my digital world essay

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Essay: My Digital World

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• Subject area(s): Information technology essays
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• Published: 11 November 2015*
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Ever imagined flying cars, artificial intelligence , holographic screens and robotic helpers? Inventors are bending backwards day and night trying to make these virtual dreams into a reality. The advanced technology that could help mankind, positively change the way we live our lives and change the way we view the world through augmented reality. The sci-fi movies might have probably predicted that it would exist in the near future and looking at what the world has achieved till this day, the time when these sci-fi imaginations come alive might be sooner. This futuristic era is identified as the New Digital Age. The video above is a tidbit from a book written by Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, and Jared Cohen, founder and director of Google ideas. It talks about how the New Digital Age could contribute to a better, worse or different physical world. As everyone is connected to each other through the Internet, a virtual world is created. Government would have to adapt and create policies for both virtual and real world to prevent cyber-war. When the virtual shapes up, it is not only the government that has to adapt, businesses need to adapt as well. The Internet provides easy access for everyone to dig personal information for positive purposes and even negative purposes. Stealing and creating identity has made possible through the Internet. Possibilities for cyber terrorism will rise because of the world’s most important information is stored online and can be hacked by skilled hackers. Schmidt and Cohen said that in the digital age the most important question will not be ‘who is their charismatic leader’? but rather, ‘ who is their chief technology officer’? The challenges that were described in the digital age are significant, but ultimately the outcome of a digital age is favourable. Billions of people will be connected online and it will accelerate the changes in our world than any period in the history of mankind, which is mainly contributed by the increasing use of handheld devices. Making us only a touch away from the virtual world. As the digital age develops, inequality abuse of power will still exist. But on the bright side of this digital age, everyone is connected; with broad connectivity and technological inclusion, equality of power can be dealt with through freedom of speech on the Internet (Schmidt and Cohen, 2013). It amazes me how the Internet gives everyone the power to speak up and express him or herself. Enough said that the Internet, social media to be specific, is a powerful tool to empower, enlighten, and provoke the public. Getting exposure on the Internet is effortless when there is demand and supply. Here is a link to an article about an anonymous guy that uses Facebook to create a page called ‘We Are All Khaled Said’, to stand against the Egyptian’s officials that is full of conspiracies. The Facebook page allows people to post their findings on the dirty government conspiracy in Egypt and the page had actually made a difference on the outcome of the government’s action. It vividly shows an example of how Facebook has empowered people with no voices in the real world through anonymity in the virtual world. As a conclusion, I would like to ask a digital expert; the developed technology nowadays gives power to the small people to speak up and influence and strengthen the public, however some people misuse those power and spread negativity instead such as cyber-bullying. So my question is, how can inventors of the technology prevent the spreading of negativity such as cyber-bullying’? Digital Disconnect I took up the 24-hour offline challenge whereby I would not connect to my social media and online entertainment for one whole day and here are my thoughts. At first I thought it wouldn’t matter much because on the day I was going to do the challenge I would be going out with my friends but I have never been so wrong in my entire life. It created problems that I wouldn’t and couldn’t have imagined when I was still connected online. First thing in the morning, out of habit, I grabbed my phone to check if I had any messages and after then I realised that I was doing the no connection challenge. And so I put down my phone after I checked the time, it was 8.30 am. Because of web 2.0 that has enabled humans to do social networking, generate and share content, my usual morning routine goes on to checking on my social media timeline to find out what my friends are up to. But since I was devoted not to I went on straight to breakfast. It felt rather empty without knowing what your friends were up to last night and this morning. I know I am a tad bit exaggerating, but I really felt that I was living under a rock with no Internet connection. When usually news just comes to my handheld device in blink of an eye, this time I had to walk in front of the TV and browse through the channel to discover the latest news topic and sitcoms to fill in the emptiness. As social media allows people to connect, share and find new people online, it’s also used as a medium for news to travel, so when one is not connected online information travels slower, thus falling behind the pace of the digitized world we live in today. After my breakfast, I went on to get ready for the lunch date. While getting ready, I turned on my iPod playlist and realised that the songs playing had gone out of date because normally I would open the Spotify application, which has recent and up-to-date songs that keeps me entertained throughout preparation. In this situation I realised that the Internet is a very easy medium of transacting, even when opening a simple app that allows me to listen to free music, it is considered as a transaction of service, whereby we allow ourselves to be exposed to the ads in exchange of free music, which is what the purpose of web 2.0 is. As I proceed, it is to my disbelief that I had forgot to inform my friends on going through with the challenge. So they were trying to reach me through the instant messaging app, Line. And when I finally texted them that they had to reach me through text message or phone call they were outraged, telling me that it was so hard to get through me without Internet connection, because getting in touch with the traditional methods are not as fast as the conventional way. The increasing use of the Internet has made the world to become so reliant on instant messaging and has adapted to the ways it connects people easily that if we were to go back to the olden days it would slow down the pace this digitized world is moving Proceeding to meeting up for lunch, I had to struggle on the way to the restaurant location. Without Google Map, I am as blind as a bat with directions. I had to ask the locals where Dempsey Hill is. When I finally reached my location, I was one hour late because I was misguided along the way. Everyone had already ordered their lunch and carried on with their meals. To that I was displeased and wished that this day could just be over in a second. At the end of a very long day, I crashed my bed and sighed loudly thinking how dependent I am with such a small and light device that is present in my life. I believe that I am speaking this on behalf of people who live their lives on the habit of holding their handheld devices for entertainment or business purposes that without online connection living in this digitized era, is just simply dreadful. Power ‘The world has changed. The consumer has changed. Marketing has not.’ ‘ The Digital Revolution The role of a consumer in marketing has changed during this information age, where technologies allow people to be connected in a split second. In the past, marketers would push their ads into the lives of the consumer through television commercial, brochures, physical banners and so on. Even though it is still being used in today’s world, it is less affective compared to the conventional media. Why? You wonder? According to an article in BBC News UK, people have less attention span than a goldfish and therefore it is not easy to expose an ad that consumers do not want to willingly view it. Because of the web 2.0 developments, they have gotten used to the fact that they can skip an ad or do other things to occupy themselves (such as opening another tab while waiting for the ad to finish) when an ad is running and choose what to view and not to view. Therefore consumers are now controlling the marketing system and have short attention span. Consumers connect, create, enjoy, learn and transact with others on web 2.0. Majority of the consumers use the Internet to influence one another. People trust peer recommendations more because they believe that they would not only tell their good experiences but also the unfavourable experiences as well. This article will give you the breakdown of changing consumer role in marketing (Mcintyre, 2013). As a consumer, of course I have given some reviews and recommendation to colleagues and peers. Giving them the tidbits of a product or service I had tried using. Whenever I try a product or service that satisfy my needs and wants I would definitely recommend them to my circle. The reason behind it is because, as a good friend I believe that it is a good deed to recommend something nice to bring them a smile to their faces, when they are also satisfied with my recommendation. So in a way, it also brings satisfaction to myself for making others happy. In contrast, whenever I had a bad experience over a product or service I would babble on until I am satisfied and feels there is nothing to get anything out of my system anymore. The intention is not because I want some kind of revenge for wasting my resources, but more to prevent my friends or colleagues for making the same mistake as I did. In order to connect with my entire circle at a time, I usually use the most effective tool, which is social media. I feel a sense of usefulness to my community whenever I recommend a good stuff and all of my peers thank me for giving such a good recommendation. Although the sense of influencing others is such a rush to me, I have never tried to influence the public. Therefore I have never used a famous reviewing site such as Change.org or TripAdvisor to write down my experiences for an establishment. However I have read a review from TripAdvisor to find a decent hotel during my visit to Sydney, Australia. And quite a shocking turn out for me, the reviews were very much useful to decide whether I should stay in that particular hotel or not. In the end I chose a hotel with a decent review that came with a great hotel location. After that experience I choose to believe the reviews on TripAdvisor. However I still would not want to contribute a review because I care about my close peers more than being a public influencer. As there goes a saying, ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’

