Every day, we roll over after waking and check our phones- who might have called us, texted us, emailed us, etc. What often goes unnoticed to us is the digital aspect of our phones, and what that often does for us. In simple terms, to be “digital” means to operate in a form of data that is “binary.” Binary data consists of ones and zeros, or the alphabet- a discrete set of symbols that can produce the complexity that our phones hold. What we do not often realize is that all the information relayed to us in the form of aesthetically pleasing social media apps and layouts are comprised of a computational pattern of symbols that we likely would not understand if we had seen this coding on its own. Being digital allows us to receive and relay information with great resolution, whereas analog has an infinite number of options to relay information, often decreasing resolution when attempted to be copied and displayed. Without a digital revolution in society, our data would often be riddled with mistakes due to the infinite factors attributed to analog data. How lucky are we to live in a world where digitalization is our norm!
