We’re not isolating ourselves:
we’re connecting ourselves
Every moment you judge us for being antisocial and staring at our screens is another moment we are spending talking to our friends. Surely you understand that it’s not possible to have continual human contact? Nonetheless, we know it is the foundation of human development – it is the very element that differentiates us from other animals. We’re not denying that. We are just utilizing our position; we have the technology to communicate, so why not acknowledge it?
We, here in 2017, use technological advances to the fullest. Technology has come so far that we can now see each other in our own homes without the other person actually being there. We communicate through technology. Seeing our friend’s face light up our screens is not tragic, or lesser in some way than a face-to-face interaction, as we have been told so many times - it is simply a way of communicating that you are not accustomed to; one that is perhaps more environmentally friendly than having to drive a number of miles to your companion’s home.
We don’t just exploit the Internet: we use it to improve ourselves. We have access to new information and ideas at the touch of a button. We needn’t spend hours researching the causes of the French Revolution in a mountain of history books – we can simply ask the Internet to find us the answer. We get an array of results; we aren’t limited to one publisher’s knowledge. Our learning is portable: on the train, out for lunch, even in the most rural corners of the country, we are connected. It enhances our learning. See something you would like to know more about in a museum? Look it up online. Don’t understand a maths question? Post it on a forum: somebody in some part of the world must know the answer.
We grow through technology; music helps us express our individuality. That girl over there could be listening to George Ezra; the boy next to her listening to George Michael and the girl in the corner: George Handel. It helps us express our feelings (positive or negative) and helps us form bonds with similar people with similar interests. It helps us relate to and appreciate others, no matter their religion, race or any other difference. Music is one thing we all have in common and it is a stepping-stone to human connections.
We are connected. You, me, everyone around us have the access to every social media site there is. We get an insight into each other’s lives; we can see things that we wouldn’t otherwise know about our peers. And that’s not all: we can connect to everyone, all over the world. We can dig that virtual hole through to Australia and talk to our grandparents, even when we cannot be there in person. We could even connect to new friends. Teenagers have moved on from simply having school friends: we have moved on to Internet friends (people you have never met but have been brought together with via a common interest on social media). We meet people we would never have the opportunity to meet otherwise, and that’s a good thing. You never know, they could end up being as good a friend as the ones you meet via school. However, we are safe: we know when to take a step back.
We like that we can capture a pinnacle second of our lives and compress it on to one screen or print out. It’s not antisocial: it’s art. We are living in the moment but, inevitably, that moment will only last for a second – memories are much more valuable to us as they last a lifetime. Imagine being able to sit down and look back on every significant event that made you who you are now when you are eighty! Nostalgia is important to us: it means that a moment was important enough that we never truly forgot it.
We are dependent on it. It is no secret that we are profoundly reliant on the Internet: for what would the great technological generation do without it? Shrivel up and die? Probably. We do not pretend to know the outcome of this sudden propulsion in technological advancements: we simply utilize what we are given. We live at a time when we can be social without even leaving the house, when we are rarely lonely, and we are called sad and tragic for this. Our parents pride themselves on the belief that we spend too much time on technology and not enough in the real world, but technology is our gateway to the world! It can aid us; it can fuel hope; it can even help us to continue technological developments. The possibilities are limitless and it is about time that our parents begin began to acknowledge that.
Lana Gregory, Year 11
We, here in 2017, use technological advances to the fullest. Technology has come so far that we can now see each other in our own homes without the other person actually being there. We communicate through technology. Seeing our friend’s face light up our screens is not tragic, or lesser in some way than a face-to-face interaction, as we have been told so many times - it is simply a way of communicating that you are not accustomed to; one that is perhaps more environmentally friendly than having to drive a number of miles to your companion’s home.
We don’t just exploit the Internet: we use it to improve ourselves. We have access to new information and ideas at the touch of a button. We needn’t spend hours researching the causes of the French Revolution in a mountain of history books – we can simply ask the Internet to find us the answer. We get an array of results; we aren’t limited to one publisher’s knowledge. Our learning is portable: on the train, out for lunch, even in the most rural corners of the country, we are connected. It enhances our learning. See something you would like to know more about in a museum? Look it up online. Don’t understand a maths question? Post it on a forum: somebody in some part of the world must know the answer.
We grow through technology; music helps us express our individuality. That girl over there could be listening to George Ezra; the boy next to her listening to George Michael and the girl in the corner: George Handel. It helps us express our feelings (positive or negative) and helps us form bonds with similar people with similar interests. It helps us relate to and appreciate others, no matter their religion, race or any other difference. Music is one thing we all have in common and it is a stepping-stone to human connections.
We are connected. You, me, everyone around us have the access to every social media site there is. We get an insight into each other’s lives; we can see things that we wouldn’t otherwise know about our peers. And that’s not all: we can connect to everyone, all over the world. We can dig that virtual hole through to Australia and talk to our grandparents, even when we cannot be there in person. We could even connect to new friends. Teenagers have moved on from simply having school friends: we have moved on to Internet friends (people you have never met but have been brought together with via a common interest on social media). We meet people we would never have the opportunity to meet otherwise, and that’s a good thing. You never know, they could end up being as good a friend as the ones you meet via school. However, we are safe: we know when to take a step back.
We like that we can capture a pinnacle second of our lives and compress it on to one screen or print out. It’s not antisocial: it’s art. We are living in the moment but, inevitably, that moment will only last for a second – memories are much more valuable to us as they last a lifetime. Imagine being able to sit down and look back on every significant event that made you who you are now when you are eighty! Nostalgia is important to us: it means that a moment was important enough that we never truly forgot it.
We are dependent on it. It is no secret that we are profoundly reliant on the Internet: for what would the great technological generation do without it? Shrivel up and die? Probably. We do not pretend to know the outcome of this sudden propulsion in technological advancements: we simply utilize what we are given. We live at a time when we can be social without even leaving the house, when we are rarely lonely, and we are called sad and tragic for this. Our parents pride themselves on the belief that we spend too much time on technology and not enough in the real world, but technology is our gateway to the world! It can aid us; it can fuel hope; it can even help us to continue technological developments. The possibilities are limitless and it is about time that our parents begin began to acknowledge that.
Lana Gregory, Year 11