INTRODUCTION
1.
I am not a big user of the Internet to
communicate with my loved ones. I have
no real interest is speaking to those I do not know personally either. I rarely play online games and when I do, I
do not indulge in the real time text capabilities these games seem to ubiquitously
offer. I have been defrauded using
internet banking and making online purchases, so I am also a little wary of the
Internet from that perspective too. To
me communication between my friends and family is a personal interaction and it
is greatly valued therefore I take care in my exchanges. I value my privacy and the right to choose
who knows what about me.
2.
I like talking face to face with the
telephone a good second best. I am
confident in the use of my language to express myself and can take criticism
for what I say. Using these methods to
exchange views I get to say and understand more for the same amount of
time. Speaking has nuance. Looking at someone gives me their emphasis,
expression and body language that Pidgeon English half sentences and emojis
cannot. In short, I need the internet and I recognise it is a massive force for
good in the world but I do not trust it and I do not make it the centre of my
world or my prime way of communicating.
The problem is despite what I want, I am forced to use the Internet. It is not my choice, but I have no choice but
to and I hate the compulsion. Yes, you
could say I am biased!
3.
Why could the Internet pose different
problems from previous technological advances in spreading ideas and
knowledge? As captives of the Internet,
are we being subliminally manipulated by it?
If so, by whom and why? What are
the potential consequences? Is it a price worth paying?
THE
INTERNET - A RADICALLY DIFFERENT MEDIUM
4. My
opinions on the Internet could be said (and were said) of the mediums that
preceded it. The Internet is radically
different however and the difference may be telling.
5. Johannes Gutenberg is credited as making the
first movable type printing press in Europe in the 15th Century
(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2022). One of
his first books was the Gutenberg Bible and the fact it gave access to the
bible to others than the clergy was revolutionary. “The legacy of
the Gutenberg Bible was a revolution in the relationship between reading and
authority in the early modern period.” (Champion, 2018). It was not very accessible however. It was in Latin and produced at a time where
literacy was not common let alone the ability to read a second, “dead”,
language. The book was over a thousand
pages long and heavy weighing in at about 30kg.
Overall, it was not very accessible and although
its impact was profound, its importance was understood and exploited by only a
few. You had to have a need to be aware
of its value. It didn’t appear to you in
your home for free and/or uninvited.
6. The advent of television (and home video) revolutionised
the dissemination of fiction, news and learning when compared to the printing
press and journals. Just like books, it
became an ever present in the home. On
for long hours and complete with live news broadcasts television was also
doubted as an overall good thing for society.
The opinions ranged from the silly to the deeply concerned. George
Boar, a farmhand from Suffolk, was quoted in the Feb. 1939 issue of Radio Times
in an interview just after he had “invested his whole fortune” to buy a
television receiver: “Television’s far more entertaining and much
less trouble than a wife would be.”
(Elon University, 2022). More
serious concerns were made about the breakdown of “conventional life” and the
need for censorship. The US Department of Health, Education and
Welfare in its 1972 report to the Surgeon General stated.
“The experimental studies bearing on the effects
of aggressive television entertainment content on children support certain
conclusions. first, violence depicted on television can immediately or shortly
thereafter induce mimicking or copying by children. second, under certain
circumstances television violence can instigate an increase in aggressive
acts.”
7. It seems very alarmist in 2022 but both TV and mass-produced
books and journals had three things in common.
They were revolutionary technologies in their time in that they were
targeted at the masses. Secondly, they
changed society through the spread of fiction, ideas, news and knowledge. Finally, they were a one-way
transmission. This last point limited their
effects on the world. Minority and
controversial views and the people who held them we still fragmentary and these
opinions were drowned out by the mainstream.
Also, whilst data could be collected from the sale and use of TV and
books it was limited and the effort to process the data was huge in comparison
to the digital Internet.
8. The Internet is a very different medium. The Internet enables real-time two-way
transmission and it records what is said by whom, at what time and allows
groups to form despite the limitations of geography and language. As well as its benign attributes the Internet
has the power to create communities around extreme views and logs our desires,
opinions and life histories - forever. A
far cry from the optimistic days of the educationally focused ARPANET and its
lofty goal of enabling learning and understanding by the convenient spread of
knowledge for the betterment of mankind.
