1.

Explain the following terms

a. Digital Culture
A digital culture is a concept that describes how technology and the internet are shaping the way
that we interact as humans. It’s the way that we behave, think and communicate within society.
A digital culture is the product of the endless persuasive technology around us and the result of
disruptive technological innovation. As an example, people are using PayPal, Apple Pay, Google
Pay and Touch'n Go Wallet to do payment and transfer money. For shopping, going out to shop
is not necessary now. People use online shopping applications such as Lazada, Shopee, eBay and
Amazon. Besides, people start staying at home since the pandemic started. Many applications
such as Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams are used as a platform for online learning and
work meeting too.

b. Digital Society
A Digital Society is an interdisciplinary research area and a kind of progressive society that has
been formed as a result of adaptation as well as integration of advanced technologies into the
society and culture. People also defined different kinds of people into digitally native and
digitally immigrant. Digitally native a person who has grown up in the digital age, in close contact
with computers, the Internet, and video game consoles, and later mobile phones, social media,
and tablets. Digitally immigrant is a person who was raised prior to the digital age. These
individuals, often in the Generation-X and older, did not grow up with ubiquitous computing or
the internet, and so have had to adapt to the new language and practice of digital technologies.
Digital dependency can be defined as the overuse of the internet or electronics to the point that
one's daily life is affected. This usually refers to Gen Z because study found that 18 to 24 year-
old check their phones “86 times a day, which is higher than any other age group… With 89
percent of Generation Z teens utilizing the Internet multiple times a day”.

2. How does technology promote culture change?

The relationship between technology and culture is they affect each other directly. For example, we
prefer texting each other than having communication face-to-face with other else, we prefer
watching YouTube at home than heading to a local movie theater, etc. As you can see, the more
advanced the technology, the more advanced the culture. We improve our life style by adapting the
culture changes brought by the improvement of technology.

First of all, technology changes our working style. From the OPEC oil crisis of the 1970s that drove up
the price of fuel to the Clean Air Act of 1990 that required businesses to reduce commuting hours,
the mindset that people had to be “at work” to work slowly changed as we started to work from
home. From this case, we know that it is possible to not working at a certain place, which makes a
more convenient and freer environment workplace for employees. Due to this changes, the
country’s economy will also be promoted.

Secondly, technology achieved wireless communication. This is one of the greatest technology
changes in the world. In the past, peoples usually communicate each other using letters, and deliver
it using animals and humans. But when telephone is invented, things change. As the saying goes, 'in
appearance it's far away, but in reality, it's very close'. You can communicate with a person wherever
he/she is.

Lastly, technology allows people to have the correct basic medical knowledge. In those old days, our
ancients believe in many types of folk prescriptions. It is because at that time they don't have
enough basic medical knowledge and a proper doctor to teach them what are the true causes of
making them sick. For example, a plague pandemic called "Black Death" which occurred in Afro-
Eurasia from 1346 to 1353. During that time, most people believes that bathing will spread Black
Death. Imagine if someone explain earlier that bathing is the way that keeps your body clean and
helps to end that plague, then there wouldn't have almost one third of European die to this
pandemic. As we can see, if technology is not advanced enough, culture will be drag backwards by
many events, such as pandemic.

3. The identities of many in Gen Z are intertwined with their online lives impacting the
emotional health

a) How and/or why is the emotional health being impacted?

Gen Z has grown up in the digital age. With the advent of communication technology, it is
indubitable that social media platforms such as Facebook Twitter and Instagram have become part
of parcel of Gen Z. Social media has inevitable brought about huge impact on Gen Z’ers lives,
especially on their mental health, either in negative way or positive way.

First of all, social media enable them to find mental and emotional support in online communities or
groups. When they are struggling or facing difficulties in their lives, they can easily seek for others
who face similar problems and who are able to understand what they are going through
emotionally. These virtual communities have provided a safe place where people are free from
judgement that often found in the real life. If they feel shy or ashamed, they can even go anonymous
online.

On the contrary, social media has also affected Gen Z’ers emotional health adversely. Peer pressure
is one of the reasons that contributes to negative effect. Nowadays, young people like to compare
with each other. They want to appear appealing online so that they can get attention from their
friends and others, as well as getting more likes and followers. To maintain appearances on social
media, for example pretending they are having a perfect life, they have to always be extremely
careful in their life so that no one know the truth behind the screen. Eventually, they can get
stressed and ultimately affect their self-esteem.

In addition, cyberbully can also bring about negative impact on Gen Z’ers mental health. Some
netizens or haters are wicked that they like to judge people or left harsh remarks in the comment
section. As the saying goes, words are mightier than the swords, those spiteful comments can cause
psychological trauma on victims, for the worst case, it might trigger suicidal thoughts. Thus, it is
imperative to watch out the words we used when giving comments.

b) How effective is “eMotional Impact and Support”?

The counsellor of “eMotional Impact and Support” will give them the support that they need to heal
from the experience, rebuild their confidence, and teach them skills to safeguard their mental health
against any long-term effects. Besides, the counsellor can help them find the strength, empathy, and
integrity that they’ll need to break away from bullying. They will help them to develop their
empathy, understand the impact they may be having on their victim, and move forward in a kinder
and more inclusive way. Last but not least, “eMotional Impact and Support” can also actually
improve their health and decrease their mortality risk.