The development and growth of the Internet in its infancy certainly tantalized many futurists with the promise of an endless availability of information heretofore never considered possible. In the beginning, we humans were fascinated by the prospect of putting information and knowledge at our fingertips, literally. Think of the ramifications in education, not to mention communication with like-minded people around the globe. As always, new business models made their way to the forefront of our daily lives, resulting in the new concept of Social Media. If you have grandchildren, you’ve seen first-hand how young kids tackle these new technologies without a thought, while we grandparents often struggle to understand the deeper meaning of how this affects our lives, let alone how to master the technology. The Internet is still evolving, and it will continue to do so forever, I suppose. Much of what we’ve experienced in the new Information Age is remarkable and valuable. And much of it is terrifying and destructive.
It began with the realization that there is an invisible record of everything you say, do, think, post online, buy, and believe. Google a question and suddenly your computer is bombarded with products or services you can buy to answer your question! Communicate with someone in England and receive invitations to connect from Iceland. Buy a product on Amazon and get instant offers for similar products. But the realization that everything you read on the Internet is not necessarily true came as a shocking revelation. Even worse, everyone in the world now can claim to be a journalist! You can say anything you want, without regard for Truth. Or Consequences. Along with this came the unavoidable intrusion of ugliness and hatred in our lives. Cyber bullying is no different than physical bullying, only worse because of its anonymity and scope. We’ve learned that the so-called Social Media is more often than not Anti-Social.As I sit here today, clicking the keys on my computer keyboard, we are all still coming to terms with murderous attacks in France. Germany. Japan. Norway. New York. Washington D.C.. Florida. Colorado. Oklahoma. Texas. South Carolina. Tennessee. Oregon. California. Ohio. Louisiana. Virginia. New Jersey. Connecticut. Massachusetts. Minnesota. Need I continue? On and on, seemingly without end. We see first-hand how the Social Media can be manipulated for hateful and destructive goals. And we must ask ourselves over and over again: what is the right balance between personal privacy rights and the security concerns we all share? Of course, let’s not overlook politics and politicians, regardless of how much we may wish we could overlook their narrow minded and mean spirited nonsense. The older we get, the more we recognize the dangers of steadfast hatred. We can only hope that these evils shall disappear given the continuing explosion of ideas and new technologies overtaking our thoughts and perceptions every day. But do we ever ask ourselves, ‘how much is enough, and how much is too much?’
When Microsoft first introduced us to the possibility of ‘Living In The Information Age,’ we were sold a bill of goods, it seems. We have all paid the ultimate price before finally understanding that information alone is worthless. And dangerous. What is so readily apparent in the Information Age is the absence of common knowledge, not to mention common sense. No doubt this, too, shall change over time. But when? And at what cost?
© Jeff Resnick 2018
All Rights Reserved
© Jeff Resnick 2018
All Rights Reserved