WHY WE NEED THE INTERNET – REAL TIME CONNECTIONS
9. The Internet is more than algorithms and fake
news. It enables dependant platforms
such as WhatsApp, Instagram and a whole host of other online platforms. WhatsApp is a safe, ad and algorithm free
space where communication is king. I do
use WhatsApp often and I built the relationship with my fiancée on it. This to me is a great innovation and given my
sentiments expressed above gives me real life improved functionality. WhatsApp is very cheap, secure and
unwitnessed. It is essential for my life
and the preferred method to communicate with my family in the UK.
10. Even here however there are pitfalls that probably
say more about our ability to use these platforms than the platforms themselves. My point is best highlighted by an over-dinner
conversation (real world) with 2 Vice Presidents of multinational businesses
only a few weeks ago. Worldly,
experienced and highly trained people and all of us are over 51 years old. The lady concerned was 60 years old and had a
fledgling romance with a gent from New York.
She lives 3000 miles from him.
11. It went like this. After we ate, about 10 in the evening, “VP60”
opened her phone whilst talking and in mid-flow. Her mood changed from smiley fun to grave
depression instantly. She commented that
her new fella had not texted her in 4 hours and started to rant that this was
not good enough and how rude he was. I
suggested that he may be with his children a little longer than
anticipated. Her reply was he has his
phone on him and it takes a second to say “Hi” “good morning” etc. After letting that settle for a moment or two,
VP60 shed a tear over the terrible calamity.
Of course, the reason was indeed innocent. He extended the duration of his family event
and was with his children. The
relationship failed a short time later with the gentlemen stating he cannot do
a long-distance relationship in this way.
12. I then reflected on my distance romance with my
lady. I realised I had done the same
thing some months earlier. My lady
happened to be driving and I realised that both VP60 and myself had changed our
expectations of others due to the instant communication possible via the
Internet. It could be perceived as a
slight if we do not receive an instant reply to a text. This appears to be supported by a contributor
to Sherry Turkle’s piece “Growing Up Tethered” where a mother of three writes
about texting her children,
"I’ve
sent a text. Nothing back. And I know they have their phones. Intellectually, I
know there is little reason to worry. But there is something about this
unanswered text. Sometimes, it made me a bit nutty. One time, I kept sending
texts, over and over. I envy my mother. We left for school in the morning. We
came home. She worked. She came back, say at six. She didn’t worry. I end up
imploring my children to answer my every message. Not because I feel I have a
right to their instant response. Just out of compassion." (Turkle, 2020)
13. The lesson here is that we can perceive the
actions of others differently due to the real-time comms capability the
Internet enables. It can affect people’s
judgement of the actions of others.
Perhaps it depends on the person, but we may need to adjust accordingly
to exploit this new way of being.
14. As enabler for business real-time, cheap voice,
video document and text exchange on the move is a major benefit to modern life
and business and it will not be changing.
Whatever changes we human beings need to make to keep up, there is no
doubt this is a major improvement in global human capability improving the
living environment for most of our planet.
It is the good news story of the Internet. It allows humans to be humans but faster and more
productive.
FAME, FORTUNE, FANATISICM AND FRAUD
15. Amongst the many social media platforms,
Melissa Avdeeff in her excellent piece "Beyoncé and Social Media:
Authenticity and the Presentation of Self" (Avdeeff, 2020) sums up my
observations regarding Instagram users perfectly. She states,
"A carefully curated Instagram profile, in some instances,
functions to increase perceived authenticity of the star, but on the other
hand, functions to mask the authentic self through the curation process."
(Avdeeff, 2020). She goes on to
add, "…it goes beyond the
presentation of social scripts, towards a complicated balance between
self-branding and a desire to “sell” a product which is essentially
themselves." (Avedeeff, 2020). It
is my observation that this is the awkward truth behind the popularity of
uptake of many Instagram and other social media platforms. It isn’t even about the money, it is about
the exposure to the non-Beyonce punter, the need to be part of a community with
the “like” and the often repeated, glebe, predictable and expected “You
look great!” comments that give pleasure to the average user. Whether the photo’s or posts are an accurate
portrayal of the real self is a secondary concern. The attention and verification of/to a
lifestyle or action is the reward. The
sense of being online and part of that movement being the driver. It seems the number of “likes” or views being
the calibrator of the depth of the penetration being the currency. The real world is secondary to this.
16. The followers of celebrities such as Beyonce
number in the millions. The hours of
human interactions with Beyonce’s site and the numerous other stars and less well-known
Internet “influencers” must be in the billions.
Whether this a good use of such a commitment in time is debatable. There is no real tangible output for such a
massive time commitment. The only real
winners are the heavy weights like Beyonce.
