Do you remember the day when technology and digital culture became such an important part of your life? I sure don’t. As far back as I can remember in my short 20 year old life, technology has captivated me.

Isn’t it crazy to think that in such a short amount of time, technology has continued to grow and advance? We have millions of resources, apps, software, and gadgets at our finger tips waiting to consume us into this digital culture. From smartphones and Netflix to social media and digital newspapers; we all have our guilty pleasures that cause us to give in to this technological culture. Mine mostly consist of binge listening to audio books until late hours of the night, searching online shops for new gadgets I wish I had the money for, and playing video games or on social media in all the in-between hours of the day.

Now, you see, while some may argue that this is a bad thing because it makes people lazy and disconnected, we, as a human race, have two options: (1) We can fear robots taking over the world, causing us to all parish in isolation; or (2) We can embrace that the speeding growth of technology is inevitable so we might as well take advantage of it.

My vote goes to embracing it. If we can’t beat the robots, why not join them in growing and changing, right?

I’m a strong supporter of technology as a tool for innovating productivity in life. Going into my third year at the University Of Ontario Institute Of Technology, of course I am! I don’t think people realize or appreciate how technology can make their lives much easier. Whether it is sharing precious moments with loved ones who live far away, making information easy to find and accessible, assisting us in getting jobs done or keeping us entertained; technology is used each and every day to make our lives more simplified. No longer do we have to go out of our way to be productive with our lives—we just have to know what resources are available and how to use them.

For example, if you wanted to know my name, I’d make you Google this article or search the webpage for author information—just kidding! Because this is a technology Newsfeed, it would probably be quite hypocritical not to “make life more simplified” for you, wouldn’t it? Well, in that case, my name is Jennifer—but you can call me Jen—and I will be posting about technology and how it affects our lives and our culture. I hope to share with you ways in which I have found technology has impacted my life and ways in which you can use technology to make positive changes in your life. I hope you choose to walk alongside me as we learn together that even robots need some love too!

About the Author

Jennifer Liwanag is a fourth year Legal Studies student minoring in Communications & Digital Media Studies at the University Of Ontario Institute Of Technology. While her childhood dream has been to pursue law, she has an undying love for writing, creativity, discovering new gadgets and learning new software. You can keep up to date with her digital and creative lifestyle on her personal Newsfeed (www.jennibearrxo.com/) where she shares her new favourite gadgets and crafty projects.