Hyper-connected by Benton

Hyper-connected by Benton - March 2022 Scholarship Essay

Always listening, always calculating, ads to meet my thoughts, music at my fingertips, everything because we are hyper-connected. Technology has simplified much of our lives, and it has affected education. Until the onset of COVID, the traditional classroom had not changed much in the last century. COVID forced teachers and students to learn new technologies and methods of delivering lessons.
Social media has driven a change in my self-guided learning. We can talk face to virtual face with anyone at any time. Ordering items that we need can be done with a single click. Using algorithms, social media can predict items we may want which makes advertising more to a specific target market. We make grocery lists, set reminders all at a single voice command. If I have a question, I can find the answer with a few clicks on a keyboard. I no longer have to wait for a response to a letter or look information up in a book that can only be found at the library. Independent coursework can be done online and teachers have become guides rather than experts.
But what happens when those hyper connections become invasive? Can these intrusions lead to lost privacy and rights? George Orwell fictionalized a highly connected world, and in his world, the government was always watching to ensure you complied with the laws and regulations. Control was a popular theme in this futuristic book. But how much of his book has become a reality? And how much have the people accepted with open arms? A deeper question, should we be okay with this?
Social media has allowed me the luxury of finding information at a simple command. I carry a mini-computer around in my pocket every day. The convenience of a digitally connected world has simplified life. But unfortunately, it has also allowed us to disconnect from each other. Skills that were once commonplace, are now nearly extinct. Students graduating high school and even some college graduates cannot write a letter, have a conversation, or a dinner without checking their phones. Those tiny computers have become a driving force in our lives and fear of missing out (FOMO) has young adults with anxiety disorders as a result.
Social media has become an addiction. Often, these young adults are easily influenced, need immediate gratification, and as a result, we expect our education to provide the same immediacy and entertainment value. An immediate gratification mindset has settled in for many and taken away an instinctive drive to learn. While others have used social media to educate and learn sometimes following the white rabbit down the rabbit hole of information.
While social media and technology have created easy access to information, it has also created a co-dependent relationship for many. Social media like anything can be a source of anxiety, stress, and concerns. Information is not controlled or monitored and as a result, could be inaccurate. Traditional education still clings to a factory system of mass production where change is slow. Consequently, social media's effect on educational institutions will have a gradual effect as the pendulum swings.