Introduction
The modern world is highly digitalized because technologies are actively implemented in various fields, including education, science, everyday life, and other spheres. This statement denotes that people make and deal with large volumes of data created by these technologies. According to Belisle (2006), “digital knowledge is knowledge not only accessed through digital tools but also partially processed through digital tools” (p. 57). That is why people frequently deal with information found online. While many people consider this information an integral element of the modern world, few understand that this asset can lead to positive and negative consequences. Regular interactions with the online sphere can affect people’s behavior and cognitive processes. Even though digital technologies result in advantages and drawbacks for knowledge creation and use, positive outcomes significantly outweigh all the potential limitations.
Advantages of Knowledge Creation and Use through Digital Technologies
Digital technologies provide individuals with numerous possibilities to manipulate data and create knowledge. According to Belisle (2006), these opportunities include categorizing, semantic marking, summarizing texts, and other processes. These possibilities demonstrate that people can use particular tools that analyze and process data to obtain specific results or conclusions. Another advantage refers to the fact that digital technologies allow for working with various representational schemas. While people mainly deal with textual information, specific tools can interpret images and summarize video materials (Belisle, 2006). These examples demonstrate that it is now easier and faster for people to generate knowledge because technologies process data and offer results. This approach demonstrates that individuals experience specific cognitive activities that include information structuring, knowledge processing, and construction of meaning (Belisle, 2006). Thus, digital technologies provide people with improved possibilities for knowledge creation and impact their cognitive processes.
Specific attention should also be drawn to the effect of knowledge visualization. This term denotes that a specific technology is used to transform textual information into graphs, charts, tables, and other visuals. Under particular conditions, this process can be conducted automatically to provide individuals with digital knowledge. Data visualization implies significant benefits that include increased stakeholder engagement, flexibility, and interactivity (Troise, 2021). This statement indicates that the given technology proves that people mobilize their cognitive efforts to understand the presented information.
Now, it is reasonable to analyze the positive effects of using digital technologies in specific spheres. Firstly, Ferdinand (2000) focuses on the political area and presents a few significant advantages. Policymakers often rely on digital technologies to organize plebiscites and find public opinions regarding some issues (Ferdinand, 2000). This application makes the process of information creation and processing easy and fast for individuals because technologies cope with the task. These technologies also promote data internalization, which is beneficial for people who can access data from different locations (Ferdinand, 2000). When technologies create knowledge, it is typically stored in servers that can be accessed by numerous people if this information is not confidential.
Secondly, digital technologies are widespread in the workplace and provide employees with various possibilities. In particular, the digitalization of the workplace makes it easier for individuals to think and make decisions because technologies typically act as enablers and mediums at work (Okkonen et al., 2019). Simultaneously, workers can rely on specific tools and applications to plan and perform their tasks more successfully (Okkonen et al., 2019). This information demonstrates that knowledge creation ability faces significant improvements because of these technologies.
Thirdly, it is worth admitting that digital technologies are actively applied in education, which denotes that both educators and students meet positive consequences. For example, data visualization is advantageous for learners because this approach promotes positive cognitive processes. Mudra (2020) indicates that digital technologies result in improved writing, reading, listening, and speaking skills among various students. Teachers can also rely on specific devices and applications to create knowledge and assist learners in absorbing it. For example, educators can use social media to stay in touch with students and provide the latter with consultation and promote their growth and development. All these examples demonstrate that digital technologies lead to versatile advantages in various spheres. These applications allow individuals to create knowledge by utilizing few efforts with the help of automatic processes and provide them with assistance that facilitates people’s thinking and decision-making processes.
Negative Effects of Digital Technologies
On the one hand, one should clarify that digital technologies imply some adverse impacts on people’s thinking. Some researchers stipulate that the implementation of digital technologies leads to impaired cognitive processes. For example, Lizunova et al. (2022) indicate that reading from a screen can be associated with attention deficit, hyperactivity, and the preference for visual symbols instead of using logic and delving into the text. In this scenario, people get accustomed that the most important details of material are presented on screen. This fact denotes that individuals do not need to study and analyze texts to extract their main ideas and objectives. Digitalization makes this skill useless, which denotes that individuals do not train their critical thinking abilities.
It has already been mentioned that digital technologies make it easier and faster to create knowledge. For recipients, this state of affairs is also beneficial because individuals do not face any difficulties finding or accessing the required information. Even though this approach seems positive, it is eventually negative because it depreciates the meaning of knowledge. Al Rawashdeh et al. (2021) mention that since people can access information without making a significant effort, they do not understand its value. Simultaneously, people do not have much motivation to learn something new or develop their cognitive abilities (Al Rawashdeh et al., 2021). This example demonstrates how an essential advantage can be easily turned into an essential drawback.