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Home — Essay Samples — Information Science and Technology — Digital Era — Who Am I in the Digital World: Reshaping Digital Footprint

Who Am I in The Digital World: Reshaping Digital Footprint

• Categories: Digital Era Personal Identity Social Media

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Words: 2185 |

11 min read

Published: Aug 31, 2023

Words: 2185 | Pages: 5 | 11 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, discovering who am i in the digital world, concept of identity in the digital world, the challenge of digital identity, recording a day in the digital life, works cited, design considerations.

• Clarke, Roger. 'Dataveillance by Governments: The Technique of Computer Matching.' In Information Systems and Dataveillance, edited by Roger Clarke and Richard Wright, 129-142. Sydney, Australia: Australian Computer Society, 1994.
• Parsell, Mitch. 'Identity, Privacy and Accountability in an Information Age.' PhD diss., The University of Queensland, 2008.
• Tavani, Herman T. Ethics and Technology: Controversies, Questions, and Strategies for Ethical Computing. John Wiley & Sons, 2011.
• Toekke, A. 'An Exploratory Study of the Privacy Concerns of Users of Social Networking Sites: An Individual Perspective.' Communications of the IBIMA 2011 (2011): 1-7.
• Business Wire. ' Internet Becomes Central Part of Modern Family Life.' July 6, 2010. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100706006056/en/Internet-Central-Part-Modern-Family-Life

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EDITORIAL article

Editorial: growing up in a digital world - social and cognitive implications.

• 1 Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
• 2 Faculty of Arts and Education, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
• 3 Department of Education, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
• 4 Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States

Editorial on the Research Topic Growing Up in a Digital World - Social and Cognitive Implications

Digital media availability has surged over the past decade. Most of us regularly check our emails, video chat, follow social media, search for new information, and play games. We frequently swap the real world for the digital world. It is the new “normal!” Children growing up today use digital media for learning and entertainment and to make social connections. The increasing usage of digital media has caused grave concern among parents and teachers. Rapid growth in access has been accompanied by similarly rapid growth in research on the effect of digital media. A search conducted in early July 2021 that included four major databases—Scopus, PubMed, PsycInfo, and ERIC—returned 1,777 hits when combining the search terms “digital media” and “screen time” with the age specifiers “infancy” and “preschool” (see Figure 1 ). A vast majority of the identified output, 1,269 hits, is from publications dated January 2016 to December 2020. Phrased differently, the mean average number of publications per year was 0 during the 1990s, 13 during the first decade of the twenty first century, and 176 from 2011 to the end of 2020. However, these publications often failed to consider the family context and socio-cognitive implications of digital media. As a result, there are many unanswered questions such as: What role do factors like content, context, and culture play in determining the impact of digital media, for good or for ill, on children's learning and development? The current Research Topic aims to tackle some of these questions.

Figure 1 . Returned hits from a search combining the terms “digital media” and “screen time” with “preschool” or “infancy.” Search date July 3, 2021.

The book includes 18 papers organized into three sections, one that focuses on book reading and language, one that covers potential risks associated with early media use, and one group of studies brought together under an umbrella we call New Developments. Some papers cut across sections and could have been included in more than one section. We are pleased to report that a majority of the papers result from international collaborations representing work conducted in nine countries. Six papers are from North America (Canada and USA), 10 from Europe (Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and United Kingdom), and two from Asia (Israel and Singapore).

Book Reading and Language

Digital media lends itself to storytelling, leading to an expansion in the ways children encounter stories. Apart from oral and traditional print books, even the youngest children have unprecedented access to film, apps, and games. The result is that most young children come across stories in formats other than traditional paper books. Therefore, it is not surprising that quite a few contributions focused on how these newly formatted stories relate to traditional book reading.

