How have technological advancements affected Gen-Z?
You find yourself sitting in front of your TV after a long day at the office, your eyes staring at the screen set in front of you as you wait for the VCR to begin to ‘’time shift’’ the last episode of your favorite show you just happened to miss, by a mere hour. This is a scenario the majority of Baby boomers and 43% of the millennial generation would be able to reconcile. Cable Television and VCRs, these forms of entertainment/news may have been the platforms used for more than 50 years by mature generations, but a high number of generation Z have no knowledge of these terms.
DIGITAL NATIVES
Generation Z are known as the ‘’digital Natives’’ Because they grew up shaped by technology, and the internet is an integral aspect of their daily life. Generation Z didn’t grow up sitting at the kitchen table listening to a band playing on the radio, they grew up with a smart phone in their hands as they spent their days scrolling through social media such as Instagram. What does this mean and how has this shaped our young generation of humans and future adults to our society. Before we begin to discuss that why don’t we first explain to those who may not be aware what a VCR is, and what cable Tv is. (what’s even funnier is I have never even seen a VCR prior to my research. ha-ha. But the internet verified the info so …. lets just go with it!)
WHAT IS A VCR?
Cable Television, commonly abbreviated as CATV. The system of delivering TV programming through Via Radio frequencies. The more recent cable systems opted for light pulses and fiber optic cables. Cable TV broadcasts television, (otherwise known as terrestrial television) through over-the-air signal transmission with radio waves and communication satellites. This was the standard analog television seen in the 20th century. In 1968 6.4% of Americans had CATV. There was a 7.5% increase(0.48%) in 1978. By 1994 62.4% of Americans had CATV. Near the year 2000s cable systems had begun to upgrade into digital cables. These digital cables have higher HD videos, more channels, and have provided more services. Examples of what these cable/satellite, channels/cable advanced into, are some we see today including; HBO, cartoon net, nickelodeon, PBS, and fox sports television… you get the point? Verify this from the wikipedia article we linked earlier.
Some Questions To Note
How have these technological advancements affected our younger generation, more specifically generation Z. And What does this mean for our society as a whole and its future?
As we know Generation Z is the generation of digital natives that have grown up with the world revolving around technology which has ultimately shaped these young beings and their minds.
and here i go:
Technology has increased connectivity with the outer world as well as increased the rates for suicide and depression, and the way people (gen-z) view themselves. A few of the core characteristics we see in generation Z include political progressivism, a normalization in diversity, and as well as being pragmatic and financially minded. These technological developments have affected the amount of affection kids need from their parents, family mealtimes are being shared and spent over a screen rather than being talked to one another.
Generation Z is also known to be the generation with the most reported mental health problems. (will add quote later) All of this is connected to being born into the digital world. Growing up with the normalization that everyone has an iPhone, this advancement witnessed first hand for this is the first time in history . While the biggest issue generation Z has come into contact with is a global pandemic, this has only sequentially forced them deeper into the ocean of the internet.
To summarize all that has been discussed, The technological advancement of Cable TV and VCRs has impacted our youth both positively and negatively, it is still yet to be confirmed whether or not one side outweighs the other, the only way we will be able to see this plan through is to live it out. One day at a time lets keep learning and lets keep moving forward. 🙂
February 28, 2021 | Peace and love – Jerin Sharif