'Gadget addict' Great Britain faces a turbulent future
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A teacher at the school reiterates the girl's honesty that society today is becoming increasingly preoccupied with technology, and this fixation is slowly overtaking "fashion" in the conventional sense.
"It is frustrating to know that students are meddling with their new mobiles or MP3 players under their desks. Although the children are not the only culprits, sometimes our staffroom sounds like a fruit machine, with all the bleeping going off from mobile phones etc. I can quite easily believe technology is overtaking clothes in the style status," said the teacher.
Emphasis on "techno teens" and the growing importance of technology within youngsters was epitomized by Google UK's recent announcement. Google's headquarters in London publicized a project for young computer enthusiasts to replace "rubbish" British government websites with new and improved ones. Milo Yiannopoulus, the technology guru said to the Press Association: "We think the government is really, really rubbish at making websites and we think a bunch of teenagers can do it better."
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| 3-year-old Frankie is already persuading his parents for his own mobile phone! |
It is little surprise therefore that it is children's priorities to own highly technical and state-of-the-art devices in order to impress and out-do friends, as the emphasis on the importance of technology rages though society and "techno teens" are encouraged to "be the best" in the technology stakes.
These new revelations seem almost conclusive by the fact that the same week the "tech to impress" report was announced, Apple also announced digitally re-mastering versions of the Beatles albums, which are due to go on sale in the UK in early September. Similar to a Blackberry, these re-mastered albums are freshly packaged in smooth and shiny digipack sleeves, protected a CD comprising of music almost exactly the same as it was when it was recorded 40 years ago. Dubbed to "reinvent Beatle mania", these "sonic polishes" sealed by a shiny décor, could be considered as the ultimate example of a society obsessed with image, exterior and owning the "latest thing".
Neil McCormick said about Apple's "reinvention" to The Telegraph: "I piled them up (the CDs) on the kitchen table and pawed over them with near religious awe. And I realized I couldn't even bear to split the cellophane wrapping and open the gatefold sleeves. I knew the music inside out anyway."
And Neil McCormick is not alone in "pawing over" new and novel technology with "religious awe". As the world becomes more and more technologically advanced and increasingly competitive it seems to "keep up" with these advancements has become an integral part of many image-conscious individuals. And sadly it is children who are the most compelled to comply to peer pressure.
Intervention to prevent the negative effects of technology, particularly the internet, has become billion yuan industry in China. Perhaps countries like Great Britain, instead of quickly condemning China's "harsh" methods to cure internet addiction, like electric-shock therapy and internet dependency clinics, should be concerting more time and money on techniques to prevent the public, especially children, into becoming addicted to technology.
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