Google has just recently released a wearable
product called ‘Google Glass.’ It is essentially a smart phone or computer a person can wear on their face. Google
Glass aims to merge our virtual world with our real one, however, it is very
doubtful that this merge will be for the betterment of society. There are multiple fears held by the public in relation to Google
Glass, one of them concerning privacy. A concise example demonstrating this
trepidation comes from an occurrence early last year in a bar in San Francisco
[6]. A female “Google Glass Explorer” – a person who tests the Google
Glass before it’s official release – was supposedly assaulted and harassed upon
her arrival in the bar. Some of the patrons of the bar were alarmed as they
assumed they were being recorded, others could have just been “Glassholes” (a
popular term to describe a person who is in opposition of the Google Glass [7]).
However, undoubtedly a much more pressing apprehension that has arisen from the
release of Google Glass is the affect it will have on kids and teenagers.
Researchers claim the allure of modern technology, while it affects adults too,
has a particularly powerful affect on young people [10]. Surfacing
cutting-edge technologies, such as Google Glass, can be detrimental to minors,
as their developing brains can become more easily accustomed to constantly
switching tasks and less able to sustain focus. Furthermore, this would impact
the way a child learns at school, or rather, doesn’t, due to their
progressively depleting attention spans. Because technology is constantly
evolving, education systems need to source new and innovative ways to encourage
their students to learn, study and stay concentrated. For instance, many
teachers and students around the world are bringing their classroom online by setting
up Facebook pages for their subject. These are to keep everyone connected and
to make learning resources more accessible. However, this gives students the
opportunity to easily get absorbed in something other than their schoolwork,
bringing hours of distracting content to their fingertips. Therefore, educators
need to evaluate these risks and resolve ways to keep their students on the
task at hand. Ultimately, emerging wearable technologies, such as Google Glass,
will have positive – easy access to the virtual world - and negative – loss of
privacy, damaging impact on a minor’s brain - effects on people of all ages in
the immediate and far-off future.
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