Independet work topic

INDEPENDET WORK TOPIC:

DIGITAL AGE

Digital Age Since the beginning of television, research has been accumulating on its relationship to violence intake and tolerance. In an environment full of violence, it is beyond question that it impacts our behaviors. Living in the digital age has its perks, of course, but those hardly make a dent in the minds of our society. Media violence has been known to have long and short term effects on the youth of America as well as adults. It is a necessary precaution for a society to be aware of these instances as well as ways to prevent or limit our intake. Though not always manageable to limit or prevent, the ability that Americans have to educate themselves is one of the best ways to notice and observe violence. The amount of tolerance for violence and gore has increased to unnecessary levels. This cultural crusade fed the negative implications of the world. Cell phones, social media, video games, television, and movies all undoubtedly increase one’s tolerance to violence and saturates our youth in the idea that it is normal in society.

The rather recent introduction of cell phones in America has increased exposure to violence. Cell phones have adopted new technologies like text messages, email, and social media applications. These technological advancements strip children of their innocence by giving such easy access to it. The use of cell phones also opens up a new type of bullying called cyberbullying. This piece of technology has made it easy for predators to target others and gives them a new front, social media. Social media emerged in the 1960s and into the 1970s.

It is argued that this was the beginning of social media because of the various organizations attempting to “find ways to get computers to communicate with one another” (Terrell). This ability had its perks but it also opened up the ability to see the violence of other nations without any interference of the governments. This allowed for raw, genuine footage, photos, etc to emerge into society. With the United States being an MEDC (more economically developed country) many Americans could afford the technology needed to view this. From there, Americans wanted to see what their government would not show them. New social media sites emerged after this in the 2000s such as Friendster, Linkedin, MySpace, and more recent applications like Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Facebook, and Tik Tok allowed for even faster sharing. These apps also publicize ideas of violence and gore. For those who do not play video games, this is another way to receive this. Apps like this also contain memes, videos or various sharable items that make fun of the violence of modern times and numb the mind.

Information Age The Information Age (also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age, Silicon Age, or New Media Age) is a historical period that began in the mid-20th century, characterized by a rapid epochal shift from traditional industry established by the Industrial Revolution to an economy primarily based upon information technology. [1][2][3][4] The onset of the Information Age has been associated with the development of the transistor in 1947, [4] the basic building block of modern electronics, the optical amplifier in 1957, the basis of long-distance fiber optic communications, [5] and Unix time measured from the start of Jan. 1, 1970, [6] the basis of Coordinated Universal Time and Network Time Protocol which now synchronizes all computers connected to the Internet.

The vast accumulation of research linking violence to technology is undeniable. It is beyond question that it affects our behaviors and responses. Living in the digital age has positive undertones, but those hardly make a dent in society compared to the negative implications. Media violence has long and short term effects on the youth of America and adults as well. Our exposure to technological advances opens up our minds to violence and we are forced to accept it as the general norm. Our youth has been saturated in violence which increases our tolerance and they are taught that violent acts are permitted in society due to the advancements of technology.