Digital Autobiography

          “Stupid computer!” Ah…yes, familiar words that have been coming out of my mouth from about the age of 13 or 14 all the way until present day: yesterday. I have developed this love/hate relationship with technology since my early teenage years. I love technology, computers, and the digital world for many reasons, but then I reach new levels of frustration when it doesn’t cooperate and do what I need it to do.  As I sit here attempting to formulate my thoughts, my fingers rest on the keys of my laptop rather than around a pen that is touching a piece of paper. So much of what we think and wish to express comes out of our minds and is placed onto a digital template rather than into hard copy format and this is just normal, second nature really to how we develop who we are intellectually, personally, and professionally.

            When I started to think about my personal relationship with digital literacy, the Internet, and technology in general at first I thought I am just like everyone else in terms of my dependency and reliability on the digital world. Then I started to realize that “everyone else” is quite different in terms of his or her comfort levels with technology and digital literacy.  Within each generation there is a digital breakdown of comfort levels that take on meaning in terms of digital literacy.  My parents often call me because they can’t figure out something to do on the computer that I think of the simplest technological tasks. On the other hand I see kids in younger generations that grow up thinking technology is a part of life and can’t go about an hour without having to check their phones to update a Facebook status. I can honestly say I feel lucky enough to be sandwiched right in the middle. I remember my childhood was technology free (aside from the occasional video games) and digital literacy didn’t really exist. We would use computers occasionally but not daily. As I came into my teenage years I was introduced to things such as the Internet and chatting online. Jump to present day where I am literally completing my bachelor’s degree online. I feel very luck to have had the best of both worlds. To remember a simpler time when we were not constantly “logged on” to something, but yet I feel very fortunate to be able to benefit from digital literacy and modern technology and all it has to offer.

            I can still remember the day our first family computer arrived. I was 14 and I remember setting out our small screen monitor that was utterly huge and took up more then half the computer desk. It was amazing that we finally had a computer. I had stated to my parents that my sister and I would need a computer because a lot of our schoolwork was now starting to require us to do online research. This was my platform for convincing my mom it was something we just had to have, not because everyone else had one, but because it was a necessity. Quite honestly I just wanted a computer to go on AOL and chat with my friends. As I recall, that was “the thing” to do at the time.  The sound of the words “you got mail” stirred up excitement. Chat rooms and instant messaging on AOL during that time was today’s Facebook and I was finally connected! Now my actual ‘connection’ on the other hand, was a slow as molasses, and this is where my favorite words “stupid computer” would come into play. It was terrible. I remember having to switch the house phone line to the Internet and then literally hearing the dial up while waiting to hear the most annoying yet gratifying sound of having your computer connect to the Internet.  When I think back on that simple fact I laugh and truly realize how far we have come. During this time period of the late 90’s and early 2000’s I did utilize technology in an academic regard. There was so much information out there in the digital stratosphere that was so helpful and useful. I also realized at this early age that there is a lot of garbage that floats around out there as well.  Projects often needed sited research that dusty encyclopedias could not produce.  When I needed a break from schoolwork, I didn’t have to stop and switch connection to the home phone line, I could just simply click on my friends screen name and start a conversation. I remember loving the convenience factor.

            As the years past, the connection to such conveniences became faster and more efficient. By the time I was a senior in high school technology and digital literacy were a part of my daily life. Mostly all final projects and papers were types and presented in a clean-cut format. Cell phones were popular and needed at the time, but they were simply that, a phone. Very few people had Internet connection via cell phone at this point. I remember that in my initial years of colleges I acquired some information from my textbooks, however so much information was gathered from my new high-speed Internet connection and the search results that would populate on google.com. One of the best Christmas presents was when my mom gave me my brand new Dell laptop. I could say goodbye to our old hunk-o-chunk computer that was stationed in the family room and I could now be portable. So many things changed and I remember it all happened like the blink of an eye.

             It was during this time period that digital literacy and technology started to change my life socially. Social networking sites started to become popular. This was honestly somewhat of a new concept. MySpace was first to roll out and then facebook followed. It was a venue where you could go to upload pictures, music, comments about what you were thinking, and more. As I followed the technological trends I realize that my ‘literacy’ levels changed by using my connection to the web from something that was mainly informational and fun to something that was a part of life and now fully social. People’s personal thoughts and images were put out there for so many eyes to see. Music was also something that was now listened to and purchased via computer. CD’s were becoming obsolete in some ways. Mac became a household name due to the roll out of the iPod. With all these developments and new products out I realized that I just went with the trends of the latest ‘thing’ and didn’t give it much thought.

            Now that I am thinking about the topic I realize how far we have come as a technological society. It makes me wonder if it is over kill. Are we too dependent? Are we too obsessed with technological links to each other such as Facebook and texting?  I think it is an amazing thing that I can complete a whole assignment from start to finish through digital means. I not only complete all schoolwork using digital literacy and technological bearings but I complete many work related tasks for my job through the use of technologies and digital modules. It has a huge impact on my personal and professional life. In addition, I am thrilled about being able to complete my degree online while I am able to be traveling the world and filling out the commitments of my position in the military. However, when I stop and think about how much of my day is truly depending on a piece of technology it blows my mind. Aside from work related tasks that require technology in one format or another, I ‘log in’ and stay in touch with family and friends through things like facebook and texting. The traveling that is required for my job is made a lot easier through the means of email and texting. However, it makes me wonder, are we are losing something in the process? I know personally I have a habit spending a great deal of unintentional time just exploring facebook and before you know it I realize and hour has gone by and I didn’t even realize it. Could I be doing more productive things with my time? Of course. Once again here is where the love/hate relationship comes into play with technology. It is wonderful these things are available, but you can often lose yourself in them.

            I personally think there are pros and cons to technology and going digital. There have been countless times where technology has worked in my favor to make my life easier. If I need to find out the answer to a question I can simply pull out my iPhone and bam, the information is right there. A matter of convenience is always great. However, although I have not had any personal experiences thank goodness with these issues, I see that too much can be bad. For example, people constantly get in automobile accidents because they can’t put their phones down and stop texting and kids are bulling others and making it a public production through venues like facebook and YouTube. It goes to prove the well-known principal that too much of anything is not good in life.  I know myself and I know my limits. I say I will never get to a place where technology or the information that is presented on the Internet will harm me in any way. However, in this day and age you never truly know because there are so many outside variables such as hackers and viruses that can truly ruin someone’s identity. I the whole realm of things, technology has done more good in my life than harm but I’m not naïve to the fact that there is a point where it becomes too much.

            There’s no doubt that technology is here to stay within our lives forever. It will indefinitely present the question: What’s next? Technological devices seem to be constantly getting smaller, thinner, more portable, faster, and simply better. Companies and people all over are trying to “Go Green”, which is a great thing and yet it makes us all buy into the technological factor even more now.  Indeed it is amazing what can be done. What will this mean in my own life? I can only imagine. I tend to just go with the flow of things and if something presents itself in a way that might make my life easier through technological means then it will be worth my while to invest in it. Along with technological developments also comes the development of more and more information being present on the Internet. This is where digital literacy comes into play. With so much information available it is up to me to be educated in what is quality information and what is just garbage. The conveniences of technology and in your face information are something we often become very used to in our day-to-day lives. I know just recently I said the words “stupid computer” with disgust because my connection was not strong enough to log on to my favorite websites. I often forget the connection of my dial up modem that I had to endure about 12 years ago.  In my life I see technology as something that is needed, appreciated, enjoyed, and incorporated daily. However, I am very careful to make sure it is not something that takes over my life.

-Melissa King