It is actually quite amazing to know that just in these last two decades, technology and the role that it plays in our everyday lives, has made so much progress. In our current times, we tend to take it for granted and simply consider all of this to be part of our lives – but to think that just twenty years ago, no smart phones existed. No laptops were around. And the internet, well it wasn’t exactly what it is today. As you read this, you are most likely arriving at the conclusion that this progress that we have made has been for the better. I mean, what would our lives be without all of this? Well, yes, we have to concede that all this has brought some positive contributions to society as a whole. Now you can easily get in touch with someone on the other side of the world. You can easily access thousands of sites when you’re in need of information. You no longer even need to leave your house as you can practically shop for everything online and have it come straight to your home. BUT, when we delve further into just how much technology has affected us, we can arrive at some startling realizations. Let’s use Facebook as an example.
In today’s day and age, it is safe to say that a LARGE portion of the population has a Facebook. When one is initially presented with this network, it appears like a great thing to have. Through Facebook, users have the privilege of keeping in touch with all of their friends as they are able to share anything ranging from photos, ideas, and comments to videos and even information on all sorts of events – and this is all free of charge. Just from this information, I personally always thought that there had to be some type of disadvantage. As our class discussion progressed today, many things emerged that, to an extent, really make you consider whether or not the privilege of having a Facebook is actually worth it. For one, I found the fact that Facebook, in essence, owns anything that you decide to share through this medium, quite startling. This is an issue because it raises the question of just who really is in control here; you, the actual person deciding to disclose selected information or Facebook, the company providing you the means to do so? Personally, I feel that all ownership should be belong with the user as without him or her, there would be nothing there in the first place but it is also fair to say that Facebook deserves some ownership as without it, the person wouldn’t be able to share all this. This particular aspect of controversy can go back and forth. But, what really made me uncomfortable was knowing that, besides the fact that Facebook is now claiming ownership of all your information (disclosed using Facebook), Facebook is now allowed to store ALL that you disclose for an indefinite amount of time. To me personally, this poses a lot of questions and a lot of concerns. Why does Facebook basically have the right to have an archive of who you are online? What does Facebook do or plan on doing with this information? Why was the previous policy changed (where Facebook would only be allowed to keep your information for sixty days? Why can’t we delete our accounts (you can only deactivate it)?
I think that often, we get too engulfed in recent phenomena and fail to thoroughly analyze just what we are getting ourselves into. For the most part, it is not until something drastic happens that we come to the conclusion that something is wrong and that something must be done. With regards to the control and ownership of media, particularly over the internet, I feel that some type of laws and regulations should be imposed so that both people and large companies have a reason to behave accordingly. With technology constantly making leaps, if we fail to regulate all aspects of it, then we risk not only harming ourselves but everything in general. Take the Britannica Encyclopedia as an example. Recently, this renowned company announced that it would no longer print/publish as the competition online was simply becoming more and more hard to keep up with. With this source slowly vanishing into history, we risk losing historical credibility and even history itself as now, anyone can set up an internet site and share what they think to be true. This is appalling as with Britannica, you had a consensus by educated personnel of what was accurate/correct to be published and it went through many eyes before it was actually put in your hands. As many sectors of our society are slowly disappearing due to advances and technology, I think it’s fair to say that things need to be regulated more and more – for it now, we risk harming ourselves in the long run.
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