The current set of studies targets several sub-questions inherent to the new ways of encountering stories. The Courage et al. study tests whether 2- and 3-year-olds can operate a tablet purposefully to achieve a goal and, for instance, learn new information from a picture book app compared to a matched paper book. Others focus on the impact the digital book has on adult guidance. Müller-Brauers et al. zoom in on the narrative potential of a commercial digital picture book app and found that despite the helpful narrative animations provided by the app, most parents failed to fully exploit the narrative potential. In the same vein, Hoel et al. explore how early childhood educators prepare young children to participate in a shared digital-book reading session before the session and how successful they are in using typical features of digital books.

Crawshaw et al. explore a new storytelling technique, the film-like format, and how that contributes to story comprehension; to this end, they compare what children retain from a story after sharing a wordless picture book with the parent or watching a video of the same wordless story. Gaudreau et al. wonder how vital the physical presence of the adult is for comprehending a picture book. They compare the effects of a prerecorded pseudo-contingent condition with a video chat or live condition and report that 4-year-old children can comprehend a book equally well when read over video chat than when presented live.

Potential Risks

Contributors examined how the content and context of media exposure were associated with decreases in the quality of play and language interactions, sleep, and focused attention. Two short-term longitudinal studies by Gueron-Sela and Gordon-Hacker and McHarg et al. examined multiple dimensions of media exposure that predicted later poorer attention and executive functioning outcomes. The use of longitudinal designs and the more detailed media exposure measures are important current directions.

Three studies used the CAFE media assessment questionnaire, which is part of the CAFE set of tools described by Barr et al. In Italy, Bellagamba et al. found that Italian children were exposed to media at similar levels to English speaking children from the US and the UK. Higher levels of media exposure were associated with poorer sleep habits. In Sweden, Sundqvist et al. examined how a 2-year-old's language use across the day is associated with daily media use. More direct exposure to media without active parent involvement was associated with poorer language outcomes. However, joint media engagement and book reading were associated positively with language. In Germany, Konrad et al. found that parental quality decreased when parents received a message on their phone during a free play session. Some parents also completed a paper version of the questionnaire and the change in interactional quality was the same suggesting that texting may be similar to other everyday interruptions. These findings suggest that complex patterns of media usage are associated with several domains.

New Developments in Digital Media Research

This broad heading does not imply absolute uniqueness, but it is our view that these papers represent new and evolving subfields. Sun and Yin discuss how variation in input affects bilingual children's language learning. For bilingual children in Singapore, multimedia resources are more important for Mandarin learning than for English. This finding is explained by an unbalanced bilingual environment that provides poorer input for Mandarin learning than for English.

How do children evaluate information from different types of digital media? Hassinger-Das et al. studied this in a group of 117 children aged 3- to 8-years. YouTube videos are more attractive than smartphone or TV videos. This occurred despite the finding that the children tended to believe the YouTube information to a lesser degree.

Three studies focus on new aspects of co-media use. First, in an innovative study, Dore et al. analyses non-linear dynamics of how joint media engagement (JME) affects language development in 6- to 8-year-old children. Surprisingly, it is not until the number of hours children spend with digital stories (films, games, apps) exceeds 5 h per day that new media have a demonstrably negative impact on language development. Their findings pave the way for a more nuanced perspective on the effect of digital media in young children.

Low JME seems to be especially detrimental for children with high media use. In an experimental study of 2-year-olds, Heimann et al. report that JME did support learning from 2D media although not to the level of a 3D presentation. Finally, Ochoa and Reich show the influence of income and education in an interview study of Latin families. Parents graduated from high school stress the importance of co-using media but not parents with lesser education.

A different and new aspect of how children are affected by digital information is presented by Tolksdorf et al. who compared 4–5-year-old children's social interaction with a social robot and a human person. The children used social referencing in both interactions but significantly more so when interacting with the robot.

Future Directions and Theoretical Implications

In sum, the papers demonstrate both the potential risks and benefits of early media exposure. If the content and context are right, digital media might provide a rich window to learning in new and exciting ways; to explore the world and social connections. Studies on the role of JME suggest promising avenues in which to work with families to use media effectively. The content also matters. Books, for instance, take new exciting formats due to technology and new storytelling techniques may open up opportunities to enjoy and comprehend stories.

Due to rapid technological advances, however, there remain several gaps in the literature. For example, modern media are mobile, interactive, and often short in duration, making them difficult to remember when parents, teachers, relatives, or older children respond to questions about media use. Although standardized measures of media usage are still being developed, it was encouraging that many of the included studies used more comprehensive multi-dimensional exposure measure. But researchers should also move beyond the exclusive use of parent reports and integrate direct observation of behavioral, physiological, or neural responses and use longitudinal approaches to capture the trajectory of exposure patterns.

Although we were able to solicit manuscripts from multiple countries, the samples recruited for the Research Topic were still WEIRD. Thus, we need to know more about cultural variation and for whom does media work. Notably, only Ochoa and Reich and Sun and Yin directly examined cultural implications. Future research should consider how patterns of media use are similar and differ between countries as a function of different parenting practices and include detailed multiple-dimensional media measurement.

Digital media provides exciting new opportunities for learning that have not been fully explored. In the current Research Topic, researchers examined different approaches to storytelling and social interactions. However, most research is based on standard materials and does not experiment with new technology-enabled possibilities. For instance, most contributions to this collection of papers targeting book reading do not control the enhancements in the target books but use what the commercial market offers. The fact that commercial design is more or less accidental may partly explain why findings are often inconsistent and hard to interpret. Digital book reading research will improve if researchers use materials grounded on conceptual frameworks. For example, Kucirkova and Littleton attempt to advance the digital-book format by theorizing about the distance between the familiar and the novel words of the story and propose to narrow the gap between reality and the interpretations of reality by adding other senses (e.g., taste and smell).

