Do we see the whole picture?
Introduction:
When the Covid-19 pandemic started things changed. We were all asked to stay away from each other, not to go outside and basically, we were not able to spend the day as we use to. However, despite these new changes we did achieve the same results as we would have at the end of the day. We continued to study, work, engage with friends and family and pretty much get every other task completed. This is all thanks to the technology that is available to us in this digital era.
The technological developments over the years have aided our living styles. We now can order any product over the internet and have it delivered to our doorstep within a couple of days. Communicate with anyone from anywhere. order for a taxi to your current location and the pay them using your phone. There is a lot more that technology offers for the benefit of our life that we don’t directly come in contact with. Improvement in robotics and automation has hugely impacted manufacturing sectors allowing us the develop and produce products in the fastest possible way. To the vast part technology simplifies task and helps us live a more efficient lifestyle.
Technology has slowly entered our lives and has become a very vital part of our day-to-day functioning, without which we would struggle to accomplish even the simplest of tasks. For instance, while writing this piece of work I am using my computer to do research and save my work. If at all I did not have access to this technology I would have had to go through hundreds of pages of research, takes notes and make several drafts and by the time I would have come up with my final draft I would have spent 10x the amount to time I would have spent if I had access to the latest technologies.
Over the years has we have experienced the benefits of technologies such as automation, the internet, smartphone and artificial intelligence and today we rely on them more than ever before. Knowing how depended we have become to these technologies, companies that own these techs have strived to develop on their product and get the best possible version out that surpasses your expectations and we have become more reliant on them. It is with no doubt that in this digital era technology has been used to improve our lives but the question to be asked is what have we compromised in order to enjoy the benefits on these technologies?
Our Privacy:
All of us who use the internet would have wondered how on earth does Amazon know what you need before even you had searched for it or how Facebook Knows the person who you had just met and sends you a notification to send him a friend request or how YouTube know what videos interest us the most. These websites have been monitoring all our activities — when we use the platform, for how long, what do we search and every other thing we do.
Are they stealing our data? As we consumed their services, we have been so engrossed in them that we have given access to our data unaware of the consequences and justifying that the results far outweigh our loss of privacy.
There is this common phrase we all must have heard, “If You’re not paying for it, You become the product”. At a time where companies compete to gain attention, data is collected in real time to understand and predict personal behaviour and we are targeted with personalised advertisements based on the information collected. Ethical consideration to user have been minimum and companies such as Facebook and Google have been found guilty of collection personal information and data without the knowledge of its users. Losing our information is not all, the data collected can be manipulated and target to change an outcome.
In 2016, Cambridge Analytica a political consulting firm worked along with the Donald Trump’s election campaign and reportedly had 5000 data points on every US voter and using a third-party application got access to over 87 million Facebook user’s data illegitimately. This data was then used to study individual traits and behaviours. And based on the findings personalised political ads were designed to attract voters to a specific candidate.
The Dark side:
Not only is our data used against us but also the anonymity factor that come along with the use internet has subjected lots of people to cyberbullying. We use online social media platforms as our personal journal, expressing our feeling to the outside world. Those that are vulnerable are targeted and harassed, leading to anxiety, depression and at worst case suicide. Over the years the time that we spend on social media has increased and today more than half of the world’s population spends at least 2 hours daily on social media platforms. Clearly indicating that these platforms know what best deviates us from a productive life.
Conclusion:
Technology has become an indispensable part of us, facilitating in almost every activity we do in a day. We are more connected to each other, we are more efficient in completing our tasks and more aware of what is happening around the world with the help of technology. However, everyone needs to be aware of the drawback that comes along with the use of these technologies. Governments need to monitor and direct tech companies to improve quality of life in the digital world and protect its user. Moreover, we as individuals and users of these technologies need to be aware of what we lose to reap the benefits and be a responsible digital citizen. In this digital era there is no option to opt out, hence we need to be mindfully and make the right choices.
Reflection:
I have lived my entire life in the digital era yet have been unaware of what the digital world actually is. I had never consciously thought or reflected upon how the technology that I use in my day-to-day activities have had an impact on me. Having taken this module and going through the weekly material I started to gain a better understanding on not just what a technology solves or assists in but also how we are targeted to use the technology, the impact it has on a broader range, the ethics behind the use of it and more.
The topic discussed in this module were much relatable to me as I have been a part of this digital world. Week six’s topic: The Individual, identity and ethics was an interesting subject discussed and got me questioning my personal activities on the internet. The interactive polls and contribute boxes further broadened my thoughts. It allowed me to view topics from different perspective and viewpoints. Which at some case answered my quires but also did raise new ones. Another topic that fascinated me was smart cities. We have become so reliant on technology that we see the use of it as a norm. when studying about smart cities and how it is being used to improve our quality of life, I was quite fascinated.
Having study this module completely online and with little to no live interaction with others I would say It did not hinder me from learning. However, with this module covering topics that most of us relate to, it would have been more interactive, and we would have had better discussions if we had in person classes rather than polls and contribute sections. This module introduced me to a new form of writing, and I did like it. It allowed be to convey messages easily and the learning curve was quite smooth. This was my first time using medium and while submitting Digisoc 1 I did face some difficulties. It wasn’t aware of the feature medium offered and took me quite some time to learn how to hyperlink, add photos and edit texts. However, I was able to get everything sorted out for my second submission.
Having completed this module, I have gained a deep understanding of the importance of technology and the role it plays in our lives. Furthermore, I have gained new skills such as blog writing and improved on the one that I had. Most importantly the awareness of digital society that I have gained through this module has opened doors to new views and moving forward my actions in this digital world will be questioned and analysed.
