Technology as a Double-Edged Sword
With its rapid development and wide application, technology has been an inseparable part of our daily lives. Yet, despite the crucial role it plays, it has remained controversial even until today. Instead of simply the key to a promising future, digital technology seems more like a double-edged sword that needs to be handled with care.
Positive Impacts
To begin with, social media websites and applications certainly make it a lot easier for us to connect with others. We can get in touch with our beloved ones regardless of time and space, which is extremely helpful in times of crises like the pandemic of coronavirus. It also enables us to form interpersonal relationships virtually with people from different nations and cultures, overcoming the limitations of traditional ways of communications.
Accessing information has become more convenient through the Internet as well. Various kinds of data from books, periodicals to audio files and videos are all available in just a click. It is not surprising that Google Search is utilized over thousands of millions of times globally every day. This can encourage academic cooperation and interaction as well as fulfill educational purposes.
In addition, the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart cities likewise provide opportunities to make our lives more efficient. Applications of IoT like Amazon Echo and Google Home Mini serve as personal assistants that can run errands and save time for their users. Development of smart city technology, on the other hand, is likely to help improve quality of life in urban areas. For example, it can make use of technology to report traffic conditions in real time and find the nearest parking space. This is helpful in easing traffic congestion, reducing pollution and saving energy consumption.
Negative Impacts
While it transcends the limitations of communication, digital engagement can have detrimental effects on our interpersonal relationships as well. Addiction to social media can result in indifference and isolation in real life. It is weirdly common to see people dining face-to-face but not interacting with one another because they are all phubbing. It is ironic how these networks designed to improve communication in fact enlarge the social distance. Moreover, since we tend to share the best part of our lives on social networks, we could gradually become stressed of self-presentation and comparison with others. In addition, the problem of cyberbullying is also severe. Thinking they can hide their identities online, some people take advantage of their anonymity to attack others with insulting remarks at their will. These can all do harm to our mental health and daily wellbeing.
Accessibility of information through the Internet encourages the spread of fake news. It can mislead the public to reach certain economic, social, or political goals. While some may seem like harmless jokes or stories, misinformation can be dangerous when scams or conspiracies are involved. Furthermore, believing in false information can lead to partial judgement and serious problems. For instance, plenty of false claims about coronavirus are flooding the Internet, which can pose obstacles to control of the pandemic.
Privacy has likewise been an important issue under heated debate. As we are entitled to increasing access to information online, data about us circulate through the Internet as well. Everything we do online leaves a footprint which remains available to tech giants all the time. These data may be analyzed to predict and even change our future behaviour to help them achieve further marketing goals, giving rise to what Zuboff calls “surveillance capitalism.” Not enough legislations have been in place to regulate the use of these data, forming a grey area that may violate our privacy.
What is worse, with the development of Internet of Things, our privacy may be further invaded as technology becomes deeply engaged in more parts of our lives. Aside from our contacts and “friends,” our daily routines can be revealed as data are collected through our home assistants or self-driving systems. Where we go, what TV shows we watch, who we meet may all be recorded and analyzed to help advertisers to find their target audience. This is like living in a large surveillance system similar to the world of Orwell’s 1984, with no way to escape. Sounds unbelievable and frightening, right? But this is actually happening. It has been reported that smart home technology can gather data even when it seems to be “offline,” and the information it collects is soon reflected in the advertisement we see. Moreover, such technology is not limited to marketing use. Governments may also take advantage of technology to keep an eye on citizen’s life. One example is China’s social credit system, in which security cameras and facial recognition technology are utilized to monitor citizen’s behaviour and keep record of their “credits.”
Conclusion
While technology have indeed benefited us, the potential risks it may pose to our lives should not be overlooked. As we explore further to maximize the advantages of technology, we should also watch out for potential threats and try to find solutions to them.
Reflection on Digital Society
I decided to take part in this course because I had been a heavy user of the Internet. If I was going to spend so much time on it, I felt like I should learn more about it, especially the potential threats it may have. As one Chinese saying goes, “know your enemy, know yourself.” Though the Internet was not my enemy, I did think that knowing more about it would help me make the most of it. And this course was a wonderful chance for me.
The biggest challenge for me in this course is to think critically about the topics and examine the validity of information online. Critical thinking has been really hard for me as I have been more used to accepting what the instructor says. Therefore, I am really thankful that the instructors dedicated one week’s class to the training of critical thinking. The guide is really helpful as it takes us to think critically step by step. It is still difficult for me but I have tried to follow the guide to think critically about the information given in each topic. In addition, I have had difficulties examining the validity of information online as there is so much false information. However, distinguishing fake news is also an important lesson in understanding the digital society. Hence, I have paid more attention to the sources of data that I see online, especially when I was doing research for this course.
I was also surprised to find out about the variety of this course. As I have mentioned, I decided to take this course because of my heavy reliance on the Internet. Thus, I expected the course to be all about the Internet, but it has been so much more than that. I was not expecting to learn about Smart Cities but I enjoyed it so much. It is great to see how technology may be applied to improve the quality of our lives. In addition, I found the process of completing digisoc2 especially informative as I get to explore the industry that I am interested in and its future in terms of a digital society. It is like preparing myself for implications of my future occupation.
After taking this course, I learn a lot about both the advantages and threats of technology. I also see the clear trend of further digitalization. Our society is, or at least inevitably will be, a digital society. How to live in harmony with, and even make the most of technology, is our next lesson.
