DIGITAL AGORAPHOBIA

If agoraphobia is the fear of wide open spaces or uncontrolled social conditions, then digital agoraphobia is the fear of the open web or uncontrolled social media. From those in the newspaper business to corporate security engineers, there seems to be an inherent fear of an open and uncontrolled digital future. The world has shifted from a time where news media was controlled by editors and digital content was closed off by proprietary technologies and stored away behind silos/paywalls. This change has caused binary thought to pervade our public discourse wherein an open/uncontrolled web is distorted by fear mongers. A democratized digital future is purported to be the exact opposite–a haven for data thieves, uninformed amateurs, and enemies of capitalism. When it comes to debating the merits of technological progress, we need to avoid the logical fallacy of false dilemma and accept the notion that nuance is necessary.