Changes in perception due to digital devices
The world has experienced rapid and significant advancements over the last few decades, in particular related to technological and digital developments. One thing that has remained constant is our need to communicate and form relationships within and across generations. Our self-awareness and potential for self-discovery arguably impact our ability to communicate. In my previous work, I explored whether self-discovery improves relationships, and my findings showed that many people were unhappy and lived busy lives without giving much thought to themselves. In their relationships, most people felt that there was an absence of communication. Notably, this pattern can be seen across generations. We do not have enough self-awareness to have an authentic conversation with others, so we spend time discussing superficial matters. Among digital native generations, technology further hinders communication: we spend too much time on our digital appliances to have meaningful conversations in real life. The so-called digital natives live in a different era from the one experienced by their predecessors, leading to a disconnect between generations.
On the other hand, digital technology can also enhance communication. Therefore, I want to see a change in how we live in harmony between the digital world and real life. Furthermore, technological advancements have greatly impacted our self-awareness and how we perceive and present ourselves to others. Some believe that the discovery of the mirror changed how we see and perceive ourselves. As mass media has shown us, we perceive the world and find ourselves in it through our surroundings. Still, in the mass media era, we were able to separate ourselves from our environment as viewers.
I want to see a change in how we live in harmony between the digital world and real life.
However, in the digital media era, we see and perceive ourselves through our own eyes in the reflection of the small screen and through the eyes of others who respond to us online, for example, through likes and comments on social media. Moreover, we can modify how we present ourselves in the digital media space, which further has an impact on our self-awareness and perception. Within the various platforms that allow us to create, we create and reproduce our own opinions and feelings and live in a cycle of consumption and production.
Other digital media elements include exposure to other representations and images, such as adverts. These images can influence how we perceive ourselves and further impact our self-awareness. In the past, adverts were longer and were built on a narrative, allowing the viewer more time to view and reflect on the content. Nowadays, however, as a result of fewer resources and the need to cater to the public’s shortening attention span, adverts are focused on being as impactful as possible in the shortest amount of time. This means that viewers have less time to reflect and critically analyse the content they are being exposed to. Furthermore, due to the prevalence of advertising across social media platforms that are predicated on short videos (e.g., TikTok), viewers are sometimes exposed to hundreds of adverts and explicit and implicit messages daily.
Although young adults are often taught media literacy at school, they live in the digital media age. Little is known about the impact of media literacy education in these modern times and whether users can effectively apply the skills that they learned in the digital age.
The internet age’s connectivity and openness have pushed us into a labyrinth of digital mirrors.