C. bought this book in the Brisbane airport on Friday. I quickly stole it from him to plough through it before he left. The characteristics of the digital generation and the impact of technology on lives is something that really interests me, particularly as a teacher. It seems that every conference, journal article etc. relating to education has a '21st century' or 'digital generation' spin on it. 'Future Minds' was a great read that focused on what technology is doing to our society, why it matters and how we can change our behaviours. The book is fairly simplistic and repetitive but gives a good overview of the issues surrounding technology. Basically, it seems that technology is reducing our attention span and perhaps making us dumber. Richard Watson argues that, thanks to Google, we are flooded with answers, which takes away from asking questions and thinking at a deeper level.
I know that, at times, my life suffers from an overuse of technology. I am a definitely a victim of 'multi-tasking mayhem', a term used by Watson in this book. As I write this, I have five different programs open on my computer - a Word document, iphoto, itunes, Garageband and the internet. In the internet alone, I have 4 screens open - this one, my email, Monash University's Blackboard and the Globe and Mail newspaper. Talk about online overload. So, I've decided to remove some of the technological clutter from my life with the setting of a few goals:
- To have one internet free day per week.
- To be more mindful about what I'm doing on the computer (ie. Not flicking from one screen to the next while working on/looking at several different things ... one thing at a time).
- When I'm reading on the internet, read the whole text and read it carefully.
- To only check my email/facebook page once per day.
Who knows how it will go. Hopefully it will clear my head and allow me more technology-free time to read, exercise, rest ... and think.
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