Reflective Blog #4

Is It Age of IT: First Steps Toward Understanding the Net Generation

After reading this article, I have come to the realization that I am completely dependent on technology. As I was growing up, I remember we had a computer in our house, and I would check my e-mail, but we also had dial up. When I went to college, I started using IM to chat with my friends because text messaging was not popular just yet. I did not have a smart phone in college to check my e-mail or browse on the Internet. Today, I have an Iphone and depend greatly on it. I am continuously checking my e-mail or facebook to see what other people are up to. I am also always playing games on my phone. I think as I was growing up the Net Generation was beginning but I was not fully diverged into it due to my upbringing and surroundings.

I am definitely more comfortable composing documents online rather than longhand. I enjoy being able to click in the middle of a sentence to add or delete information that I either forgot or messed up. This is much more convenient than erasing or scratching something out that was written. Plus I am a quick typer so composing documents takes no time at all. I greatly depend on technology devices to remember my phone numbers for me. I remember I use to have a phone and address book that I would keep all of my friends information in, but simply typing in a phone number and hitting save is so much easier! I still to this day keep a planner where I store all of my appointments, birthdays, and important information. I have not switched over to technology for this just yet. I do not go to meetings with my laptop or PDA. My meetings usually involve parent conferences or staff development so a computer is not necessary. However, I do have my Iphone on me during these meetings:) 

I am constantly connected. As I previously stated, I always have my Iphone with me to check up on what everyone else is doing or to check my e-mail or text someone. However, if I am going on vacation I do not have a problem turning off my phone and leaving it at home. It is nice to disconnect from the world from time to time, but I always have that thought in the back of my mind that I am missing out on something. 

I can engage in at many activities at one time. For example as I type this blog I have my phone sitting on the desk and my facebook page pulled up to constantly check. The use of dual monitors makes this very easy to accomplish. I do play both video and computer games. I was brought up playing both, but it was not as extensive as it seems to be today. We still played outside more hours of the day than we played video or computer games. I would still to this day rather be outside doing something than indoors playing games.

I feel like I am a mixture of a few generational categories. According to the chart in the article, I was born into the Net Generation, but due to my upbringing and surroundings I would not put myself into this category. I would not say until I was a young adult that I completely depended on technology 24/7 to continuously update me on what is going on.