2015 Digital Nation Prediction

2015 Digital Nation Prediction

By the year 2015 all of our social institutions will have migrated to cyberspace. The transformation has already started. Government offices are shutting down and being replaced by public web sites. Companies are only accepting online job applications and schools require you to do all of your class management online.

In the movie “Digital Nation” it showed a chapter about the virtual world in the work place. IBM built a business park where thousands of workers used to come to work daily. Now the place is virtually empty. Ironically the reason why the building is empty is because the staff is working in the virtual world. Business meetings and all other duties that employees would perform are now being done in the virtual world. Wow, that is phenomenal! By the year 2015 I believe that it will be very challenging to differentiate between the real world and the virtual world.

There are so many factors that affect the digital world that you probably couldn’t name them all by the year 2015. Moreover, by the time you could name them all, technology would have progressed so rapidly that you would have to start over. News, Radio, television, education, and even your privacy are all factors that will rapidly change by the year 2015.

By 2015 you will get all your news from the internet. You will only listen to digital radio and you will only watch digital T.V. I believe that your privacy will be totally compromised due to the fact that by the year 2015 you would have put so much input into the computer that the internet would have more than enough information on you that it could write a book.

Our way of living will also change drastically. As I stated before, you may never ever go to the office physically but, virtually you will be present at work. How we play will also change. Gaming is getting more popular each day. Going out physically to go bowling will turn into a virtual bowling tournament at your house. Digital communication with your friends will increase but, physical contact with you r friends will do just the opposite.

The way you deal with your finances will also change more than you could imagine. In a recent article in the Denver post it stated that, it won’t be long until you can leave your wallet at home and pay for purchases with your smartphone. My guess is by the year 2015 you won’t carry cash only a phone.

What frightens me the most is that, I believe that this rapid advancement of technology will further perpetuate the digital divide. Those most in need for certain cervices and opportunities are further marginalized. These rapid advancements in technology might move to fast for certain social classes to persevere.

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REAL TALK TWO

Mass Media and Culture

 Mass Media Experiences In the Twentieth Century (1930s on)

 Samuel Todd
Interviewing: Rev. Eugene Todd
Relationship: Grandfather Age: 76

09-07-2010

1. a.      Sound Recording

      My grandfather stated that he was big fan of music and still is.  Being 76 and in the Air Force he had a chance to listen to a lot of different genres of music. He loved &b, pop, and religious records. His favorite artist was the Ink Spots.  I never heard of them but, he assumed I had. Being of fan of music like he is, it is obvious that he had some had a record player in house while growing up. The record player was in the front room because he said, “we didn’t have livings rooms and other rooms in our house when I was growing up. Not only that, he had a portable radio since he could remember.  Music in the house was generally played in the early evenings. When him was there was any music he wasn’t allowed listen to, he looked at me crazy. Actually after listening to him, I learned that there wasn’t any vulgar music to listen to. Music was a family thing. It was always limitations to the time to listen to music but, never the content. Music was always discovered through the radio because that was the means of entertainment.

1. b.      Radio

      As mentioned in the previous paragraph my grandpa always had a portable radio. He said, “The radio was it.” It was the entertainment center of the house. Back in those days the family used to listen to suspense like the Long Ranger, sports and of course all genres of music. He wasn’t into news back then but, ever since TV you should see him now. A certain Pepsi commercial came to his mind but, he couldn’t remember the jingle. He had many good experiences with radio because there was always a black radio station and that is a favorite family past time. His mom, my great, great grand mother passed five years ago and he kind of got emotional. The radio had in and out transmission and static. He doesn’t remember about FM radio because there was never one in his home. He compared it to regular TV five years ago and HD television today.

c. Television/Cable           

         “Oh buddy, when TV came available everybody used to come to my cousins house because everybody didn’t have a television.”  Grandpa said. The first TV he remember coming out was a Motorolla.I didn’t even know Motorolla made TVs.  Watching TV to them back in the day was like watching a movie at home.  They turned the lights off and gathered as a family. The first TV that they purchased cost about $200.They also had to take the tubes to Seven Eleven to get the tubes tested because they used to go out.  Reception wasn’t that good because you had to use rabbit ears. Not only that, Grandpa lived by an airport and when the planes flew by, the TV would turn straight into snow.  Even still, the family used to sit down as a whole, turn the lights on and watch their favorite programs. TV came out in my grandpa’s era so he has seen the whole transformation and now he has plasma screens, HD and DVR. When he first chose to get cable it was because he could afford it, and it had a variety of channels that weren’t previously accessible. 

d. Movies        

            The movie experiences were great for my grandfather and his friends and family. Movies theatres were in walking distance and they only had one screen.  Now days, they have these mega theatres in major shopping malls that you need transportation to access.  Grandpa likes westerns. He remembers actors like Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and Tom Mix.  Al Jolson is very offensive to my Grandpa, because of the content of his comedy.  “It wasn’t funny.”  He said. Al Jolson was in the era of the Jim Crow laws and he remembers a lot of the discrimination that was around then.