FINAL POST - Technology... the new cigarette?

After watching the videos last class on students and their overwhelming exposure to media and technology, it suddenly occurred to me that the way new technology is marketed, targeting the youth of the population, strongly resembles the way cigarettes and tobacco was marketed in the late 20th century (1930's to 1970's).  In the "time of the cigarette", young people of the day were constantly bombarded with media surrounding the act of smoking. Cigarettes were cool. You were cool if you smoked cigarettes. You would have more friends if you smoked cigarettes. You would fit in better. Beautiful women smoked. Handsome, rugged and tough men smoked. Intelligent people smoked. None of the adds mentioned the potential of addiction... or lung cancer and a whole host of other health problems. Does this not remind you of something? Kids today may not be smoking as much as kids in the 1960's, but I would argue they still suffer from extreme addiction.

In the video we watched in class, a 14 year old male student was interviewed about his usage of technology. He stated that he played xbox for SEVERAL hours a day, while texting friends, while listening to his iPod, while watching TV. He mentioned that he doesn't like to stop, and sometimes finds it very difficult to stop these activities. This, to me, sounds like an addiction. This addiction to technology comes with a hefty price, just like smoking. If you become addicted to video games, surfing the internet, Facebook, texting, etc you are more likely to be stationary for long periods of time while engaging in these activities. This increasing stationary behaviour has led to a terrifying pandemic of childhood obesity. 55% of Canadians are now overweight or obese, and the numbers are continuing to rise. Sedentary life style is named as one of the major causes of this epidemic.

Studies have proven that kids with T.V's or computers in their bedrooms are TWICE as likely to become overweight or obese. That is an alarming statistic. I am willing to bet that the average canadian student has either a t.v. or a computer in their bedroom. Although there are some kids, and adults, who are able to use technology in a moderate way, the majority of people have become, what I would classify as, addicted.

There have been several studies done on all of the effects of technology and sedentary lifestyle, and we know the terrible effects of this addiction. And yet... it is not taken seriously. New technology keeps coming out. These companies target the youth in their marketing campaigns. We fall prey to these ploys and therefore, keep consuming. The reality is, children are being consumed by technology. I know this whole topic sounds very doomsday, and no one likes to think that their new iPhone or xbox is causing them, or will cause them to suffer from serious mental, physical and emotional  damage. But in the 1960's, no one ever thought smoking could kill either.

This addiction to technology is serious. I am not advocating for getting rid of all innovation or technology in our lives, I am just saying we need a balance! Right now, we are out of balance as a society, and I think its time for an intervention.

The Infamous Bandwagon

The topic for this post is a result of Carleigh's comment on my last post regarding her and her husband jumping on the "Mac" bandwagon. As I was sitting here reading her comment, I couldn't help but wonder is jumping on the bandwagon when it comes to technology really a bad thing? Shouldn't we all want to be on the bandwagon? If a piece of technology is popular... it must be popular for a reason. People must find it functional. It must be serving its purpose. In society, we tend to think that jumping on a bandwagon is a negative thing. The bandwagon is a place where you go if you're unintelligent and unable to make up your own mind about the value of something. However, that is not the case with technology. The creation of a bandwagon in the technological realm results from a piece of technology being successful and user friendly. For example, if sales for the iPhone rocket up by 110% in 6 months, and sales for the blackberry plummet in 6 months... that could be because people don't want to buy a product that doesn't serve their needs. Yes, peoples needs do vary, BUT in terms of a smartphone, the reasons why a person would purchase one in the first place are pretty universal. You want to be connected, through several mediums (email, texting, calling, etc), you want to do things quickly - at the touch of a finger. You don't want to be losing connection.

Therefore, if a certain piece of technology is successful in sales, it is reasonable to assume that it is a good product. With technology, the bandwagon no longer holds a negative connotation - like it does when referring to things such as belly tops (circa 1990's) or massive bell bottom jeans. Like my good friend Carleigh stated, "we like being on the bandwagon" (or something to that effect). When it comes to technology, it is likely that many people WANT to be on the bandwagon.