Instead of materials available on the commercial market, it might be essential to create materials that align a conceptual framework. None of the studies produced new technology to explore the hidden potential of technology. Research grounded in multimedia learning that tests how the format optimally benefits young children's story comprehension and incidental word learning is sorely needed. To achieve that goal, we need new collaborations between app developers, computer specialists, literacy educators, and specialists in digital learning, which seem indispensable to forward our insights on effective use of technology during early childhood.

Finally, we hope that the collection of papers will serve as a window to our current state of knowledge, inspire new researchers to enter the field, and motivate new collaborations among those already active.

Author Contributions

MH, AB, and RB contributed equally to the writing of the Editorial and all authors approved the submitted version.

This research was in part supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (2016-00048) to MH.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Keywords: early childhood, digital media, learning, language, book reading, joint media engagement, technoference, robotics

Citation: Heimann M, Bus A and Barr R (2021) Editorial: Growing Up in a Digital World - Social and Cognitive Implications. Front. Psychol. 12:745788. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.745788

Received: 22 July 2021; Accepted: 06 September 2021; Published: 30 September 2021.

Edited and reviewed by: Christiane Lange-Küttner , University of Bremen, Germany

Copyright © 2021 Heimann, Bus and Barr. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Mikael Heimann, mikael.heimann@liu.se

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Who Is Your Digital Self? – Simple Essay Example

Who is your digital self (essay example).

WHO IS YOUR DIGITAL SELF? – The world has evolved and from our manual self we also have changed into someone that it has become.

For many years now, technology is of top news in society and along with its development are people who are also adapting to it.

Some people managed to stay put as to their actual self but there are some who became affected by this evolution of technology that they also came to change the way they are in the world of its advancement or what it should be called having a digital self.

Social media is the number one technology platform where we engrossed ourselves into and that’s where we discover our digital self. I bet each one of us has at least one social media account.

Social media is the number one technology platform where we engrossed ourselves into and that’s where we discover our digital self. I bet each one of us have at least one social media account.

I tend to be someone I’m not in the real world and that’s something I have discovered about myself. With that being said, I think we have these personalities that we thought we don’t have but when exposed to different situations will surface out.

It’s got its advantages because compared to my real self I am more confident and freer but likewise it has its disadvantages. Being in social media, I tend to be more open thus myself being subject to greater vulnerability.

Having different personalities doesn’t directly imply being a two-faced person but it just shows that you can be more than what you are now. You can be way better from who you are in actual life and that’s a good thing.

The digital world could be the place where you can enhance yourself and be able to apply it in the real world thereafter.

READ ALSO: Do Grades Define Individual Competency? – Essay

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Essay on Digital Literacy

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100 Words Essay on Digital Literacy

Understanding digital literacy.

Digital Literacy is knowing how to use digital devices like computers, tablets, and smartphones. It’s about understanding the internet and social media. It’s important because we live in a digital world. We use digital tools for school, work, and fun.

Why is Digital Literacy Important?

Digital Literacy helps us learn and communicate. It helps us find information quickly and easily. It can also keep us safe online. We need to know how to protect our personal information and avoid dangerous sites.

How Can We Improve Digital Literacy?

We can improve Digital Literacy by learning. Schools and libraries often have classes. We can also learn from friends or family. Practice is important too. The more we use digital tools, the better we get.

Challenges of Digital Literacy

Sometimes, Digital Literacy can be hard. Not everyone has access to digital tools. Some people might find them difficult to use. But with time and patience, we can overcome these challenges.

In conclusion, Digital Literacy is a vital skill in today’s world. It helps us learn, communicate, and stay safe online. Despite challenges, we can improve our skills with learning and practice.

250 Words Essay on Digital Literacy

What is digital literacy.

Digital literacy is the ability to use digital devices like computers, smartphones, and tablets. It’s about knowing how to search for information online, use social media, send emails, and protect your personal information. It’s a bit like learning to read and write, but with technology.

In today’s world, technology is everywhere. We use it for school, work, and even fun. Being digitally literate helps you do all these things easily. It also helps you stay safe online. For example, knowing how to spot a scam email can protect you from losing money or personal information.

Parts of Digital Literacy

Digital literacy has many parts. One part is technical skills, like knowing how to use a keyboard or mouse. Another part is understanding how to find and use information online. This could mean using a search engine, reading a blog post, or watching a video tutorial.

Learning Digital Literacy

You can learn digital literacy at school, at home, or even by yourself. Many schools teach students how to use technology safely and effectively. Parents can also help by showing their kids how to use devices and the internet responsibly.

The Future of Digital Literacy

As technology keeps changing, digital literacy will also change. It will be more important than ever to keep learning new skills. This will help us keep up with the digital world and make the most of the opportunities it offers.

In conclusion, digital literacy is a key skill for the modern world. It helps us use technology safely and effectively, and it will only become more important in the future.

500 Words Essay on Digital Literacy

Digital literacy is the ability to use digital technology, such as computers, smartphones, and the internet. It includes knowing how to find information online, how to use social media, and how to stay safe on the internet. Just like we need to know how to read and write in school, we also need to learn digital literacy in today’s world.

Digital literacy is important because we use technology every day. We use it for schoolwork, to talk to our friends, and even for fun. If we do not know how to use technology safely and effectively, we could get into trouble. For example, we might accidentally share personal information online, which can be dangerous. Or we might have trouble completing school assignments if we do not know how to use the internet for research.

Digital literacy is not just about knowing how to use a computer. It has many parts. Here are a few:

1. Technical skills: This includes knowing how to use different devices, like laptops, tablets, and smartphones. It also includes knowing how to use different types of software, like word processors and web browsers.

