Digital media usage has grown significantly over time. What began as early internet development in the 1950s did not truly impact culture until the 1990s with the emergence of email and the World Wide Web. Today, the internet is driven by vast amounts of online information, commerce, entertainment, and social networking. Younger generations now view alternatives to constant digital connectivity as antiquated. However, some question if this demand for unlimited access is hindering our ability to explore outside our digital comfort zones. Researchers also suggest that overuse of digital media can lead to negative side effects.

1. digital media growth by: becca o’donovan image: Bruce Pastor - flickr

2. in the 1950s , the development of the internet began its journey through the 20 th Century image: Rayna C - flickr

3. that the internet began to have such a distinct impact on culture but it wasn’t until the 1990s , image: Razor512 - flickr

4. which was when e-mail and the WWW emerged its way into society image: Horia Varlan - flickr

5. but clearly, that wasn’t enough image: Katrina Nicole - flickr

6. the has internet continued to grow , and is now driven by even greater amounts of online information and knowledge , by commerce , by entertainment , and by social networking image: Chichacha - flickr

7. where this kind of innovation wasn’t around nowadays, it’s hard to understand a time image: Helico - flickr

8. we have progressed to a time where alternative methods to using digital media in the eyes of Generation Y are viewed as archaic image: Maguis & David - flickr

9. we want instant we want fast we want efficient image: Florin Draghici - flickr

10. but is this demand for unlimited access hindering our ability to explore outside our to digital media digital comfort zone ? image: Jake Windsor - Facebook

11. Let’s look at it this way… image: Dominique Godbout - flickr

12. the average teenager spends 31 hours online every week image: Naan - flickr

13. ½ hour spent searching weight loss and dieting 2 hours spent watching porn 2 hours spent surfing YouTube image: Zoovroo- flickr

14. 12 hours spent catching up on social media 3 ½ hours spent IM-ing friends image: Trexx - flickr

15. but with all said and done, researchers suggest that overuse of the digital media can lead negative side effects will this stop anyone from consuming the media around us? image: Ronnie W - flickr

16. we look forward to the new technologies to come we’ve become so submerged in the digital media realm, that rather than looking back, image: evoo73- flickr

17. the latest buzz before we go… image: Hammershaug - flickr

18. & mobile phones may be to blame” “ scientists may have found the cause of the world’s sudden dwindling population of bees – image: Gabofr - flickr

19. studies as far back as 2008 have found that bees are repelled by mobile phone signals image: Nurpax- flickr

20. without bees, human survival would be virtually impossible as we rely on bees as an integral and necessary part of our agricultural and ecosystems to produce honey, and more importantly, pollinate our crops image: epsos.de - flickr

21. so the question is… image: dsbnola - flickr

22. Would you sacrifice your mobile device for the bee population, and in turn, the survival of future generations to come? image: Weird Beard - flickr

23. credits: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-Much-is-a-Terabyte http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/internet-pornography-statistics.html http://www.telegraphy.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology4574792/Teenagers-spend-an-average- of-31-hours-online.html http://marketingcharts.com/television/internet-surpasses-tv-as-most-essential-media-12499/ http://mashable.com/2009/08/29/youtube-viewers/ http://inhabitat.com/its-official-cell-phones-are-killing-bees/ image: Naughty Architect - flickr

24. image: Vistamommy - flickr