For all the technological advances in the last decades, we still confront some of the same fundamental issues such as free speech and privacy.\u00a0 In the past, controversy arose over whether a government could slander a fake robot company.\u00a0 This past year, many questioned the role Facebook and other social media sites played in the election with allowing \u201cfake news.\u201d\u00a0 Should Facebook censor false information?\u00a0 Should Facebook censor offensive language?\u00a0 Should Facebook censor terrorist recruitment posts? In the past, in the present, and likely in the future, the debate of balancing free speech and harmful language will rage on, even as new communication technology is developed.\u00a0 Similarly, the question of privacy rights was relevant with the Finger utility decades years ago, and is still a salient question as phones can track location, record audio, and video at all times.\u00a0 I take the attitude that everything done on a device could be seen by someone else or public even if companies claim that your data is private.\u00a0 I think that the issue of privacy has only increased due to the amount of data that can be used to harm people.\u00a0 Stalking other people\u2019s location is creepy.\u00a0 By using a powerful company\u2019s devices, we cede a lot of rights and put our trust in them.<\/p>\n
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I found our discussion about cultural norms with certain technology also relevant for the present.\u00a0 It is not socially acceptable to look at one\u2019s phone in a middle of a conversation or meeting, but many people look at their smart watch while conversing.\u00a0 Both acts disengage a person from the present, yet people are more comfortable with looking at their smart watch.\u00a0 Perhaps this is because it has always been socially acceptable to look at a time-watch, and the more recent invention of the smart watch has not fully been integrated into social norms.\u00a0 I find interesting how the social norm and use of certain platforms has evolved.\u00a0 Before, most people posted pictures on Facebook, but now Instagram mostly dominates the picture posting.\u00a0 Before, people sent pictures or videos over text, which has been replaced by Snapchat.<\/p>\n
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Upon reflection, I find that technology and the attitude surrounding new technology has really changed over my lifetime.\u00a0 I remember in middle school that my parents were vehemently against me being on Google Buzz, an online chatting platform.\u00a0 Years later, my parents constantly encourage me to send them pictures or messages over any and all platforms while I am separated from them at college.\u00a0 Before, I think people were more cautious of online technology while now most people, including older generations, embrace it.\u00a0 I am quite fortunate to live in a world where I can FaceTime my younger brother Chris every day.\u00a0 Technology can separate us from our physical present surroundings, but I think is extremely valuable for connecting us to others when separated by long distances.\u00a0 I would be saddened if I could not talk to or virtually see my brother at any given moment.\u00a0 For all the concerns of free speech and privacy, I am grateful for the connected world that technology enables.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For all the technological advances in the last decades, we still confront some of the same fundamental issues such as free speech and privacy.\u00a0 In the past, controversy arose over whether a government could slander a fake robot company.\u00a0 This past year, many questioned the role Facebook and other social media sites played in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8868,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/matty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/matty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/matty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/matty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8868"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/matty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/matty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/matty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6\/revisions\/7"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/matty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/matty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/matty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}