The Digital World: A double-edged sword
The world of today is dominated by digital society, it is very hard to avoid it, and doing so could inhibit every aspect of your life. Living in a digital world is branded as the future and the best possible way to live, but there are two sides to every story. Life is argued to be easier than ever; we can contact whoever we want, many jobs are done for us and we can get whatever we desire. The world and whatever information we need is at our fingertips constantly, but we are not aware of what could be storing information about us.
Digital Home-Assistants
Smart devices that help with many functions such as music and lighting in the house have become a staple item in many households. By January of 2019 Amazon had sold more than 100 million Alexa devices, which work with another 28,000 household devices to ensure ease of everyday life. Alexa has security functions that can detect intruders offering further security to our homes, but can these be overridden? As seen on the Channel 4 TV programme hunted, people can hack into someone’s Alexa device and pull up all their search history and usage of the device.
This possibility made many feel insecure regarding their device. This raised questions of individuals’ security and what personal information people can find out about you if they hack into your Alexa. As Alexa is voice activated, it is constantly listening out for its name. People’s distrust of this device has grown, with specific cases of the device activating itself and performing tasks that were never asked of it. The balance between security and ease is something that many people have taken on in the new age of digital products and is a new struggle we face as digital citizens.
However, even with these stories Alexa has dominated the US market controlling up to 70% of in-house assistants, with google assistants at 24% of the market. Competition between the two has ensured that the companies keep driving forward the abilities of these devices. Partnerships between Spotify and Google Nest has brought in thousands of new device owners as they were now free instead of the original £45. People who did not need them now wanted them as they were free, all through successful digital marketing. Superficially it is hard to see what Google gains from giving away free devices, but it may be due to access to more information of what people want to buy to ensure better pop-up advertising when they are online.
Aside from the economic gain for these companies, their new and improved devices have helped to begin revolutionising home healthcare and can assist vulnerable people who live alone perform necessary tasks and call for help more easily. Trials have begun and have helped older populations who were hesitant to try these devices, showing that even when sceptical of technology a digital world is capable of giving power and control back to those in need.
Robot Healthcare
Robots and other new technologies have helped change many workplaces, this is something of great interest to me: What jobs will still be around in another 20 years’ time. New healthcare robots have been created that are helping to take the strain off doctors and nurses on the frontline by performing smaller tasks such as specimen drop off, but there are ideas in the future to try and get robots to do most of the upfront care. The new age of COVID-19 has inspired the use of robots more than ever as it will reduce transmission of bacteria and viruses. However, as great as this health benefit is, the process of visiting the hospital is already stressful enough for people and without that human contact and compassion the idea of going to the hospital may be more intimidating than ever. The development for the future is under competing strains of efficiency and humanity, how will it achieve both, if it can.
Robot Therapies
One area I thought that would never be overtaken by technology is therapy as to perform this you have to have many high-level skills which take years to train in. As well as this performing therapy requires very good social skills which usually technology would lack. The Turing test which tests to see if robots can think in a human manner, robots these days are passing this test more and more. Vast research has been done looking into how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used to help in different therapy forms such as psychotherapy. The applications of digital technology have never been so varied and we are heading towards a future in which people may never have to work.
Digital Citizen Access
As citizens of a digital world, it is our job to ensure that all that want to benefit from a digital society can benefit. 96% of UK households have access to the internet, meaning that the majority of the population have the opportunity to become involved and interconnected. Providing opportunities for those who do not have internet access should be a key point in development, internet classes are being offered to older generations more as younger generations are growing up with this new world. Simply having access to the internet doesn’t offer all the opportunities necessary but many of these opportunities come at a large cost which many cannot afford. The UK is lucky with its great digital access rates, but there are improvements needed to help bring less socio-economically developed countries into the digital world. Making the digital world cheaper and affordable for local and global populations should be the first task, as living digitally is all about being connected.
Online Groups
Living in a digital world has greatly enhanced connectivity, being part of a group is easier than ever. Online groups in platforms such as Facebook allow for a sense of community even if you have never met many of the individuals in the group. Manchester Student Group is an example of this, as individuals post about their experiences and new businesses or other current events. Negative experiences have harnessed moments of compassion from friends and even strangers as everyone is striving for a better and safer environment to live in. Small businesses are supported by other students who know how much it would mean to this individual if they bought from them. These online groups, although overlooked really can be the backbone of the digital world.
My Course Reflection
I chose Digital Society as one of my modules as I wanted something different. Although I have grown up with technology there is still so much I don’t know and learning more about the online world and the future it has could be beneficial to me in every facet of life. I have knowledge about practical technological things like excel and word but I wanted to ensure I have the necessary skills to keep up with job requirements and keep up keeping up with the new changes in digital life.
Being a psychology student has allowed me to think critically before but deciding on what I wanted to speak about was never something I was explicitly allowed to do as we had a very specific research question. The blog themes have been very open, and I have enjoyed picking topics that I know something about and want to research further. This course has allowed me to be more creative whilst still being academic and it is something I have enjoyed taking on. Thinking critically of my own ideas has helped me figure out what I look for and what I need to question when I am presented with information.
My favourite theme had to be the internet of things, I didn’t realise how many things used the internet. Once I began thinking about which devices and belongings used the internet it became obvious, but I had never really questioned it. Stepping back and looking at things a bit more than I usually would and thinking critically about why some devices are the way they are is a skill I have developed. I am interested to see the future of technology and how it could help overcome any modern issues.
The main thing I have enjoyed from this course is the spread of ideas from all different people, helping create a conversation and expressing opinions that I would not have thought of. It has allowed me to challenge how I look at the digital world and help expand my view as I am conversing with people of all differing ages, with different access and knowledge of the digital world. This diversity of experience is an important part of living in a digital world and has helped me learn the key aspects of being a digital citizen. The age of COVID-19 has allowed me to hear points of view from all over the world through digital media, but I have missed the opportunity for in-person discussions although this is not something we were able to do.
Every week there are new discussions about topics such as the future of AI in the workplace. Topics I feel I wouldn’t have any ideas on are suddenly sparking so many new thoughts and opinions, this course has helped me build my own voice. This is an invaluable skill I will be carrying forward with me from this course along with my new interest in what it means to be a citizen of the digital world.
