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By Phillip Lentsch, Class of 2018
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| Phillip Lentsch Class of 2018 |
I am a proud member of the Millennial Generation, a cohort rooted in the threads of the World Wide Web. Throughout my whole life, I can always recall the presence of some form of a computer or smart phone near me: my first GameCube, a Nintendo DS, an iPhone, an iPad, etc. It’s easy to try to downplay the influence technology has had on my life, but instead, I’ve been continuously seeking to acknowledge its power. This semester, I enrolled in POLS 362, otherwise known as Contemporary Political Economy. Despite the dense course title, this class--and specifically the professor, Dr. Abbott--has completely revamped my view of the world. As the first five weeks of school have trudged along, we have examined the effects that globalization and the Information Revolution have had on the international market, both positive and negative. Because of the Internet’s ability to connect the world in ways humans never thought possible even ten years ago, the exchange of money has, of course, followed suit and become almost entirely virtual. With this newly online explosion in currency and trade, countries such as the US have thrived, while others, such as third world regions in Africa, have been exploited and put at an insurmountable disadvantage.
Looking at this from a more microeconomic level, I’ve begun to ponder even the most minuscule of interactions as computer-driven. Nowadays, conversations with my nine-year old cousin always involve the presence of a smart phone; oftentimes, she scoffs at the idea of getting less than 300 likes on a picture she’d post on Instagram. Besides the obvious thought of what use a fourth grader could have for an iPhone, I proceeded to tweet how frustrated I was with the reality of cell phones and social media taking over our lives. The irony was all too clear.
I have had countless conversations with myself over the pros and cons of having a smart phone, usually only focusing on the latter. But whether I like it or not, the Information Age we live in today will only continue to move forward. Despite my aversion to being glued to the computer screen, however, I have come to view this matter in a more positive light. As Jon Kabbat-Zinn, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School once said, “You don’t need the iPhone: you have the most exquisite apparatus in the known universe sitting right in your head---the most complex
organization of matter in the entire universe. And here are we, feeling a little depressed, feeling like we’re not getting where we need to be, when really you might be exactly where you need to be.” Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created the iPhone because it was meant to revolutionize the way humans operate with their world. What is the point, I asked myself, of complaining about an inanimate object if I can use its brilliance to improve my reality?
Love or hate the Internet, the iPhone, the Macintosh, the Droid, whatever your preference, one fact must always be recognized: they all have the potential to enact immense social and cultural change in the blink of an eye. Regardless of all the times I’ve criticized Facebook for trying to be my imaginary friend, I had nothing but respect when it allowed its users to add a rainbow filter to their profile pictures on the day same-sex marriage become nationally legal. GroupMe, an app I used to hate for its constant notifications that I thought would make my phone spontaneously combust, has now connected me with hundreds of people in volunteer organizations that I have joined. Even something as simplistic as Snapchat has integrated a “Discover” category into its interface in order for people to stay as informed as possible. We don’t have to be digital slaves to our phones and laptops---they are more transformative than we give them credit for.
So as I previously said, I remain a proud Millennial. The expansion of the computer and the invention of the smart phone have changed my life for the better, not worse. Of course, with this burden comes great responsibility, but at no other point in history has it been so incredibly easy for humans to bridge the gaps we face with one another. Whatever career choice I decide to pursue, I will always acknowledge the power the Internet has given me to excel as an individual, hopefully with a new and improved iPhone 6 in my back pocket.
Phillip Lentsch is a sophomore McConnell Scholar studying political science and english. He is from Louisville, Ky.