2. Information skills: This involves knowing how to find and evaluate information online. Not everything on the internet is true, so it is important to know how to tell the difference between reliable and unreliable sources.

3. Safety skills: This includes knowing how to protect yourself online. This means understanding how to create strong passwords, how to avoid scams, and how to protect your personal information.

Improving Digital Literacy

There are many ways to improve digital literacy. Schools often teach students how to use technology and the internet. There are also many online resources that can help. These include tutorials, videos, and websites that explain how to use different technologies. It is important to practice these skills regularly, just like any other skill.

In conclusion, digital literacy is a vital skill in today’s world. It involves understanding how to use technology, how to find and evaluate information online, and how to stay safe on the internet. By improving our digital literacy, we can become more confident and capable users of technology.

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My Experience With Digital World Essay Example

As an individual, I had not fully acknowledged the impact that digital technology had on me and the people around me. It was until one day when I forgot my phone in my dorm room that I was able to analyze exactly how digital technology has a significant influence. Prior to that particular day, I was like everyone else. I would use my phone to check my social media, check my class schedules, interact with my friends, get information on when and where parties would be around the campus. Basically, the access to this digital technology made me feel alive; it made me feel like I existed. With no phone, and considering the fact that my laptop was also at the repair shot means that I had zero connection. It was as if I was wiped out from the face of the earth. I felt lost, alone and left out. On that day, I was cut out from digital technology. It dawned on me that the aspect of digital technology had two sides, the positive and the negative, however, the negative aspect of digital technology outweighs the positive side.

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During my lectures, I noticed that once a lecturer presented the students with a question, most of us went straight ahead to find the information on the internet by googling. This amazed me as I had never noticed this behavior before, mainly because before, just like everyone else I was focused on finding the answer on the internet. I realized that the majority of my classmates had a habit of continually seeking help from technology to find answers. This was both a negative and positive side of digital technology. Firstly, considering the positive side, digital technology is an important aspect of education and knowledge considering the fact that it provides unlimited access to useful information. Secondly, on the negative side, digital technology led to diminishing intelligence. This could be seen where my classmates did not bother to think at all; instead, they fully relied on the internet to answer questions. In my opinion, this could be a major problem in the future generation and people will be no longer interested in education, I mean why go to school to learn something that you could easily find on the internet. Other than diminished intelligence, digital technology is a distraction (Richtel 1-11.). I also noticed that a majority of the girls in class were on their phones, maybe texting or checking out their social media. This distraction is seen in Celling your soul film whereby one of the says, "I don't know why I felt the need to know what everyone else was doing" (Celling your Soul). This refers to the fact that he spends most of his time on social media just to know what people are doing.

I realized that there was so much more than I could learn in order to understand the impact of digital technology. I, therefore, decided to do my own research by involving my classmates just to know about their perspective on digital technology. To begin my research, after my lecture, I decided to approach a group of 3 girls. Just like I had expected, only two of them paid attention to what I was asking. The other one was busy on her phones. So I asked them why they felt the need to be constantly checking their phones. One of the girls, a blonde, said that she just like having many friends on social media to talk to. I pointed out that social media friends were not actually real friends. She went ahead to say that it did not matter, to her they were like real friends even though she knew that they did not necessarily care about her. This made me realize just that digital technology through social media was the main source of superficial relationships and that people were actually okay with it. The second girl pointed out that she mainly uses social media to track down people that she met but was unable to get their contacts. This did not make any sense to me so I went ahead to ask her why she wouldn't get the contacts when she met the individual. According to her, it's easier to approach someone using social media considering the fact that she is a shy person and lacks the confidence to ask people for their contacts. In my understanding, she utilized technology to fix a mixed connection situation. As I was in a hurry to get to my dorm room to get my phone, I decided to get the opinion from the last girl quickly. What she shared with me surprised me. She began by asking me not to judge her, which I said I wouldn't. She began by saying that she was currently seeing a therapist due to her social media addiction. It broke my heart to see the damage that digital technology could cause. So I went ahead to know exactly how she knew of her addiction and what influenced it. "Sometimes, I would go online, and I would see how many attention all the other girls were receiving, and this made me sad, and I felt ugly." She said. "So I decided to fake a lifestyle and pretend to be someone else" She added. According to her, for some time, she felt content by the amount of attention she was receiving; however, this habit took over her, and she just could not stop as she had anxiety. "It kinda gave me weird anxiety about being on the internet all the time" (Celling your Soul). Basically, digital technology made her have social media-induced envy which led to her being a catfish (Barrie-Dee, Christopher, and Steven 182.). As much as I wanted to continue the conversation, I had to part ways with them as I was dying to get my phone back. As I said goodbye to them, I thought deeply of how many others out there could be experiencing the same problem. This made sense to me just like in the film, where one of the students says," it's very much an addiction," referring to the use of social media (Celling your Soul).

When I got to my dorm room, the first thing I did was look for my phone, and as soon as I found it, I checked for notifications and new messages. The excitement that I had while scrolling through my notifications made me realize that I was also affected by digital technology. Well, but I was just a normal student, and the only exciting things on my phone were an invite to a party and an internship acceptance. I had zero notifications on my social media, and this made me wonder if I was not cool enough or interesting. At this point, it was evident that social media as a whole could diminish one's self-esteem and confidence. However looking on the bright side, the fact that no one invited me to this party but instead they used digital technology only meant that it was an important entity meant to connect people in different places at different times. Other than that the response about my internship application brought into light the fact that digital technology highly contributed to instantaneous and global connections in a way that I could make a request to another person or firm in another are and still manage to get the attention that I deserve (Kline et, all.). This was just but yet another positive side of digital technology on me as a student and the society as a whole.

