Nathan Jurgenson’s sarcastic and affiliated remarks in his essay “The IRL Fetish,” published in an online magazine, The New Inquiry, help bring about the point that people often look at the world in black and white, online and offline, instead of on a gray scale. He is a sociologist who openly makes fun of others who comment on how the world should unplug completely from online structures; he names them hypocrites. His coined remark of “digital dualism” summarizes what these critics mean, of how the offline and online cannot coexist, but he concurs that people can live in the middle of these realms, for the offline cannot exist without the latter. This is an agreeable assessment on the use of technology, seeing as how the term was coined by …show more content…
It changed how people viewed research, medicine, and communication. Where scientists were once baffled and confused, they are now able to understand more than ever before with technology’s helping hand, diving deeper into the ocean, space, the human body and more. Decades ago, communication between different societies was a nearly impossible concept to grasp whereas now a simple touch of a phone can allow communication to all parts of the world. The advancement of a site like Facebook, although looked down upon by many, including the critics Jurgenson decided to include in his essay, allows people to pick and choose who they can share their lives with and if the said group has to listen and prod through pictures. The site originated as a dating site of sorts that then innovated to a world where people can reconnect with lost ties they once had. Not everyone that a person once associated with still lives in close proximity to said person and thus allows for people to reconnect with people from all parts of the globe that have access to internet. Jurgenson illustrates the notion that people putting photos and scribing statuses on platforms such as Facebook are engaging acts of validity, thus proving that a said someone’s online life is “real”. Furthermore, sharing something on the internet is not just for online friends or showing someone “pics or it didn’t happen” …show more content…
This gives upcoming generations the ability to learn of new cultures and ideas while still being immersed in their own. It is noted that today’s current American generation is genuinely more open-minded to the world due to the fact that they have grown up with technology at their fingertips; their first president was an African-American male, same-sex marriage is legal, children are typically less naïve when it comes to sexual matters. People are maturing due to