MAC vs. PC

I was motivated to write a blog on the topic of Apple products vs. android/ PC products due to the constant conversation surrounding the iphone vs. blackberry argument that arises during our teacher and technology course, and, lets face it, everywhere else in the developed world right now.

Prior to this year, I owned a blackberry smart phone and a PC (ACER) laptop. The only reason I purchased the Blackberry phone originally (back in 2008) was because quite simply, I was jumping on the band wagon... and that was before everyone was really into the whole iphone thing. The only reason I purchased a PC laptop was because it was the cheapest option for me at the time, and to be honest I was more familiar with the PC set-up due to my military training than I was with the MAC;  even though I grew up using Macs (my mom began buying Mac computers back in the early 90's).

I stayed away from purchasing any apple products because they were out of my price range, and I was attempting to stick to my budget. However, all that has changed within the last 6 months.

First: I decided I hated being connected to everyone at all times of the day and night. I felt angry and upset when my phone would blow up with emails, and I began to feel like I was genuinely addicted to checking my facebook on my phone. One day I woke up and felt disgusted with my behaviour. I knew I had to get rid of my blackberry... and so I did. I have never been happier. I have a regular flip phone that can text and call... and thats about it. Some people may feel like I am living in the stone age with this  type of phone, but I am really enjoying my freedom from the world of the smart phone. Sometimes, for a brief moment (like during our teacher and technology class - when we talk about apps that can be used effectively in the classroom or just for personal use), I feel like I HAVE to get an iphone to have access to all of the new and exciting technologies (i.e. Webster's Dictionary App). But then I think to myself, "Lacey... do you really want to be back in THAT place? The place where you are being assaulted by work 24/7? Where you feel like you can never get away from it all and get some peace?" The answer for me, fortunately or perhaps unfortunately, is still "NO". Perhaps in the future my feelings on this subject may change, and I may invest once again in a smart phone (most likely an iphone... I'm done with blackberry). But for now, I like who I am and I seem to manage my three jobs, full-time university and the rest of my life just fine without the use of any apps.

Second: My PC laptop was only 2 years old when it completely died on me. 2 YEARS OLD! Can you believe that? Well I couldn't, and I was livid when reality forced me to. I assumed that I would purchase another PC, however when I went to staples to purchase a laptop I was convinced by the salesman that although the PC's were cheaper, the MAC would last me three times as long as the PC and therefore I would get a better product for my money. At first I was hesitant, mainly because of the price. But in light of my recent frustrations with my PC, I decided that I should make the jump to MAC. I purchased a Macbook air and... I LOVE IT. I know now that I made the right decision and that I will never go back to PC.

I feel that in terms of being an effective educator, I am not at a disadvantage in the classroom because I am lacking a smart phone. However, I do feel that owning a MAC has helped me to be more effective in the classroom. The programs that the MAC offers (i.e. imovie, or photobooth) are very useful in helping to create exciting and engaging lessons for my students. I feel more comfortable using technology in the classroom now that I have a MAC because I find it to be more user friendly than my PC was. When I had my PC, I would have never thought of using as much technology as I do now that I have my MAC. This is because I am more comfortable with using my MAC than I ever was with my PC. I still prefer to rely on my "traditional" methods of teaching - (i.e. physically modeling things for students, engaging in process drama, hands-on exercises and activities, etc), but it is nice to know that when it is appropriate to use technological means to help students understand concepts and build in-depth connections, I am comfortable and have the means of doing so.

The "right" way to use PowerPoint

Today's presentations on bad PowerPoints were hilarious. I think the most hilarious part about them, apart from the obvious errors being showcased, was that I have seen several professionals (from all different areas and walks of life ) commit the same PowerPoint errors. I think the reason so many of those errors get committed is actually because of people's need to be more engaged with technology. Let me explain what I mean.