It increases their revenue. To
ordinary people who copy the approach to using social media the reward is less
clear. The mind does drift to ask a
question however, what if this time was used to do something else? Would the world be a better place?
CONCLUSIONS
17. Are we being manipulated by the Internet? Yes.
The existence of algorithms that put advertising, whether for products,
ideas or people (another product?) cannot exist without sites that attract
clicks/likes/comments. It is the life
blood of online advertisers and marketeers.
It tells them who we are and with sophisticated techniques predicts what
you would like to see or buy next. This
is well known and accepted. It keeps the
“clicker” within a well-defined space online and must deliver a financial pay
off to someone or it would not happen.
Who are the beneficiaries? People
and organisations who can afford the time and research to commission such
online snooping technology. Political
parties, big business and celebrities to name a few.
18. Is there anything wrong with this? Yes and no and it depends on the person. I am a musician. When I come off stage to a standing ovation
or hear the roar of a crowd, I feel great!
I think about the terror of walking on stage in the first place. I think of the many hours of effort gone into
practising. I think of the investment in
equipment, I think of the teamwork that has gone into getting the lights right,
the sound clear and songs sounding authentic.
It not about the money. The
attention is fun but it is a vindication of a team effort to enable me and my
band mates to perform well and produce a good product. Believe me, there have been times when no one
has turned up or we simply fell apart on stage and the reaction is not
applause! For me, I want recognition for
something that is genuinely difficult to do.
My college course for example.
19. For others it is escapism and the feeling of
being current that is the vindication.
Most social media platforms show profiles that are clones one of
another. The more developed seek to
copy, if only in a small way, those of the stars and celebrities they
follow. It is my view that being “up” on
the latest post from this person or that the social media participant feel current
and more importantly can be seen as being relevant among their peers. For some it is an addiction, to others a way
of killing time and to have something “interesting” to chat about.
20. Social media platforms make searching and going
from one profile to another quick. It
exposes the watcher to more advertising, and it makes it very easy for the
viewer to spend more and more time on the platform as the algorithms fill up
with the viewers preferences. To me, it
is a waste of my time. I don’t buy
it. For others I get it. I just wish they would not walk out in the
street in front of my car, eyes glued on their screens. I just wish that they also give the same
amount of time to their families in person.
I hope they go to work or college and give full commitment. I hope they include their loved ones in their
posts and celebrate the real world rather than just the avatar they wish to
portray. I hope they get inspired to do
more difficult things with their time. I
hope it inspires to give breadth and depth to their real world.
21. I am sceptical of the real value in pursuing an
online life. If we paraded in the real
world like we parade online – people would think us boring and lightweight. As Jia Tolentino put it, "The internet
is governed by incentives that make it impossible to be a full person while
interacting with it. In the future, we will inevitably be cheapened." (Tolentino, 2020). I have friends that say they have been
stalked. A recent TV series in the UK
was titled “The Social Media Murders”.
Algorithms ensure we see what we want to see and we are not exposed to
products, people and ideas that don’t fit our online life. The Internet is also the greatest library in
human history, and it is growing every year.
Overall, is it a force for good?
Yes. Is it worth the price? Yes.
Does it tie up vast amounts of otherwise productive time, the most
precious commodity of all? Yes. The Internet is not the problem. For good reasons it is not going away. The key to being worthwhile is how you use
it.
S P RATTLEY
References:
1.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Johannes
Gutenberg. www.britannica.com/biography/johannes-gutenberg Retrieved 2022
2.
Champion, Justin.
“Gutenberg’s Bible: The Real Information Revolution” History Today, Volume
68 Issue 10. 2018.
3.
Elon University “Imagining the Internet
– A History and Forecast” www.elon.edu/u/imagining/time-capsule/150-years/back-1920-1960/ 2018
4.
Surgeon
General's Scientific Advisory Committee “Television and Growing up - the
impact of televised violence - report to the Surgeon General, US Public Health
Service on Television and Social Behavior” US Department of Justice. 1972
5.
Turkle, Sherry. Growing up
Tethered -- Inquiry to Academic Writing: A text and Reader, 5th
Edition: page 583-: 2020. Ebook
6.
Avdeeff, Melissa. Beyonce and Social Media – Authenticity and
the Presentation of Self - Inquiry to Academic Writing: A text and Reader, 5th
Edition: page 599-600: 2020. Ebook
7.
Tolentino, Jia. The I in Internet - Inquiry to
Academic Writing: A text and Reader, 5th Edition: page 659:
2020. Ebook
No comments:
Post a Comment