Our World.
I was thinking about the effects of globalization thanks to technology, and what it has managed to do to our world. There's a lot of positive, of course. Distances have been shortened, hell, thanks to video-calling, they're virtually non-existent, we're more aware of what goes on outside our own domain in the wider world, and information of all kinds is readily available for free.
You would think that all this socializing and online sharing would make our world more united, but apparently not. I know this planet has always been teetering on the edge of doom, barely hanging on by a thread and all that, but just take a look around you and you find yourself wondering if things have ever been worse. The downside to globalization is impossible to ignore. It's so easy to commit fraud online, and cheat people out of their money, to hate on others and be downright rude to them on public forums only because their opinion is different from yours, accessing 'illicit sexual content' is easy, spreading vicious gossip just a click away, and well, the list is endless. All of it is a reflection of human society at its worst. Humans can be animals at times (in fact, I'm sure animals aren't as cruel as we can be), and it seems to me that all the technological advances that have globalized our world appeal to the 'animal' inside us. sometimes, it even seems like they're tailored to appeal to our 'animal' nature; that voice inside us that tells us to do whatever the hell we want, how and when we want to do it, because life is short and the consequences of our actions are not our problem. This is all YOU.
Obviously this side to human nature has been with us since the beginning of civilization, and of course, doing what you want and living your life the way you want isn't necessarily a bad thing, at least it's not a bad thing as long as its not harming others or taking advantage of them. But this age of continuous technological progress has definitely made it easier to indulge and not feel responsible for our actions.
You would think that all this socializing and online sharing would make our world more united, but apparently not. I know this planet has always been teetering on the edge of doom, barely hanging on by a thread and all that, but just take a look around you and you find yourself wondering if things have ever been worse. The downside to globalization is impossible to ignore. It's so easy to commit fraud online, and cheat people out of their money, to hate on others and be downright rude to them on public forums only because their opinion is different from yours, accessing 'illicit sexual content' is easy, spreading vicious gossip just a click away, and well, the list is endless. All of it is a reflection of human society at its worst. Humans can be animals at times (in fact, I'm sure animals aren't as cruel as we can be), and it seems to me that all the technological advances that have globalized our world appeal to the 'animal' inside us. sometimes, it even seems like they're tailored to appeal to our 'animal' nature; that voice inside us that tells us to do whatever the hell we want, how and when we want to do it, because life is short and the consequences of our actions are not our problem. This is all YOU.
Obviously this side to human nature has been with us since the beginning of civilization, and of course, doing what you want and living your life the way you want isn't necessarily a bad thing, at least it's not a bad thing as long as its not harming others or taking advantage of them. But this age of continuous technological progress has definitely made it easier to indulge and not feel responsible for our actions.
Honestly, I don't see how it could ever have been otherwise. I'm not exactly what you would call far-sighted, but the way I see it, advances in science and technology were always going to be inevitable, as were the gadgets and services they brought with them, and obviously their consequences. The downside to progress could never have been avoided since human society and technology could never have progressed at the same pace. Our brains do not know how to handle the awesome power science has laid at our disposal. I got this idea from an IEEE article I read a while back:
(Of course, blogging is a form of Virtual Reality too, isn't it? The point of the article was that VR should be used constructively, and within a limit. Let's not make it our actual reality).
But is there a solution to all this? Can we fight against the dark side to human nature? I was thinking education. Technology or not, every human being needs to be taught morality. We all need to be taught how to treat others, how to respect others, because if we want our world to get anywhere, we have to be able to live with each other, and tolerate our differences. Once people have got the basic lessons right; peace, tolerance, love for others, you won't find them misusing technology either. Because after all, you can't blame the object itself, only the user! (Err, in most circumstances, anyway).
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