Individual and Technology the Problem

¶ … Individual and Technology

The problem of individuality and the threat to individual freedom has concerned many artists, poets and thinkers. A central theme in literature refers to one of the problems in the growth of modern technologies; namely the way that technology impinges on individuality in the contemporary industrialized world. For example, this threat to the freedom of the individual was noted in the early Nineteenth Century by Romantic poets, like William Blake. They were dismayed at the inroads that the beginnings of the Industrial revolution had made on human individuality. Blake and Wordsworth noted how the early years of the Industrial Revolution had caused a decline in individual liberty at the very start of the "machine age."

Technology has increased incrementally since then and there have been huge leaps in communications technologies, such as the Internet. There are many who see the increases in our technological environment as leading to a decrease in our sense of freedom and individuality. On the other hand there are those who are of the opinion that technological innovations like the Internet and email mean more freedom for the individual and a greater ability to communicate and share information. There is much talk about the Internet breaking down the barriers between people and "...creating a one-world, one-resource communication tool." (Brand books)

While we all welcome the accessibility and convenience of email and other aspects of online usage, there is also an increasing awareness in the world today and among ordinary Internet users that these technologies also have an insidious potential to invade and even compromise individual privacy. A case in point is email monitoring and computer privacy.

While on the one hand email has provided faster and better access to others and a new means of communication; on the other hand it can also be used as a means of reducing our sense of individuality and privacy. In the contemporary working world the ubiquitous use of email has become part of the normal working process. However many companies and employers are concerned that their employees are using email for their own purposes, or for illegal ends, such as the disclosure of company information. This has resulted in a policy in many companies of invading the privacy of employees through the continuous or random monitoring of incoming and outgoing emails. This is an issue that is still being debated but in reality is accepted by many companies.

New technologies make it possible for employers to monitor many aspects of their employees' jobs, especially on telephones, computer terminals, through electronic and voice mail, and when employees are using the Internet. Such monitoring is virtually unregulated. Therefore, unless company policy specifically states otherwise (and even this is not assured), your employer may listen, watch and read most of your workplace communications.

Employee Monitoring: Is There Privacy in the Workplace?)

What this example points out is that email can be a way of imposing on one's privacy with the various "packet sniffing" and monitoring technologies that are in use. This fact to is borne out by a recent (2005) survey which found that "...three-fourths of employers monitor their employees' web site visits in order to prevent inappropriate surfing." (Employee Monitoring: Is There Privacy in the Workplace?)

In my own experience I have found that technological innovations like email are an invaluable tool for communications and doing business. However I am also aware that in many ways privacy and individuality can be imposed on by these new technologies. There is also the continual and increasing danger of viruses, malware and spyware than can reside on one's computer and that can comprise personal data and information. One is in effect continually threatened by a wide range of technologies that are actually designed to interfere with individual privacy without one's knowledge. Small programs called cookies can gain entrance to a personal computer while surfing the Web and these can send out personal data and information to advertisers and marketers about your personal life.

In this sense, while email is a wonderful boon, it is at the same time a potent threat to the independent human being. This has resulted in a wide ranging debate in various quarters on the relationship between online monitoring and privacy. As one expert in the field stresses;

The Internet has grown considerably during the past decade, particularly with respect to its use as a tool for communication, entertainment, and marketplace exchange. This rapid growth has been accompanied, however, by concerns regarding the collection and dissemination of consumer information by marketers who participate in online retailing. These concerns pertain to the privacy and security of accumulated consumer data

Miyazaki, and Fernandez 27)