Connected to Conscience

The web of silk cables and wires we live on is world-encompassing, and we may all well be the insects that can never escape it. For better or worse, society expects us to project our best image of ourselves online, and these impressions and pictures will be sent like little vibrations on the web to our family, friends, and future employers. You and I need the internet to communicate, avail of government services and attend school and, as time goes on, there won’t need to be essays like this one for there won’t be living memory of life without the internet. The question for many then is how much has changed and, more importantly, was it all for better or worse? The answer is difficult to reduce to a simple yes-or-no, good-or-bad answer. In reality, technology has given people the freedom to communicate instantly, the equal opportunity to be heard, and a greater capacity to achieve their goals.

Technology has invariably changed language itself and has made communicating across distance instantaneous, conversational, and convenient. A research published in 2020 notes that Text-speak has become its own language and that the differences from conventional language are so significant that “children are considered bilingual if they can communicate in Standard English and text-speak” (Sharqi & Abbasi, 2019). Communication online no longer has to be half as big an issue as it used to be; this means that there is no longer a need to hold in reverence a monthly letter from a pen pal or a timely postcard, and technology has enabled a more conversational approach to online contact. Messages can be shorter than handwritten letters because there can always be an immediate response to continue the conversation unfolding. Some may see this as a bad thing, a sign that the youth talk about meaningless things and are unable to advance past casual conversations, but this is simply how language has evolved to respond to technology. The youth can afford to talk about what older generations could call “meaningless” things because of the technology available to them, and it costs them next to nothing to do what they enjoy; however, taking the liberty to talk casually doesn’t detract from their ability to use technology to talk about politics, economics, society, and culture, nor does it detract from technology’s role in enabling all kinds of discussion.

Furthermore, technology has created a platform where anyone can speak, be heard, and listen to others. It is in all senses a more democratic approach to communication, one where marginalized populations can congregate and rally for support, and one where fascists are often able to connect with their bases. Technology has both enabled a platform for thousands of scientists and experts to share their knowledge, as well as a platform for communities of science’s most vehement opposition. Melvin Kranzberg (1986) said “Technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral” to convey that technology only enables people to do good or do evil, and it is good or evil depending on how it is used. Furthermore, online media can easily present science and pseudoscience as being equally factual, and many people without awareness of digital literacy and critical thinking fall into pseudoscientific belief online because of charismatic speakers or appealing website design. All is to say that technology enables communication on a large scale, and any good or bad act that used to be committed without technology can now be done with ten times the efficiency.

Unfortunately, the reality is that good and bad don’t come in equal measures. Just like it is easier to lie than to know the truth, it has become easier for thousands of liars and trolls online to share fake and sensational news than it is for news organizations to find the facts and statistics they need to report on. There is intense debate over whether spreading fake news with the intention of deceiving others counts as acceptable within free speech, however, the issue shouldn’t be so complicated. It’s obvious that trolls that make fake accounts to imitate legitimate news networks are undermining people’s trust in journalists who dedicate their lives to proper journalism, and that people that believe the circulating lies about medical concerns can make tragic, fatal decisions. That is why now, more than ever, it is important for the government to prevent fake news and exclude it from the constitution's free speech considerations; that is the government’s decision on whether to use their control on technology for good or for bad.

The question for you is whether you are going to use the technology you’re reading this with for better or worse? Technology connects people, and allows for enhanced forms of communication far and beyond anything heretofore imagined, and this has allowed for humans to amplify their impact on their community for better or worse. It’s the obligation and right of each digital citizen to be privy to this fact, and to act upon it by mitigating disinformation and hate and instead encouraging education and respect for each others. That is the capacity that media and technology have brought to human communication.

Cover Image Reference:

BTM Istanbul. (2020, November 9). Elon Musk’ın Neuralink Şirketi Yeni İş Fikirleri Oluşmasına Katkı Sağlar mı? https://btm.istanbul/blog/elon-muskin-neuralink-sirketi-yeni-is-fikirleri-olusmasina-katki-saglar-mi

Article Image Reference:

Rae, A. [andrewjrae]. (2019, October 31). Phone buddies // Photography: @ruskkyle [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/B4SMp3yh1Cf/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Richman-Abdou, K. & Spiller, E. (2019, March 15). This Exhibit Gives Visitors the Experience of Stepping Inside Van Gogh’s Paintings. My Modern Met. https://mymodernmet.com/van-gogh-art-atelier-des-lumieres/

Article Reference:

Al-Sharqi, L. & Abbasi, I. S. (2020, June 9). The Influence of Technology on English Language and Literature. Canadian Center of Science and Education. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1259632.pdf

Kranzberg, M. (1986). Technology and History: "Kranzberg's Laws" [Online Image]. Technology and Culture, 27(3), 544-560. doi:10.2307/3105385