The Voyage of Technology
Chapter One: The Departure
Call me Devin. I was a bright and cold day in March, and I was brought into a quickly changing world. From a young age, I was influenced by modern technology. I grew up in a household with several televisions, stacks upon stacks of movies, and the latest console system always upon my shelf. This isn’t to say that I wasn’t influenced by older technology, for every movie we owned, we owned two books, and I was heavily influenced by the stories and experiences of those around me, however, this modern technology was the easiest to access and accounted for most of my time in my childhood.
From as young as I can recall, I have been an avid gamer. I had consoles such as the Playstation, GameBoy Color, and an N64. I spent as much time in these virtual worlds as I did in my backyard. Let’s just say, I was a very busy child. Television and media also heavily impacted my life at a young age. I watched many hours of television, making sure to get up early every Saturday to watch all the cartoons of old.
As I grew older, technology advanced to an even greater extent. When I was roughly eight years old, my family finally got a desktop computer. It was a beautiful device, even with its phone cord that stretched two rooms over, warm fan blowing at your feet, and screams of pain as it connected to the Internet. My parents never really learned to use the device, which allowed me to explore and access the new world that lay before my small eyes.
I had learned about the Internet and the power of computers from my elementary school. Computer education was heavily stressed and we developed skills such as typing, use of programs, and how to search for information on the Internet. When my family finally acquired a computer, I was ecstatic to use my acquired skills towards my own searches. I searched for information just because I wanted to know more about certain topics (mainly space), talked to friends, and mainly played games online. Most important of these games was RuneScape, a massive multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) that many of my friends played as well. As the years progressed, so did my knowledge of the online world.
http://www.runescape.com/ (link to RuneScape)
Several years later, I got my first cell phone. This was one of the biggest moments in my young life. Having a phone meant I was growing old, that I was finally gaining a bit of freedom. It was nothing special, just an ordinary flip phone, but it was amazing in my eyes. I used it to call my friends every afternoon, and I wasn’t restricted by the hassles of a corded phone in my parents’ bedroom.
Some years later, I received my first iPod, and then some years later I was given my first smartphone. This was the biggest shift, and the most important event in my life in terms of technology. With these devices, I could constantly be connected with the world. I had so much technology and power within an arm’s reach. I had a freedom unknown to me, and I was able to more easily bond and make connections with my peers. I was able to find information at a moment’s notice, and I was able to entertain myself for hours on end. While I may have appeared antisocial to my parents, I had never been more social in my entire life. These devices allowed me to communicate effectively and grow as a person.
Finally, came the acquisition of my own laptop two years ago. This was the final step in growing up in this age of technology. I had an official workspace now, and it further allowed me to grow independent. This incredibly important piece of equipment was more so a tool than anything else. I see this event as one of my first steps towards becoming an adult. While getting your first car or moving out might be more commonly perceived rights of passage, I believe having your own laptop can also be perceived in the same way in this day in age. The laptop is a highly versatile tool, necessary for even the most basic jobs in today’s society.
Chapter Two: The Rising Tide
It is a universally acknowledged truth, that a single person in possession of a smartphone or laptop, must be in want of knowledge. In this point in time, most everyone in the U.S. is in possession of some device capable of accessing the Internet. Even so, there are public places where one can go and access the Internet for free. It’s almost a necessity at this point in time to be connected. So much is done through the Internet and other forms of technology that we need a way to connect into the system.
Currently, I am simultaneously using a computer at D.H. Hill, listening to music through my phone, and messaging several people. You can say that I use modern technology fairly often. Okay, sometimes its as though my phone never leaves my right hand. Whether it’s communicating with someone, listening to music, spending countless wasted hours on Facebook, or even more countless hours perusing Wikipedia, I Fucking Love Science, or some other articles, I am usually connected to my phone or laptop in some way.
I do not see my generation’s reliance on its devices as a crutch. I believe it can be incredibly beneficial to be skilled in these devices. We are constantly taking in information and becoming more knowledgeable as a whole. We can more easily express ourselves, communicate with others, make a difference, and allow our voices to be heard. Growing up in this age has given us inherent skills that no generation before us has ever had, and we are able to cope with and understand the constant barrage of information given to us, and make conscious and intelligent decisions for ourselves. We have become self reliant, yet incredibly social at the same time. For this, I believe that growing in this age of technology is going to benefit our generation, and those that came before and will come after us.
Chapter Three: The Journey Ahead
All this will happen, more or less. “This” will be faster processors, better forms of communication, more advanced forms of travel, improved health care, etc. The technology of tomorrow has no bounds, and we are the ones going to usher in the new age of technology, and the possibilities are already being explored.
For instance, an article was posted recently about a new method of information transfer that can lead to faster computers. This method is using light to transmit data, instead of WIFI. It is able to transfer up to 224 gigabits per second, in comparison to WIFI’s top speed being 600 megabits per second. Furthermore, research like reverse engineering the brain has incredible healthcare applications as well as the possibility for artificial intelligence, and research is currently being done.
http://www.iflscience.com/technology/li-fi-internet-could-be-100-times-faster-wi-fi-0 (article on Li-Fi)
(Cortana, an Artificial Intelligence in the popular game franchis Halo)
My prediction for the future is that we will have incredibly fast computing devices, the world will be interconnected, we will have control over most all aspects of our life, artificial intelligence will be a normal aspect to life, we will have solved our energy crisis, we will have ample food and water, and the world will be take care for all due to the people who made this life possible by pioneering devices and technology, as we have been and are continuing to do so. Who knows, maybe we’ll even solve that pesky problem of efficient space travel. There really is no limit to what can be done in the future, and technology will only continue to advance beyond this point.