This day was such an eye-opening day for me as I got to have an experience of digital technology from a different perspective. I got to be on the other side of the table where I had been cut out off from the use of technology for a whole day. I believe that if anyone explained to me what I had just experienced, I would not believe them. I would probably think that they were just being biased, either supporting or being against digital technology. This particular day is a day that I would never forget. In fact, I think that it was a good learning experience that made me learn more than just the impact of technology. I learned that the best way that one could criticize a certain entity is by being on the other side of the table in order to experience that entity or opinion from a different perspective and viewpoint.

To conclude this, I think that whether digital technology has a positive or negative impact on me depends on how I choose to make use of it. At the end of the day, I am still in control. It will only affect me negatively if I allow it to either by being addicted or focusing all my attention to it. I would recommend that each and every person get acquainted with the knowledge on the effects of technology. This would enable them to discover ways to use it effectively without being affected. In my opinion, I still think technology is an important aspect of our lives.

Works Cited

Barrie-Dee, Christopher, and Steven Morris. "Technology and its discontents." The Age of Perversion: Desire and Technology in Psychoanalysis and Culture 32 (2016): 182.

Celling your Soul. "Celling Your Soul (Trailer)." YouTube, commentary by Raphael Rabe, 10 Mar. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZZju5-VjFU

Kline, Stephen, Nick Dyer-Witheford, and Greig De Peuter. Digital play: The interaction of technology, culture, and marketing. McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP, 2003.

Richtel, Matt. "Growing up digital, wired for distraction." The New York Times 21 (2010): 1-11.

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3 Career-Building Strategies for an Increasingly Complex World of Work

• John Winsor

How to leverage platforms, open talent, and AI.

Most workers used to have fixed roles within a hierarchical organization, but today the nature of work today is becoming fluid and dynamic. Project-based work and freelancing are increasingly common, and many roles are now defined by outcomes rather than hours spent at a desk. Success in this new work environment requires not only recognizing that this shift has taken place but also actively strategizing to leverage it to your advantage. It’s crucial, in particular, the authors argue, to adopt three key strategies: leveraging digital platforms and networks, utilizing open talent and freelancers as a secret weapon, and harnessing the power of AI to augment your capabilities.

In today’s dynamic work landscape, driven by rapid technological advancements and a global shift towards more fluid and flexible work arrangements, the importance of cultivating a learning mindset, building a diverse skill set, adopting a flexible work ethic, and prioritizing work-life harmony has never been more pronounced. These elements are foundational, the very minimum required to navigate the complexities of modern work. However, simply possessing these qualities is no longer sufficient to ensure success. The nature of work has evolved, and so too have the strategies we must employ to thrive in this new era. The emergence of the new world of work that includes project-based freelance work, remote work, digital-collaboration platforms, and AI, or what we call the open-talent economy, has fundamentally altered how work is performed, valued, and conceptualized.

• John Winsor is the co-author of Open Talent: Leveraging the Global Workforce to Solve Your Biggest Challenges . He is also the founder and chairman of Open Assembly and an executive-in-residence at the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard (LISH),

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Guest Essay

My Story Was Told in ‘Hotel Rwanda.’ Here’s What I Want the World to Know Now.

By Paul Rusesabagina

Mr. Rusesabagina is the president and founder of the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation.

This week, the world will again turn its eyes toward Rwanda. April 6 marks 30 years since the start of one of the most horrific events in modern history, the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Nearer in time but not unrelated, it has been just over one year since I left Rwanda and returned to the United States, released from prison after 939 days in captivity .

I have not yet spoken at length about what those years in a Rwandan prison were like, or about the daily reality for Rwandan political prisoners who, like me, found themselves behind bars for exercising their freedom of expression. It has been a long year of physical and emotional recovery that has allowed me finally to put pen to paper again, and I expect the healing process will last the rest of my life.

The experience of being kidnapped, tortured, imprisoned and silenced by those whom I had used my voice to criticize is difficult to describe. At many times during my captivity I believed I would be silenced for good, and that I would never again see my wife, my children and my grandchildren. But today I am a free man. And as we face this important and difficult milestone, I feel grateful to be able to join with my fellow Rwandans and reflect on what, if anything, we can take from this terrible chapter of our shared history.

For me and for so many Rwandans, the 1994 genocide remains the focal point of my life. The months of April to July 1994 were a time of incomprehensible horror, in which our beautiful country was dragged into hell by brutal violence and killings on a scale previously unimaginable. At some points in the crisis, as many as 10,000 people were butchered in a day, primarily by machetes and other crude weapons. Even now, three decades later, and even for those of us who saw the killings firsthand, it is impossible to process the depravity and the gravity of the loss.

At the time, I was the manager of the Hôtel des Mille Collines in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, where I tried to protect not only my own young family but also the 1,268 people who sought shelter within the walls of the hotel. Their bravery, and our daily macabre dance with death, became the backdrop of the 2004 film “Hotel Rwanda.” This film brought to the screen our compromising, negotiating and begging with our would-be executioners to try to keep the waiting militia at bay.

This experience is still difficult for each one of us to relive. I am grateful to have survived it. I am also grateful for the two personal lessons I decided to take from living through this atrocity. The first: Never, ever, ever give up. This is what sustained me when I was kidnapped in August 2020 by an operative of the Rwandan intelligence services and wrongfully detained in Rwanda on charges of terrorism and other crimes, along with others who were critical of the current government. The second: Words are our most effective weapons when we are confronted by those who seek to oppress and victimize others.

Both of these lessons are on my mind today, as the world considers the state of Rwanda 30 years after the genocide brought us to our knees.

