On the one hand, digital storytelling can serve for good with the ability to bring awareness of the plight of others, or our future selves, by personalizing stories through games, such as There Once Lived and SPENT, or through social media projects, such as World Without Oil, or the combination of both in social gaming, such as Pokemon Go. On the other hand, because we are so immersed in technology, providing a plethora of channels from which we receive a seemingly endless stream of information (drinking from a fire hose), we need to spend a significant amount of energy retaining our focus and attention on the important elements of our lives. There now exists a huge digital market providing apps to help us remain focused. The developers of the digital platforms of communication are in the business of attention economy, as well as surveillance capitalism. By developing ways of keeping our attention, using active algorithms, if and when we are not paying attention, we become addicted to the fire hose while we continue providing them with so much of our raw data.
Therefore, as technological advancements continue, it becomes more imperative to be cognizant of the stories we pay most attention and be savvy to who is telling the story and asking why. Being aware and savvy allows us to become storytellers, to pass along that knowledge to others so they can learn from our experience and become storytellers themselves.
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