Who's Responsible?

Related Thoughts:
​Let's Flip It. 

---

As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect.

     The truth is that I was taking the time to think about my previous thoughts, with regards to the need for student mentorship, and the distractions that are caused with the use of social media. One can say that I am being hypocritical as I write these thoughts and then publish them online. I would say that I'm not being hypocritical, because I'm not criticizing the technologies itself, but I am thinking about how technologies are used and their effects, particularly through the classroom experiences and teen use. Previously I thought about the creation of mentoring apps, or avenues for artificial intelligence (AI). I thought more about these ideas, where individuals could potentially have a customized mentor, maybe like Siri? But I really cannot say more about this at this point, as it would require learning about technologies, or even having a conversation with the kids, and learning from them.

     I do think that there is potential to this idea, but I also wondered about human curiosity and creation. It is out of our curiosity that we desire to create, discover, and innovate. And when we finally do so, we realize the potential benefits and harms of the creation. For example: Lets think about SSRI's or anti-depressants. On the one hand they are said to alleviate or reduce the symptoms of stress, depression, or anxiety. But on the other hand there are numerous side effects that are considered dangerous depending on individual circumstance and cases. These "side effects" can be assimilated to the adolescents / individual  use of technology or media use. I won't argue about the side effects that are visible especially in the classrooms, but I will also add that geographical location, and access to technology will also impact where we see greater / lesser degree of side effect. I would assume that there is a great side effect in urban and residential areas. So we have a side effect to the uses of tech or media, but what are they? 

     One good way yo look at this it to design an observational study that takes place in the classroom, over a period of time. I would probably look into naturalistic observation, that will result in minimal obtrusions to classroom activity. Depending on the collection of data and results, we will have a snapshot of what takes place or not in a classroom setting, with regards to technology or personal device use. Of course there are many variables to consider, and there is a need to consider these. It might even mean doing comparative field work, and collecting data from more than one school. I would probably focus on the teenage populations. So this is one idea, from the research perspectives, to try to understand more about technology use. It will also include working with others who have expertise in the field of technology or techies to create solutions, or recommendations after results are collected from the data.

    There is also another idea where I think that techies who invent technology, large companies such as: Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, SnapChat, Google, or the Internet, include advocating for a healthy use of technology, amongst students, and why not even visibly reveal, and speak about the importance of developing critical thinking skills, and creativity. Now I'm not telling anyone what to do, but these are suggestions, and of course need to be developed. I don't think that the educator should have to carry all of the side effects that are produced through teen technology usage. Educators are passionate about teaching and transferring their passion to students. I can't speak for all educators, as we are aware of the inequalities and injustices that take place in the school system, but part of this problem is inequity that trickles down from systemic approaches.

     Another approach would be to have musical artists, and also music writers to create music that is also in the form of teachings. I am sure this has been done before. I am thinking about mainstream artists that are already targeting the teen. Artists who have been through phases of transformation, and are now in a much better place in their lives, who should continue to share their stories, and inspire. The commonality of the ideas that I have shared is to demonstrate that as a collective, society, or populations, or even a world; while we are going through a technological revolution, we all as a collective decide to take responsibility to support what we know are the side effects produced by technological experimentations. This is why I have included research, developers, main steam artists, within these thoughts. But when I say collective, it really includes everyone: From concerned parents, brothers, sisters, friends, educators, or service workers who have dedicated their lives to assist populations, that include the underprivileged, and underserved communities. It really is a collective responsibility.  

Dedication: These thoughts are dedicated to all, my thoughts to share with love & kindness! :)

Notes: These thoughts were originally handwritten on January 15th, 2018.
Image 1 - Web Link
Image 2 - Web Link