New age of the digital mind

Many have coexisted with computers all of their life. My earliest memories involve watching from the floor as my father stared at a screen doing work that my mind could scarcely comprehend. Since their inception computers have grown in power, shrunk in size and integrated themselves thoroughly with the human species. Nearly the entire globe is connected at speeds rivaling that of light and ease of access to information has accelerated the development of society more than anything else in history. Beyond fostering social and professional networking, computers in all their forms are beginning to dominate humans on an individual basis.
People are defined by their actions, and their actions defined by their minds. What one spends time focusing on affects the development of the brain. Up until the last century electricity was largely unheard of, these days Internet access is being declared a human right throughout the developed world and the age at which people first interact with computers is steadily declining. It is not uncommon for children even younger than five to have consistent access to a computer and for them to spend much of their free time absorbing media through it. Children often spend more time interacting with computers or watching television than they do engaging themselves physically or speaking with other humans. Activities such as painting have been usurped by digital equivalents. Even Legos are in peril while Minecraft is on the loose. Some argue against associating excessive and early exposure to digital
media with personality disorders such as ADHD, but to deny that such widespread technology is a new phenomenon with notable impacts on behavior and socialization is ignorant at best.
Humans can never have a full picture of reality. Every mind is a product of its environment and all knowledge is perceived by the senses. Much of the information the modern human receives comes through a graphic display. As we become more reliant on computers for storing and transmitting data, the sum of “human” knowledge is losing its organic nature. At what point is cyborg status declared on those whose professional and social lives are dictated by their access to technology? It is interesting to me to see where we go from here. Each generation is more reliant on technology than the last, and getting up to speed with how that technology functions becomes more difficult over time as it grows in complexity. There are innumerable adults who have resigned themselves to ignorance, and expecting a child to understand computers prior to using one is absurd. Many parents leave their children to their wits with the magical boxes, offering little guidance in exploring the technology, rather than learning to meaningfully manipulate the devices most people take computers for granted. We live in an age in which one’s potential to succeed in life is primarily limited by know- how and the willpower to obtain it. Given access to the abundance of knowledge in the world, it is shameful that anyone would choose to forsake their birthright as a citizen of 21st century Earth.