Now Rwanda is viewed by many nations as an important global partner — a partner that has bravely rebuilt itself into a thriving and inclusive modern society. But it is increasingly difficult to remain blind to the jailing — and even the disappearances and killings — of those who criticize or challenge the Rwandan government’s power. Independent journalists, human rights advocates and opposition political parties are nearly absent from the landscape of Rwandan civil society today. This is not a reconciled or inclusive society; it is an authoritarian state.

The rest of the world should stop looking the other way. As a global community, we are being confronted with the rise of authoritarianism and the co-opting of institutions meant to support basic liberties, such as the freedom of press, speech and association. Throughout the world, politics is being used as a tool to promote division, and in some cases violence, in order to gain or maintain power. We continue to see the fundamental human rights that we fought so hard for being upheld only for certain people in certain circumstances. And, as is so often the case, the vulnerable members of society are the ones who pay the greatest price. Rwanda, which today lacks strong democratic institutions and free and fair elections, is not immune to these problems.

I believe that it becomes the role of those of us who have been empowered by our circumstances to speak out, to act as a check on abuses of power and to resist the erosion of our fundamental rights. It is imperative to speak against those who seek to reduce civic space and basic freedoms for their own political gain, choose to fuel violence for profit and openly engage in brutal wars for material wealth. This becomes our work, even if speaking out puts us in the direct line of fire, as it has for me and my family.

Thirty years on from the Rwandan genocide, there is still cause for hope. We can see young Rwandans all over the world continuing to advocate genuine reconciliation and the building of a democratic Rwanda, despite the overt risks of doing so. We can see the bravery and unfailing resolve of the women of Iran and Afghanistan and those who support them. We can see the open resistance of people in Myanmar, Ukraine, Syria and Sudan standing up to tyranny and oppression. Their courage reminds us that it is our collective duty to counter autocratic regimes and policies and promote equality and, above all, peace.

This is my prayer, and hope, for the next 30 years, for Rwanda and beyond.

Paul Rusesabagina served as manager of the Hôtel des Mille Collines in Kigali during the Rwandan genocide, a story later told in the film “Hotel Rwanda.” In 2005, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. He is the president and founder of the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation.

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'Panama Papers' trial starts. 27 people charged in the worldwide money laundering case

Associated Press

PANAMA CITY – The trial of 27 people charged in connection with the worldwide “Panama Papers” money laundering started Monday in a Panamanian criminal court.

Those on trial include the owners of the Mossack-Fonseca law firm that was at the heart of the 2016 massive document leak.

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The Panama Papers include a collection of 11 million secret financial documents that illustrate how some of the world's richest people hide their money.

The repercussions of the leaks have been far-ranging, prompting the resignation of the prime minister of Iceland and bringing scrutiny to the leaders of Argentina and Ukraine, Chinese politicians and Russian President Vladimir Putin, among others.

The often-delayed trial opened Monday, with lawyers Juergen Mossack, Ramón Fonseca and other ex-employees of the firm facing money laundering charges.

Mossack was present in the courtroom; lawyers for Fonseca said he was in a hospital in Panama.

The case centers on allegations the firm set up shell companies to acquire properties in Panama with money from a sprawling corruption scheme in Brazil known as the Car Wash , or Lava Jato in Portuguese.

Fonseca has said the firm, which closed in 2018, had no control over how its clients might use offshore vehicles created for them. Both Mossack and Fonseca have Panamanian citizenship, and Panama does not extradite its own citizens.

The two were acquitted on other charges in 2022.

The records were first leaked to the German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung, and were shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which began publishing collaborative reports with news organizations in 2016.

U.S. federal prosecutors have alleged that Mossack Fonseca conspired to circumvent American laws to maintain the wealth of its clients and conceal tax dollars owed to the IRS. They alleged the scheme dates to 2000 and involved sham foundations and shell companies in Panama, Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands.

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The physical sensations of watching a total solar eclipse

Regina G. Barber

Science writer David Baron witnesses his first total solar eclipse in Aruba, 1998. He says seeing one is "like you've left the solar system and are looking back from some other world." Paul Myers hide caption

Science writer David Baron witnesses his first total solar eclipse in Aruba, 1998. He says seeing one is "like you've left the solar system and are looking back from some other world."

David Baron can pinpoint the first time he got addicted to chasing total solar eclipses, when the moon completely covers up the sun. It was 1998 and he was on the Caribbean island of Aruba. "It changed my life. It was the most spectacular thing I'd ever seen," he says.

Baron, author of the 2017 book American Eclipse: A Nation's Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World , wants others to witness its majesty too. On April 8, millions of people across North America will get that chance — a total solar eclipse will appear in the sky. Baron promises it will be a surreal, otherworldly experience. "It's like you've left the solar system and are looking back from some other world."

Baron, who is a former NPR science reporter, talks to Life Kit about what to expect when viewing a total solar eclipse, including the sensations you may feel and the strange lighting effects in the sky. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Baron views the beginning of a solar eclipse with friends in Western Australia in 2023. Baron says getting to see the solar corona during a total eclipse is "the most dazzling sight in the heavens." Photographs by David Baron; Bronson Arcuri, Kara Frame, CJ Riculan/NPR; Collage by Becky Harlan/NPR hide caption

Baron views the beginning of a solar eclipse with friends in Western Australia in 2023. Baron says getting to see the solar corona during a total eclipse is "the most dazzling sight in the heavens."

What does it feel like to experience a total solar eclipse — those few precious minutes when the moon completely covers up the sun?

It is beautiful and absolutely magnificent. It comes on all of a sudden. As soon as the moon blocks the last rays of the sun, you're plunged into this weird twilight in the middle of the day. You look up and the blue sky has been torn away. On any given day, the blue sky overhead acts as a screen that keeps us from seeing what's in space. And suddenly that's gone. So you can look into the middle of the solar system and see the sun and the planets together.

Can you tell me about the sounds and the emotions you're feeling?