In the military, when we create PowerPoint presentations, there is a VERY strict format that we have to follow, so that every powerpoint looks the same essentially (except the information that is on the slides). Example: Background has to be a specific shade of blue, text HAS to be yellow, and secondary text has to be red, pictures have to be outlined in 2.5 bold red lines, classification designation on each page, no more than six lines of text in a text box, and the list goes on and on and on.  As you can imagine, in my trade (Intelligence) you are creating presentations ALL the time. It can get quite boring to always be using the same format. You can't do anything new or exciting even if you wanted to. However, that being said, the presentations always come off as very professional and clean. They are easy to read, which is the point because when you are presenting top secret information to the commander that could potentially save the lives of several soldiers and civilians, you don't want to be goofing around with fly in pictures or sound effects...

It seems like sometimes people, including professionals, choose to use unnecessary "add-ons" in their presentations just to simply use more technology. We all know that technology is addicting. Why just have a plain text box and a picture on a slide when you can have sweet graphics fly on to the page and crazy sound effects to get the audience looking up (and away from their blackberrys/ iPhones that they are hiding underneath their desks)? I understand this completely. I mean, why would the program have the ability to do all these things if we aren't supposed to be utilizing them? This is how people get trapped in the cycle of producing horrible PowerPoint presentations. Like with all forms of technology, you have to know when its "too much." There needs to be a balance with everything. In the end I think it is really coming down to personal preference. For me, I tend to lean toward more simply structured PowerPoints, only because that is how I have been trained for the last 3 years of my life. For other people, who are perhaps more tech savvy, they may lean toward using more "bells and whistles" in their presentations. I feel like the indicator for what constitutes a good powerpoint or not should be if the audience understood the information you were trying to present. That is the point of the presentation after all. If people still get the information from your powerpoint that has crazy colours, fonts, and graphics, then that is perfectly fine. If they can't, well then maybe you have a problem, and you should try a different approach to your presentations next time around.

Technology is in the saddle and rides mankind

Technology is an interesting phenomenon. In my early teens I became consumed with the Internet, and the concept of instant messaging. Since my parents were from an older generation, (my father was born in 1941, and my mother in 1960), I was able to get away with a lot in the beginning. I didn’t have any objections from them when I first began to dabble in online games and instant messaging with my friends because they simply did not understand what I was doing, or what I was up to. However, soon it became clear through my behavior (spending upwards of 5 hours a day glued to the computer, and being very grouchy from a lack of sleep due to extensive computer usage) that I had an addiction to MSN (instant messaging).

I remember being completely consumed with messaging my friends and “staying in the loop”. My parents began to forcibly limit my computer usage time, in an attempt to break my addiction. I used to cry to my parents that they were ruining my life, because I would be the only person at school the next day that didn’t know what was going on. In response to my cries, my mom would say to me “Lacey, it’s not good to be available to people 24/7.” This phrase has stuck with me every since. Technology can be a great thing. Social networking sites are excellent in helping communities come together, and many great things can come from this type of technology. However, my mom’s wisdom still seems to hold true.

When you are available to the public 24/7 through several mediums, many issues start to arise. You become consumed with keeping up to date with text messages, emails, facebook, and other social forums. Other people begin to expect instant responses from you at all times, because they KNOW that you own a smart phone and that you have received their message via text/email/facebook etc. Mass amounts of time can easily be wasted managing all the above-mentioned methods of communication. Unless you are disciplined enough to turn off your phone/handheld device/computer, you will be constantly bombarded by people. I sometimes wonder if this type of technology, although wonderful at times, is the reason why there is a much higher incidence of “mental breakdowns” and “burn-outs” among Canadians today. Technology is supposed to make life “easier”, however, it seems to me that often it is the cause of increased stress on individuals. Like many things in life, balance is key. Too much of anything, including technology, is going to cause problems.