Reflective analysis of class learning experiences

¶ … new technology, particularly technology that affects the way people communicate, is never morally neutral. It changes the way people see themselves and the ways they relate to others. Technology has brought human beings closer -- as manifested in the ease with which we can communicate through text-messaging and Facebook -- but also has also divided us in terms of how it distances us. Virtual communication has become a kind of 'default setting' of interaction, no matter how emotionally inappropriate. It is very tempting to be a coward and send an email to avoid a personal conflict in the real world, and even to become obsessed with online friendships rather than real friendships.

More and more of our lives are lived in public, thanks to the presence of technology. Even advertising on the web reflects an eerie level of knowledge about our personal behaviors and habits. I recall looking at a pair of shoes on one website, deciding not to buy the pair -- and then found myself bombarded with advertisements for the shoes, regardless of whatever website I surfed for months later. Advertisers collect information on us, and even our friends may share photos of us without our permission on social networking sites. The extent to which we can become 'public property' thanks to the availability of the web is one of the most constant, troubling ethical debates regarding innovations in technology.

My 'ah-ha' moment came when I noticed on Facebook that many of my friends had enabled their mobile phones to 'track' where they were going and to automatically report this fact to their Facebook pages. It seemed like a strange way to cooperate with a 'Big Brother' who would watch them, regardless of where they traveled. On one hand, this type of sharing does promote sociability. I enjoy seeing where my friends eat, shop, and play. But this raises the question if private space and private actions will one day be obliterated, perhaps voluntarily obliterated by the Internet. If people do not share this information, they are regarded as asocial, but if they do, they must be aware of the fact that it is accessible by potential future employers and spouses.

The troubling nature about IT is that it is very difficult to predict how technology will be used in the future when it is invented. Something seemingly innocent like Facebook can slowly change and morph so that the final entity has far greater ethical implications than even its creator intended. I am now more cautious about my embrace of new technology and more careful of what I share and with whom on the web.

However, the use of technology still makes me hopeful, in terms of the way it can spread knowledge and new ideas, as was seen in the recent youth revolutions in the Middle East, fueled by Twitter. The Internet has opened up new possibilities for international commerce, and made it easier for goods and services to flow across borders. Of course, this also makes it more difficult to regulate such transactions. Politicians and the law as well as ordinary citizens are in constant 'catch up' mode in terms of setting down regulations and ethical guidelines to deal with technology.