A total solar eclipse is so much more than something you just see with your eyes. It's something you experience with your whole body. [With the drop in sunlight], birds will be going crazy. Crickets may be chirping. If you're around other people, they're going to be screaming and crying [with all their emotions from seeing the eclipse]. The air temperature drops because the sunlight suddenly turns off. And you're immersed in the moon's shadow. It doesn't feel real.

Everything you need to know about solar eclipse glasses before April 8

In your 2017 Ted Talk , you said you felt like your eyesight was failing in the moments before totality. Can you go into that a little more?

The lighting effects are very weird. Before you get to the total eclipse, you have a progressive partial eclipse as the moon slowly covers the sun. So over the course of an hour [or so], the sunlight will be very slowly dimming. It's as if you're in a room in a house and someone is very slowly turning down the dimmer switch. For most of that time your eyes are adjusting and you don't notice it. But then there's a point at which the light's getting so dim that your eyes can't adjust, and weird things happen. Your eyes are less able to see color. It's as if the landscape is losing its color. Also there's an effect where the shadows get very strange.

Crescent-shaped shadows cast by the solar eclipse before it reaches totality appear on a board at an eclipse-viewing event in Antelope, Ore., 2017. Kara Frame and CJ Riculan/NPR hide caption

You see these crescents on the ground.

There are two things that happen. One is if you look under a tree, the spaces between leaves or branches will act as pinhole projectors. So you'll see tiny little crescents everywhere. But there's another effect. As the sun goes from this big orb in the sky to something much smaller, shadows grow sharper. As you're nearing the total eclipse, if you have the sun behind you and you look at your shadow on the ground, you might see individual hairs on your head. It's just very odd.

Some people might say that seeing the partial eclipse is just as good. They don't need to go to the path of totality.

A partial solar eclipse is a very interesting experience. If you're in an area where you see a deep partial eclipse, the sun will become a crescent like the moon. You can only look at it with eye protection. Don't look at it with the naked eye . The light can get eerie. It's fun, but it is not a thousandth as good as a total eclipse.

A total eclipse is a fundamentally different experience, because it's only when the moon completely blocks the sun that you can actually take off the eclipse glasses and look with the naked eye at the sun.

And you will see a sun you've never seen before. That bright surface is gone. What you're actually looking at is the sun's outer atmosphere, the solar corona. It's the most dazzling sight in the heavens. It's this beautiful textured thing. It looks sort of like a wreath or a crown made out of tinsel or strands of silk. It shimmers in space. The shape is constantly changing. And you will only see that if you're in the path of the total eclipse.

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Watching a solar eclipse without the right filters can cause eye damage. here's why.

So looking at a partial eclipse is not the same?

It is not at all the same. Drive those few miles. Get into the path of totality.

This is really your chance to see a total eclipse. The next one isn't happening across the U.S. for another 20 years.

The next significant total solar eclipse in the United States won't be until 2045. That one will go from California to Florida and will cross my home state of Colorado. I've got it on my calendar.

The digital story was written by Malaka Gharib and edited by Sylvie Douglis and Meghan Keane. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at [email protected].

Listen to Life Kit on Apple Podcasts and Spotify , and sign up for our newsletter .

NPR will be sharing highlights here from across the NPR Network throughout the day Monday if you're unable to get out and see it in real time.

Correction April 3, 2024

In a previous audio version of this story, we made reference to an upcoming 2025 total solar eclipse. The solar eclipse in question will take place in 2045.

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Two Florida men plead guilty to insider trading charges related to taking Trump media firm public

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a Fox News Channel town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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NEW YORK (AP) — Two Florida brothers pleaded guilty Wednesday to insider trading charges, admitting making over $22 million illegally before the public announcement in 2021 that an acquisition firm was taking former President Donald Trump’s media company public.

Michael and Gerald Shvartsman entered their pleas to a single count of securities fraud in Manhattan federal court, where Judge Lewis J. Liman set sentencing for July 17.

The men said that they knew they were committing a crime when they made trades in October 2021 through a New York broker.

“I’ve made a terrible mistake,” Gerald Shvartsman told the judge as he pleaded guilty. He added that it was “wrong and the mistake I will pay for dearly the rest of my life.”

His brother told the judge that he knew that his securities trades were wrong and illegal.

The indictment against them did not in any way implicate Trump — who is again seeking the presidency this year — or Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns his Truth Social platform and began trading on the Nasdaq stock market on March 26. Trump has a 60% stake in the company.

According to the indictment, the men invested millions of dollars in the securities of the special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp. after they were tipped off that a potential target of DWAC and another acquisition company, Benessere Capital Acquisition Corp., was Trump Media.

Authorities said the defendants sold their securities for $22 million in profits once the news about the Trump Media business was made public.

At the time, Michael Shvartsman owned Rocket One Capital LLC, a venture capital firm, according to court papers.

According to court papers, the men shared their secrets with friends and employees, who also bought tens of thousands of units of securities ahead of the merger announcement with Trump Media & Technology Group. Typically, a special purpose acquisition company is formed with the intent to merge with a private company.

The merger and public trading of Trump Media & Technology Group was eagerly anticipated by Trump’s political supporters, who viewed the Truth Social platform as a worthy response to Trump’s temporary ejection from some social media platforms after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol .

Michael Shvartsman, 53, of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, and his brother Gerald Shvartsman, 46, of Aventura, Florida, remain free on bail while they await their sentencings. They were both arrested last June.

Federal sentencing guidelines in plea letters signed by the men recommended that Michael Shvartsman receive about four years in prison and his brother spend at least three years behind bars. The deals also call for Michael Schvartsman to forfeit $18.2 million in profits and for his brother to relinquish $4.6 million.

In a release, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Insider trading is cheating, plain and simple, and today’s convictions should remind anyone who may be tempted to corrupt the integrity of the stock market that it will earn them a ticket to prison.”