Video one Observations

A year-old girl swipes her fingers on an iPad’s touch-screen, shuffling collections of icons. At the next scenes, she seems to pinch, sweep and prod the paper magazine’s pages of as if they were screens too. The instance nothing happens, she displaces it next to her leg, to confirm that her finger is functioning just okay—or rather so that a title card could have us believe.

The kid seems to think that the magazine is an iPad that is not operational; the iPad has coded the kids’ minds. This clearly shows that magazines have now become useless and impractical to understand, for the digital population that is, for individuals who have been in contact with digital technologies as from an extremely early age.  

Nonetheless, the video introduces focus to a very significant inquiry: How precisely does the technological devices we utilize to read transform the ways in which we read? Ways in which reading on screens diverges from reading on paper is pertinent not just to the young among us. I consider this a dangerous culture that is being adopted since the kids will become dumber, research has shown that there exist considerable differences in comprehension and reading speed among paper and screens. Therefore as compared to the earlier times kids will lack essential understanding and comprehension of the contents of education.

Consumer reports have indicated that present screens and e-readers to a big extent fails to sufficiently recreate definite tangible feeling of reading through on paper that many individuals miss and, more significantly, prevent individuals  from reading through long texts in an instinctive and satisfying way. Compared to paper, modern screens could also drain our additional mental resources whilst we are reading making it harder to recall what we have read or even when we are done.  Research focusing on individuals attitudes on persons’ attitudes toward dissimilar kinds of media has indicated variances. Whether people are conscious or not, they approach tablets and computers with a condition of brain less conducive for learning as compared the one they experience on paper. Turning paper book pages is similar to leaving a footprint trail that is there exist a rhythm to it and a detectable record of the distance traveled.  

As digital technologies turn out to be more widespread, we acquire new and more movable ways of reading; however, are we still studying as carefully and thoroughly? How are our brains responding separately to onscreen passage than to that on paper? We should be worried about this trend since it will render us less knowledgeable (Gizmodo 1).

Video Two Observations

The capability to see the individual whom we are conversing with brings about sudden popularity of video chatting. Video chat is definitely an exciting method of interacting with many people since it makes use of the audio visual features of technology. The ability to see the individual you are talking to enhances the excellence of the conversation since you are both capable to in a better way understand one another.

It seems amazing what technology can achieve individuals who are world apart are able to see each other and converse. It is quite incredible that in the video a father deployed as a military man distance away can sing bedtime stories to his daughter. Technology seems to be filling in the child’s emotional part that her father could physically fulfill but it is really not the case. The fact that the child cannot touch her father confuses her even more. She fails to understand why he cannot come out the screen and hug her physically. I tend to think that this creates a more psychological issue for the kid rather than comforting her.

This kind of technological achievement should not entirely be viewed as a positive attainment but also the negative impacts it brings with it. The kid is tortured by the fact that she cannot interpret her dad’s position and it is impossible to touch him. Every kid requires the touch of the dad to feel protected by the fatherly figure. I believe this kid was left feeling unprotected since her father is not bodily present.

However, we cannot completely demonize this technology compared to things like photos and phone calls this technology provides a more real experience to the kid. A phone call or a photo does not stimulate the connection between the two.  This man is thankful to the technology that helps him get into contact with his daughter and read bedtime stories together. Furthermore, if the kid was born after the father’s deployment she is awarded an opportunity to see him and talk to him (Wired 1).

With the aid of video chat, chat rooms are safer place for kids and ease up their worries in addition to the concerns of parents. Despite the fact that video chatting does not offer physical contact it in broad sense compensates this need. Video chatting improves confidence, security and permits the much needed real time video collaboration.

Works Cited

Gizmodo. “Watch a Baby Treat a Magazine Like an iPad—The Crazy Future.” Gizmodo. N.p., 2011. Web. 6 July 2014. <http://gizmodo.com/5849532/watch-a-baby-treat-a-magazine-like-an-ipad–the-crazy-future>.

Wired. “Toddler Treats Military Dad’s Virtual Bedtime Story Like the Real Thing | Danger Room.” WIRED. N.p., 2011. Web. 6 July 2014. <http://www.wired.com/2011/10/toddler-treats-military-dads-virtual-bedtime-story-like-the-real-thing/>.