what’s happening at the church if you didn’t ask a written permission for it. Also if you have an event coming up, you can’t inform people personally about it if you haven’t asked for permission. You can print out commercials and spread them at schools etc, but it is not a very efficient way to contact your target audience.
Digitalization and technology is something that we deal with everyday, something that changes and grows all the time. What technology was for our parents and what it is for our children are two completely different worlds. I’m worried about that instead of being this very beneficial thing, technology grows too much and becomes too overpowering. People need to connect with nature again, slow down and get rid of the growth mindset. Technology is an excellent tool, but it shouldn’t become something that replaces human connection and connection with the natural world.
Self evaluation
Writing this assignment was a good chance to stop and think about digitalization and how much it has changed during the years. It was interesting to really stop and think about things that have become taken for granted, like smartphones and having access to internet 24/7. It gave me a lot to think about, to set my own limits of how much I want to use new technologies and be a part of the digitalized world. Some things you have to do online, but I don’t think anyone needs to have the latest equipment and knowledge all the time. I liked how the assignment was done as a blog and it was possible to read and comment on other peoples texts.
Blog´s that I comment