It is a cliche to say that the digital world has come to play a huge part in defining who we are as humans. Especially in western nations, access to the internet is, if not always fast, nearly always there. Mobile data - a trend I have come to later than most - means, even if you are on the move, far away from wifi, you are never far away from checking twitter or Instagram.
This has been a very long running trend and shouldn’t be overplayed as being terribly recent. Even when I was a young child in the mid-2000s, teenagers would text on their Blackberrys and update their MySpace profile. The trend has simply evolved both as the technology has changed - aren’t we all on iPhones now? - and the range of social media platforms have evolved. I have tried to always have a very idealistic and optimistic attitude towards the Internet and technology more generally. From the Industrial Revolution, technology to me has always been a tool for humans trying to improve their lives and make things easier. Even a device like a washing machine, something we are all so used to, is a fairly recent device which has massively helped to save labour. The Good of the Internet With regards to the internet specifically, I want to believe it can be a beacon for humans across the world to communicate, express alternative ideas, explore parts of the world they may never see in-person and be free from government interference. My idealism in that regard is unfortunately far detached from reality. Political discourse especially online can be utterly vile, even as I try to only engage in civil political disagreements online. And as for lacking interference, even I wouldn’t be so naive to pretend all our internet communication really is free. You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to recognise that private companies and the government have recognised technology can be used to harness data on users. If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product. Right? We all click and accept cookies without taking a second glance at what they are. I certainly couldn’t provide you with a coherent definition. Every day, every minute we are online, we are telling the world and those companies countless amounts of data about ourselves. Those companies, in what we tell them by our purchasing, liking, messaging and retweeting can then adapt their message to best capture our attention and keep us glued to our screens for longer. As I say, I make this argument not to moralise but as a guilty party. I dare not even look at my screen time, because it would horrify me. Yes, much of it is for university work, but, let’s be honest, a significant amount of it is taken up by procrastination. The Pandemic Fuelling A Virtual World That has surely only increased thanks to the pandemic. Apart from those brave key workers, all too often forgotten as society seeks to move on from Covid, all our lives became virtual, all day, every day. Work meetings were conducted on Zoom. Leisure activities like following a workout, looking for a recipe and taking part in a quiz again involved the internet. The public spent every evening looking at their TV screens, desperately awaiting the latest government announcement and statistics about the pandemic’s development. The bonds and connections we felt with others were only further fragmented, as we viewed our fellow human beings as potential carriers of the virus rather than equals to interact with. Well, there should be no surprise to see Mark Zuckerberg had decided to capitalise on this by announcing the launch of the Metaverse. With his brand encompassing WhatsApp, Instagram and of course Facebook renamed to Meta, Zuckerberg was trying to highlight how humans could never actually have to physically communicate with other humans again. Unless you’re the ultimate lover of solitude, the video presented by Zuckerberg was one of a dystopia. It reminded me most of ‘Ready Player One’, a 2018 film directed by Steven Spielberg. Based on the novel by Ernest Cline, it charted a world where everyone had virtual reality headsets and lived in the virtual ‘Oasis’ 24/7. When you looked at the real world, it was an utter mess and understandable why people were so eager to escape. An excellent science fiction film, it was one, much as I admired its visual effects, I wanted to remain fictional. The Removal of Digital Privacy Far from being an exciting part of human development, it now seems like aspects of technology are trying to take away what it means to be human. I don’t want to sound over-the-top or a nostalgic reactionary; it’s perfectly obvious what an ingenious role technology can have in furthering development, not least in medical science. But this desire to escape from the real universe, for its flaws, to enter the metaverse is a trend we should not be celebrating. For one thing, it will only mean the further removal of digital privacy, a highly relevant topic of interest in more ways than one. I’m beginning to understand what it must have felt like to be a member of Liberty during the New Labour years. Fighting against ID cards, extended detention without trial and the erosion of civil liberties, all under the guise of a war on terror. Sound familiar? Vaccine passports will only further reduce this digital privacy we have. Given their introduction in Wales and Scotland and the English government’s Plan B remaining firmly on the table, I am not optimistic that we will escape their introduction. By the very logic of the government’s booster jab campaign, they would remain forever. Individuals would always need their latest booster to access services. So how do we convince society they are not the right answer? I don’t think anyone is convinced by shrill hyperbole accusing vaccine passport proponents of being totalitarian supporters of an apartheid state. That rhetoric will get us nowhere. Rather, I think it’s vital to make clear that numerous opponents of such passports are hugely supportive of vaccines - just based on argument and reason rather than coercion. Similarly, it’s worth making clear how the dangerous precedent that would be set by requiring a health status simply to go about your daily lives - as we’ve seen in France and Australia - will just galvanise anti-vaxxers and make them even more resistant to having a jab. The PR for vaccine passports has hardly got off to a good start when certain members of the COP26 summit in Glasgow are exempt from them, while we, the public, must have one to take part. The Right to Anonymity Alongside the looming threat of vaccine passports also comes the question of anonymity online, not least after the horrific killing of Sir David Amess. I am very much a proponent of the right to online anonymity. From a purely idealistic perspective, I think individuals might sometimes lack the confidence to push political boundaries and explore different ideas if their identity has to be known. There are numerous practical questions too: who would hold the information about individuals - the state or the company? What if the data was lost or stolen? How can any government possibly regulate the companies, given they are usually based overseas and operate in numerous territories? Nobody, to me at least, has provided any sign of a coherent answer. Finally, there is the moral question on online anonymity. Yes, social media at its worst can be a complete sewer. Nobody who has endured a pile on would wish it on anyone else. But that lack of respect and ability to disagree well can just as easily occur when an individual has their account open. I believe the threats that would face whistleblowers in their ability to expose injustice far outweigh the harm caused by abuse online. That must not be forgotten. Any Solutions? What are the solutions then? Technology is here to stay and that is no bad thing. One of the few good things about the pandemic was having far more time to make connections online, especially through twitter. It has been a joy over the last few months to meet people in-person I’ve only been able to speak to online before and tried to recognise them from their twitter avatar. Our attitude to the internet should come from a position that, as a platform, it is morally neutral. The tool can be used as a force of good or evil, just like every other piece of equipment. It should be up to all of us to recognise both how we choose to communicate with others and the means by which our data is being utilised online. Humanists like myself in particular should also be at the forefront of celebrating the universe - warts and all - with the ability to interact with others in person as always superior to whatever is offered by the metaverse. Keep that spirit and message alive and there may be hope for all of us yet.
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Author:Noah enjoys writing a blog and drinking tea Archives
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