Digisoc 3: Freedom in a Digital World
The internet has provided us with a platform to strengthen social bonds and build communities on a global scale, despite geographical and linguistic barriers that occur in the real world. Our evolution into a digital reality can be approached optimistically, with increased social connectivity and communication efficiency it is clear that our lives are changing for the better. However, to successfully navigate this new world we are experiencing, we must remain conscious of the many dangers faced whilst doing so.
Electronic communication
Digital communication, the communication of a message through an online medium, provides a fast and efficient means of interaction with others, on a global scale. This improved interaction offers significant social connectedness through direct communication, publication or consumption of media, and interactions with said media. From personal experience, the internet has provided opportunities to find social groups and like-minded individuals that I identify with through social communication platforms, such as Instagram or Twitter. The fact that digital communication is not limited by geographical boundaries or language barriers highlights how it can be used to bring together people from all walks of life whilst helping individuals to fulfil their social needs. It further acts as a means of education on cultural and ethical differences, helping break down dissimilarities that have been present throughout history.
However, it must be noted that this ease of interaction has encouraged a rise in unethical communication, with the likes of harassment and stalking being simplified through digital means. A study into online harassment showed an increasing presence of unethical online behaviour in our digital world, as it evolves, it was recorded that there has been a 12% increase in online users who have experienced some form of online abuse since 2014, which unfortunately highlights that these new forms of communication are not being utilized for the greater good.
Other forms of unethical online behaviour, that are not just limited to communication, include the following:
- Identity theft— online identity theft is when a hacker obtains the information of consumers and employees for financial benefit.
- Digital plagiarism — stealing work or ideas from online resources without accrediting the creator or author.
- Trolling — baiting emotional responses through the online publication of provocative media or messages.
- Media piracy — the direct copying of copyrighted media without consent.
Identity and Anonymity
In our digital world, the vast majority of internet users are members of various social media platforms, such as Instagram or Twitter. These platforms provide a safe space for users to be themselves. You can portray yourself in any way you want, and selectively choose what parts of your life to share with the world. You can choose who to interact with and which communities you reside with, it provides us with greater autonomy and control over our social lives that we have never had before. It also allows us to stay in touch with the world during times of uncertainty, such as the COVID-19 lockdowns, when many people went through identity changes due to the freedom and opportunity to do so. The internet allowed people to be the versions of themselves that they desire and provided a platform for self-expression and creativity at a time when it was almost impossible to do so in the real world. However, it should be acknowledged that online identity can be easily influenced by others, the fact that users rarely share the negative aspects of their lives means many have a distorted sense of reality, which is not beneficial for society at all as it can contribute to an array of issues, such as mental health problems.
Another problem we face regarding our online identity is the constant data collection concerning our online behaviour and interactions. Almost all websites use cookies to record and store sensitive information about users and their online behaviour, often the user is disempowered through their unawareness of the collection of personal data and the reasons behind it. With this being said, we could assume that nobody will have complete online privacy or anonymity as a majority of this data can be stored for around 30 years. Whilst the user is often unbeknownst to this, your digital behaviour and true personal identity will be evident for quite some time. Furthermore, the user has little to no awareness of, or control over, how their data is used. We can therefore conclude that a progression into a digital world reduces the power of the individual, as their data is extensively stored and analysed without their knowledge. Furthermore, we have seen in recent years how easy it can be for those with ill intentions to access this sensitive information, raising the question “is privacy a human right?”
The following video briefly explains how cookies work, the reasons behind them, and what we can do to maintain some control over the data we share:
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processed by machines. AI has been used to automate work processes, such as in manufacturing and data analysis, create artwork and help people in their daily lives. The benefits of AI include the following:
- Faster decision-making and increased efficiency: AI can help us more accurately and effectively perform tasks, outside and within the workplace.
- Improved healthcare: AI can aid researchers to discover new treatments and more accurately diagnosing patients, often improving patient experience and reducing overall costs.
- Manage repetitive tasks at home and in the workplace: AI helps automate repetitive tasks, resulting in error reduction, increased efficiency, and greater time for humans to focus on their creativity.
- Digital assistance: AI can help us through task automation, recommendation personalization through data analysis, and speech recognition for those needing help.
Despite the doors that AI has opened for us, society has seen some significant downsides to this technology. In the last decade, we have witnessed the amplification of biases and inequalities, such as rising unemployment levels and increased use of artificial intelligence as ordnance at war. This is significantly worrying for society because it impacts families, relationships, and communities on a wide scale, and although such innovative technology can help us progress as a whole, we all bear witness to the negative impacts of artificial intelligence.
Personal Reflection
Studying this course has been extremely beneficial for me to deepen my understanding of the digital society we live in. Despite my previous knowledge, I was still severely unaware of how things such as AI and how the internet impacts us daily and the consequences of such technology on our society as a whole, and with now over 62.5% of the world’s population online, it is clear that these changes are here to stay.
One significant challenge of this course, for me, was adapting to the different styles of writing, such as blog post format or the Pecha Kucha style of presentation. Personally, I found it difficult to address the audience in a more informal, and exciting tone than I am used to and I think it has been beneficial for me to exit my comfort zone and attempt different styles of writing as it is essential to be able to communicate to different audiences effectively.
The digital society course has helped me further develop my critical analysis skills as I was exposed to a variety of perspectives, through interactions with other students, and was encouraged to reflect upon the work studied and the opinions of others. I think this helped me develop as a person, outside of academia and within, as it helped me broaden my viewpoint on certain issues, such as the ethics surrounding the Internet and our digital society. In addition, I feel I have heavily benefitted from the class contributions as they encouraged me to question how I actually feel about certain subjects raised and how they align with others in the class. Furthermore, it presented me with ideas and thoughts not initially raised within the lesson’s content, which were essential to my reflective work and analytical thinking.
If I could go back and change one thing during this course, I would further research each subject in greater detail, to aid me in my studies, assignment writing and class discussions. I feel that if I had a stronger base knowledge at the start of this course, I would have had a greater input during peer contributions, however, I have learned a significant lot from my peers.
Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed this course as it has developed my academic skillset and improved my knowledge of our digital environment, and what our world looks like going into the future. In the last decade, our digital world has drastically evolved and it continues to develop relentlessly, without this course I feel I would be less able to effectively, and safely, navigate our online world, and truly utilize the opportunities that it presents to me.
