Jordan Hearring is a junior vocal music education major from Minott, North Dakota. They use they/them and he/him pronouns.
In my lifetime, I have seen amazing technological advancements. The first iPhone, the Playstation 3, the electric car and the modernization of the use of social media. I remember when my dad bought a PlayStation 2, and parts of my toddler years were spent watching him play the various ‘Tony Hawk Pro Skater’ games and ‘Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis’. I remember getting my first cell phone at 9 years old and my first iPod Touch at 11 years old. I watched early YouTubers such as Fred and Smosh, and I remember watching Vines when the app first came out. The shows that aired on Nickelodeon and Disney during my childhood were iconic and shaped a lot of my interests and personality. While I cherish these memories and the warm nostalgia that fills my heart when I reminisce on these times, I can’t help but take a step back and look at how the world is changing around technology, and I wonder if it’s for the better.
In 2010, social network platforms across all mediums reported that over 970 million people around the world used social media. In July of 2021, social networks reported that their user base surpassed 4.48 billion users around the world. This exponential growth was unprecedented in the inception of the concept in 1996, when the first networking platform Stajlplejs based in Sweden was released to the public. Many more followed, such as MySpace in 2003, Facebook in 2004, YouTube in 2005, Twitter in 2006 and so on. While I was personally not a part of social media until 2012, I watched as the concept of social interactions digitally became a new normal as I grew older. My days of asking my friends to hang out at their doorsteps slowly turned into texting them to ask before I even left my house. I had a way to contact all of my friends from my own home without having to make a phone call. I could meet people from all over the world in chat rooms regarding any subject I wanted, and toys like Webkinz were released in stores for the sole purpose of registering the stuffed animal to a website and playing with other kids. Even while this new integration of social interaction was arising, I was still able to go outside and be a kid.
My frustration with the integration of such a digital social age mostly comes from the nostalgia I had of being able to play outside and not worry about any other distractions. The moment I was introduced to Twitter and Tumblr I found myself becoming more anxious and would compare myself to other people based on the interactions I had on these platforms. I was thankful for the friends I was making as a result of these platforms, but I would also find myself deleting posts because it simply didn’t catch enough attention. I was plagued by adult problems at an early age, and I slowly lost touch with some of my friends because we could simply just text each other. Glued to our phones and sitting around at home, waiting for something to happen that would prompt us to leave. The innovation was great, but the consequences were not.
The pandemic has certainly not helped this social media addiction. Being prompted to stay home and not having anything else to do besides sit around and watch the numbers rise and take to social media as an outlet for this global boredom. Most video games are sold in a digital store on consoles and it’s almost impossible to find physical versions of many video games. Streaming services are taking the place of going to the movie theater with friends. Stores are renovating to have more self checkouts and are hiring staff to run order pickups. You don’t have to step foot in a grocery store anymore, whether it be getting your items loaded into your vehicle or ordering your pantry online from Amazon, and even at that, you can have your groceries delivered to you via Instacart or Shipt. These innovations are incredibly useful, especially in the time of the pandemic, and are likely to stay even after the dust has settled. Humans are creatures of habit, and many people can’t remember how they lived prior to the lockdowns. Everything has been available to us, especially recently, at the touch of a button. I mean, who would even want to go back…right?
I find myself wedged between being Gen Z and a millennial, or as many have coined it, a ‘zillenial.’ Growing up where VHS and DVR was being used through the invention of TiVo and streaming services, witnessing the death of cable companies and the birth of a solely digital age. As a ‘zillenial,’ I’m witnessing so many changes so quickly at such a young age, more changes than a lot of the earlier generations had seen in their younger years. There is a level of intrigue and curiosity about what may lie ahead in the future and how the next generation will be formed as people due to the intense integration of technology, a world where the physical and digital are almost one. I continue to find myself reminiscing about a time where the digital world stayed where it was designed to, compared to today, where many find themselves unable to comprehend a life where most of it isn’t spent staring at a screen.
Categories: Opinion
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