Impacts of the digital revolution
Introduction
‘A Visit from the Goon Squad’ is the title of Jennifer Egan’s short story who is the writer of the entire novel. She is seen to bring out the issue of digital revolution which is widely discussed globally. Digital revolution is taking place globally with new changes in the communication and transport industry. The new technology is bringing in new changes in the world especially in the economic, social and entertainment sector. Political and government policies give new room for digital changes. As technology becomes modern and digital change is felt, environmental pollution posses as a negative impact towards digital revolution. Many negative effects are experienced globally as a result of climate changes causing natural calamities like floods and draught cases. The ICT sector is promoting digital revolution since many developments are as a result of the modern technology globally. Digital revolution is used especially in the music industry where even small kids are able to identify the music stars within the globe that are able to apply the modern technology in writing their songs. Digital revolution is well depicted in the novel by the writer in terms of cultural changes as well as changes in the music industry.
The book has faced criticism from people of being a short story rather than a novel but the author clearly suggests that it is a novel. Sarah Churchwell a renowned American lecturer has discussed the book and emphasized on the key issues in the book. The novel is about various antagonistic characters and how various human ideas are different and can be utilized differently. “Time's a goon, right? You gonna let that goon push you around?” (Egan, 2010) each person in the novel is penalized by time and circumstances to which they live. The loved ones cause disappointments to most characters that live under painful circumstances of the past without hope of a bright future. The music industry is reflected in the novel where the youngsters are aware of the current and traditional music stars as a result of the society they live in (Savage, 2008).Lou is portrayed as a young girl who is seen to seduce the music producers and who within a short time becomes an adviser to a group of youngsters forming a male music band (Melander, 2011). The music industry is seen to get support since it has had many music producers including Bennie and journalists to air the music and makes it popular to the public.
Alison’s brother is seen to be in love with rock music and the pauses the music has. The pauses in the rock music are symbolic to show the differences between family members. The music industry is seen to be transformed by the digital revolution as Bennie observes. The sound is well made under the influence of new technology thus enhancing many producers who are able to produce songs in regard with the new technology. The culture of the people in the novel as elgan puts it is seen to be transformed by the digital revolution as a result of the modern technology. The language of the people is also seen to change from worse to best as the revolution is modernized to digital. The music industry as well as the sound industry has had positive impacts as result of the improved technology. As Egan discusses her last chapter she emphasizes more on the language where she wonders how children can survive without a modern language. "If thr r children, thr mst b a fUtr, rt?" (Egan, 2010) Egan imagines a time when the language becomes decomposed as result of more and more digital changes. Language relies more on the technology at present and thus decomposing the English language can lead to future miscommunication.
The people are seen to live in an environment which is not full of chaos. Little misunderstanding may occur but are solved by people without much chaos. The society is seen as a peaceful society with rise in utilization of modern technology. People who are seen to cause harm to the society are always regarded as history later in future (Egan, 2010). The digital revolution is seen to cause negative impacts to the people in this society. Bennie’s wife has a brother who is involved in a rape case in which he is accused of attempting to rape an actress by the name kitty Jackson. The journalist is seen to go against the culture of the society which is wrong. The digital revolution is seen to contribute negatively to growth of children. Children are so focused and occupied with learning the modern music and the modern music stars, actresses and actors instead of focusing more on their education. “My 9-year-old loves Lady Gaga and refers to Madonna as ‘old school’. There’s no way to avoid becoming part of the past.” (Egan, 2010) Egan is seen to quote in her book that the culture of the society is deteriorating as a result of changes in technology. Rock music is seen to be the most loved by the people where they follow the musicians associated with rock music. The culture of the people is dependent on the music where the culture is seen to change with change in technology (Savage, 2008).
Egan uses a power point print out to show that the society is digital and makes use of the modern technology. Egan’s experiments and examples revolve around use of power point as a way of showing that the ICT sector is turning digital. The community is taking the modern trend in its way of carrying out activities for example in the music producing industry where sound has been enhanced by use of digital equipments (Egan, 2010). The children for example Alison’s brother can differentiate between the current and old musicians as a result of advanced technology in the new music industry. The youth is seen to lose its innocence since they are able to access modern music which interferes with their culture and have a negative impact on the youth. The innocent culture of the youth is fading away as a result of the modern technology adapted by the youth and especially teenagers. Egan is seen to show how digital revolution impacts on the culture of the society positively and negatively. The future is also affected by the technology in use (Egan, 2010).
Conclusion
From the above discussion the author outlays the impacts of digital revolution which are both positive and negative. Culture and language depend on the technology being used by the people. Culture is impacted by change in technology and as shown by the author can result to harmful effects on the young generation. The music industry which depends on the type of technology in use can corrupt the behavior of teenagers and contribute to their moral growth. The music industry is seen to be transformed by the digital revolution as Bennie observes and thus the music industry benefits as result of ICT developments.
References
Egan, J. (2010). A visit from the Goon Squad. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Jagodzinski, . (2006). Youth Fantasies: The Perverse Landscape of the Media. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Melander, R. (2011). Write-a-thon: Write your book in 26 days (And Live to Tell About It). Cincinnati: F+W Media.
Savage, J. (2008). Teenage: The prehistory of youth culture, 1875-1945. New York: Penguin.
