When I first thought about this question, my initial thought was that the internet was created for more advanced communication.
Then, I remembered that I'm a millennial... So of course that's what I would think!
AOL messaging, MySpace, and Facebook were my main sources of communicating throughout middle and high school (along with passing notes in class... Sorry Mr. Schwartz!).
So for most of my life, the internet has mainly been used as a form of communication.
But as I was thinking about this, a memory popped into my head.
I was sitting in front of a computer in my 3rd grade class.
The assignment? Create a "Guess Who?" Power Point presentation about a famous person.
We were to research information about our chosen person and create a presentation with facts, hoping others could guess our star.
This is the first time I can remember using the internet in school.
Now, that's not to say I didn't slowly power-up a large computer in class before that assignment; but it's my first memory of such an experience.
So I started to think, "What was the purpose of the internet in this project?"
We used the internet to gather information, put the information into a presentation, and share our thoughts with others.
So then I came back to the question we were asked to ponder.
"What fundamental principle is the Internet built on and how has this generation used it used it to it's advantage?"
I imagine that the internet was used to gain information instantaneously. But, I am no expert, so I decided to do some digging into this question.
I came across an article that stated, "When Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web 24 years ago he thought he'd created an egalitarian tool that would share information for the greater good."
(https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/aug/24/internet-lost-its-way-tim-berners-lee-world-wide-web)
First of all, I felt very happy that I am, in fact, older than the internet!! By one whole year! Not so millennial after all!
Secondly, my initial thoughts were similar to what this article was saying. The internet was created to be used as a tool to share information. The part that really got to me was the part about it being, "for the greater good."
FOR THE GREATER GOOD!
Can we honestly say that we used the internet to spread information far and wide for the betterment of humanity?
I'm not entirely sure this is true.
Yes, there are millions and millions of examples of how the internet has saved our lives.
But, I can think of millions more to the contrary.
Growing up, I didn't always have the internet at my fingertips, but when I did, there were times when I used it to spread information that was not for the greater good.
And there were times when the internet was used to hurt me as well.
So yes, our generation has used the internet to cure diseases, to advance education, and the list goes on and on.
But, the advancements with social media has led to so much destruction within our generation, that we have to ask ourselves, "Is it worth it?"
Thank you for this...and being one year older than the Internet still makes you a Millennial. :) I think we've all done a lot of growing up with the Internet. We are a generation that grew up with it. We were teens when it was a teenager trying to find it's way. It's now 24 and like many 20 something it's starting to reflect on it's past trying to decide who it wants to become. Finding it's place, putting things in place (security) to be successful, and really finding it's own. Sure it's teenage years (myspace and facebook) were not good...it was all about who was most popular and who did all the cool kids like. In it's late teens and early 20s it found it had a voice (Arab spring, # movements) Now it's hitting mid 20s and starting to think what does it really want to be known as. What is it's best use, it's worse use. We have grown up with it and are finding our way with the Internet as well. This generation is lucky, their Internet will be more mature then ours, but still willing to change and move. They are al still finding their way, but the changes come slower, more thought out and purposeful. I love reflection on where we all have been on this journey of the Internet and what the future holds. We've all grown up a lot and it's our duty to use our knowledge fo how this thing works the good the bad and the ugly with the next generation. But when you look to the future where this is all heading, you can't help but get excited. And with that..."Hey Google.....turn out the light please"
ReplyDeleteEarlier, I read Bob's post where he explains his history as an educator with 33 years experience. Reading over Barb's post, I was fascinated by the tech evolution she has seen in her teaching experiences. Now, reading your words, I'm happy that you decided to join this cadre because you (and Nicole) will bring a point of view that us Gen Xers will need. You're like a translator who can connect the language of my generation (Dude! Totally awesome!) with your "native" language and help us all connect and work together. I value your thoughts and opinions and hope that you will feel comfortable to speak up for the Millenials to give us all a better understanding.
ReplyDeleteThat "for the greater good" piece is really sticking with me. I always talk with my students about how often we are consuming information with devices versus creating something with them, but that greater good piece adds even more to the equation. With what we have available with the internet, how often am I allowing my students to share things for the greater good? Am I creating projects and spaces for students to learn how to use the internet as a tool to control the world? It's so easy to want to just complain about the ways students use devices, but then I think about that same scenario with content. If I just complained about how students wrote and then did nothing about it...well, that would be ridiculous. Same with tech. If I just sit back and complain about how students aren't using tech to its fullest and truest capacity, then what am I doing? It's all about providing them the experience of engaging in the internet in positive, socially constructive ways. Thanks for getting my wheels turning about this.
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