Interviews and Surveys

I interviewed my Mom Judy for the Family Member survey.

Question: How many hours a day do you spend using anything digital? (Computer, TV, Camera, Phone etc.)
Answer: 5 hours

Q: Out of those 5, how many do you use doing work or something productive?
A: 4.5

Q: Do these digital objects make your life easier?
A: Yes, it also in some ways makes it more difficult because sometimes i discuss important topics over email or text, when we really need to set-up a meeting and talk face to face, but yes digital things makes it more convienient.

Q: Do you sometimes find yourself doing work on the computer or phone, and not really thinking about it, because you are so used to digital things doing the work for you/making it easier? Such as spell check?
A: (At first she said yes, but after "thinking" about it for a little while she said): I would say most people do, but I'm not that type of person. I don't rely on those type of things to do work, I usually try to spell things correctly and do the best i can do.

Q: Do you think that the generations are getting dumber and lazier, because their spending more time in front of the TV (killing brain cells), on the computer (doing work for them), on the phone (giving us brain cancer), and texting (making us use language that is not correct in the English Language):
A: Yes, I think that this access to all this information is rather frightening, and people dont need to excersice thier minds quite as much to get all of it. People are not using it correctly. The technology is doing everything for us and we are sitting there letting it happen. Usually after using the computer for social networking or something of the sort, i actually feel dumber. I get concerned also of what kids have access to now-a-days because a lot of it is inappropriate.

Q: If it was up to you, what would you eliminate in all of this Digital Media:
A: Texting, not computers or phones, but texting and IMing. Also some of the unnecessary sites that people have access to.


I Then took it to the street and interviewed some complete strangers. The questions i asked goes as followed:

Q1: How many hours a day do you spend using something digital?
Q2: How much of this digital media time spending is productive or work related?
Q3: Do you think that digital things are making are generation dumber and lazier?

Answers

2 middle school kids:
A1: About 10 hours a day.
A2: Probably about 2 hours
A3: Computers are making it easier to do work, and Facebook is a good thing because you can keep in touch with people who live far away.

20-something year old man standing on the corner with a box?:
A1: 3 Hours
A2: 1 Hour.
A3: In terms of making us dumber, it is definitely taking away from the social intelligence aspect of life. You are getting disconnected by using computers. Now that I think about it Everything is making us disconnected. Social Networking is fine in moderation, but too much makes us disconnected from the world. There's a certain type of intelligence which is social intelligence, and people are not getting that now-a-days. They spend all their time talking to their friends on the computer or phone (texting). Even Ipods, when you walk around with your headphones on, no one wants to talk to you. On the flip side though it is making civilization move along faster technologically.

SOF teacher Scott:

A1: 3 hours.
A2: 1.5 hours.
A3: Computers are making us work more, but its also making it much easier. At the same time it is more efficient.

I then went on aim to interview one of my best friends who is now a freshman at the University of Rhode Island.

David:

A1: 3.5-4

A2: Almost all of it. (I then asked him if he was doing work right now, while talking to me on aim, and he said no, and I told him that this is part of using digital stuff, so you can't say you use all 4 hours doing work. and he says that "You said productive. I'm being productive right now". I asked him how and he said " by expressing my emotions and setting my state of mind through music. And talking with a friend from home who i don't often get to see. I agreed.)

A3: Well if u consider an electric drill a digital thing, which it is since its machinery, putting it through someone's head would make them dumber. If you waste all ur time watching barny the same may be true, however if your doing something productive rather than destructive with something that is digital, like trying to map out the melodies of beethoven, then you can be doing things which are productive. In conclusion, just like everything, you can use digital devices progressively or destructively.