So What is Today's Culture?

This question has become HUGE in today's academic discussions, articles, debates, you name it. With Facebook, Twitter, and youtube, the ways of communication and news acquisition has changed dramatically. Now, I'm not saying that our culture or generation is in a downward spiral and will never slow down, but our culture has certainly changed. We are a society wrapped around convenience, and this means the popularity of online sources increase.

I'll be the first to admit, I usually see news stories on Twitter or Facebook first. I check those websites more frequently than an actual news source. This may not be the most ideal way to get important information, but that's just how it is today. Once I see something of importance I obviously do my research before truly believing what I read, but more often than not, these social networking sites are the first to "report" events.

One thing I have yet to do is turn to the internet for a source of dating. I do have the opportunity to see what my friends experience though. There are dating apps for smartphones. Yes, apps just for finding your "perfect match". In my opinion, dating is one thing that shouldn't be turned into an app. We are pushing the limits of what should be left to the internet, and what shouldn't be. There are youth that now believe their only way to find someone for them is through social networking sites, or dating apps. I really don't think that a middle schooler should have that mind set quite yet.

The ages of kids with iPhones, Facebooks, and Twitters seems to decrease annually. I was at my younger sister's basketball game and there were 4th graders running around with iPhones. I know this debate has been argued to death, but why can't 4th graders go outside and play for entertainment? I think that is definitely more fun than playing Fruit Ninja on my couch, or Instagramming pictures of my cat. I'm not saying that either of these activities aren't fun, I'm guilty of doing both, but you aren't a kid forever and I think it is sad to see that instead of riding bikes and playing kickball, kids are settling for their electronics for entertainment.

What I'm trying to say is that the dependence on digital media is much more of an influence than we'd like to believe. No one wants to admit that their children are already addicted to their smartphones and game consoles. But it is the cold, hard truth, unfortunately. This is resulting in children maturing faster and partaking in activities that kids of their age should not be doing. It will keep happening until the dependence on these devices decreases. This will likely not happen due to the high usage and popularity of these types of media and entertainment, but it is always worth a try.

So what is a good age for children to start joining the digital community? When did we start shifting to this society with such a dependence on media? These are all questions that are commonly asked but the actual answers may never be concrete.