Furthermore, a significant drawback of digital technologies refers to the fact that not all individuals are ready to accept their benefits. Even though this statement sounds paradoxical, scientific evidence supports it. Ren et al. (2019) admit that people tend to avoid dealing with digital technologies if they have already had negative experiences with this phenomenon. For example, if a person has worked with poorly created charts or graphs as a way to visualize textual data, this individual is likely to avoid dealing with any visuals in the future. This process is known as a cognitive cost that refers to psychological barriers to achieving benefits from using digital technologies (Ren et al., 2019). That is why it is reasonable to remember that digitalization can adversely impacts people’s thinking.
On the other hand, digital technologies result in drawbacks regarding the creation of knowledge. Social media is a requested platform for creating and sharing data. Even though this method is convenient and free, one should not ignore potential disadvantages. According to Ranieri (2019), this channel can be characterized by the spread of inaccurate information, threats to privacy, and a waste of time. This finding indicates that the creation of digital information through social media is not subject to strict regulations and requirements. Consequently, various people do not make significant efforts to post anything, which again results in depreciating information value.
Finally, it is reasonable to admit that digital knowledge and especially visuals, should meet specific requirements to be valuable and informative data pieces. If these rules are not followed, digital information cannot be considered effective, which is a significant disadvantage. This information implies that if a person wants to create digital knowledge, they should have specific skills and abilities (Bjursell et al., 2021). If this requirement is not satisfied, this generated knowledge is of bad quality because it does not create the effect that was intended. Consequently, people should draw significant attention to the process of creating digital knowledge.
Conclusion
This assignment has focused on digital technologies and commented on how they affect people’s thinking and knowledge creation. These technologies and digital knowledge imply both advantages and disadvantages for individuals. On the one hand, positive impacts refer to the fact that digitalization helps people save their resources, improve decision-making, and facilitate certain cognitive processes. These outcomes explain why digital technologies are widespread in the present world. On the other hand, one should admit that the devices and applications under analysis can have adverse outcomes. For example, they include reduced motivation, the depreciation of information value, and the spread of inaccurate information. These findings demonstrate that it is challenging to overestimate the role of digital technologies and knowledge unanimously. Thus, one can conclude that it is possible to maximize positives and minimize drawbacks if skillful and experienced individuals deal with the creation and distribution of this information.
References
Al Rawashdeh, A. Z., Mohammed, E. Y., Al Arab, A. R., Alara, M., & Al-Rawashdeh, B. (2021). Advantages and disadvantages of using e-learning in university education: Analyzing students’ perspectives. Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 19(3), 107-117.
Belisle, C. (2006). Literacy and the digital knowledge revolution. In A. Martin & D. Madigan (Eds.), Digital literacies for learning (pp. 51-67). Facet.
Bjursell, C., Bergmo-Prvulovic, I., & Hedegaard, J. (2021). Telework and lifelong learning. Frontiers in Sociology, 6, 642277.
Ferdinand, P. (2000). The Internet, democracy, and democratization. Frank Cass.
Lizunova, I. V., van der Weel, A., Garcia-Febo, L., & Pshenichnaya, E. V. (2022). Reading on paper and screens: Advantages, disadvantages, and digital divide. Annals of Library and Information Studies (ALIS), 69(1), 34-43.
Mudra, H. (2020). Digital literacy among young learners: How do EFL teachers and learners view its benefits and barriers? Teaching English with Technology, 20(3), 3-24.
Okkonen, J., Vuori, V., & Palvalin, M. (2019). Digitalization changing work: Employees’ view on the benefits and hindrances. In Á. Rocha, C. Ferrás, & M. Paredes, (Eds.), International conference on information technology & systems (pp. 165-176). Springer.
Ranieri, M. (2019). Professional development in the digital age. Benefits and constraints of social media for lifelong learning. Form@ re-Open Journal Per La Formazione in Rete, 19(2), 178-192.
Ren, C., Deng, Z., Hong, Z., & Zhang, W. (2019). Health information in the digital age: An empirical study of the perceived benefits and costs of seeking and using health information from online sources. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 36(2), 153-167.
Troise, C. (2021). Exploring knowledge visualization in the digital age: An analysis of benefits and risks. Management Decision, 60(4), 1116-1131.