One of the constant element in human civilisation is change, which spread across every sector in human lives. in recent times, a sector that seems to be taking the lead in constituting change to other areas is technological advancement. As a result of technological convergence it makes it easy for other areas of human society to be solely dependent on its features due to its ability to make the conduct of activities a lot easier and less time consuming. Technology a product of human intelligence has advanced to the extent it now posses a threat to humans existence and comfortability.
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Internet being a product of technology has been in existence for decades now, as result of its rise and usage it has made the world a global village. As important as information is, before the arrival of internet there is this accessibility barrier due to differences in locality and geographical entity. it became an hindrance in dissemination of information that is capable of enriching and saving lives of humans but thanks to technology, internet was birthed eradicating the challenge, which was highly commendable.
Based on its features, humans have relied on its usage in sourcing for information which has been useful so far but compared to conventional media whose so aim is to filter information for the benefits of the public, when it comes to internet it does not have that feature neither is it concerned about it, information can be dropped by any individual from any corner of the earth and it will reach the masses in a matter of minutes such is the power of the internet. with less censorship, to an extent you can say through the internet our true libertarian rights can be practiced, which involves freedom of expression, right to be solely responsible to choose which information is worth being read but to what extent should this right be expressed on internet without invading others space.
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The world is becoming a global village has been a trending theory for decades but we never actually focussed on what it truly means or the consequences it could attract. A global village simply translate to a world without boundaries, where everything could be of reach to anyone regardless of which part of the world they are from. just from your smartphones you could easily get an information about a place thousands of miles away from your location, you don't have to worry about moving an inch.
Information is very vital and devastating if it found is way into the wrong hands, it took awhile before countries and organisations understood how internet could be used as a weapon and pose a threat to their existence. Despite the ability of the internet to disseminate vital information but is "vital" really important if the information bares a conflicting content capable of putting the members of the public in complete disarray. the information being true or not the damage has already been done. just imagine how an entire civilisation could be threatened by what humans invented, a single information could crash stock market or make it rise. what a poisonous cure that could kill and save lives.
Recently I read a tweet by Dennis Dooshima, a female fire fighter known for her outstanding service and beauty recently shared her disappointment about a wide spread rumour on the internet about her personal affairs. from the way she vented her anger she must have been very displeased with how information that did not originate from her could be easily spread and believed, it might not have been the same for an ordinary person but the rumour about her spread as high as her popularity. which is one of the challenges notable individuals, most especially celebrities have to cope with in their entire lives.
As a result of the internet it has now become easier to disseminate defamatory information about people without any consequences. though the importance of internet is great but only those who have been a victim of fake news and rumour will really understand how much effect it could have on their personal lives.
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As if that is not bad enough, thinking about the rate at which invasion of privacy has emerged from the usage of the internet, it has become easy for people to get information about our private lives from the internet and eventually use it for their own benefits. As long as you have a social media account somewhere, then you should know someone out there you are not aware of knows you. As a result of this internet as now become a tool for fraudsters to map out their victims.
It has become more difficult to know who is who out there, you can't trust a person just because of their profile information such person could be impersonating a celebrity. that is why when you search for names of celebrities online you see different name suggestions because there are some individuals who make a living from impersonating others. is it not concerning that someone could be out there using my picture in his or her profile to perform fraudulent activities, can you imagine how much harm that could do to my reputation? that is the harsh reality most people now face due to the emergence of internet.
it might seem the internet is doing world a favour which is true because it has created a lot of employment opportunities for people and create easy access to information but regardless of how significant it is judging by how it could be used as a tool of destruction, it could be deduced that this invention called internet is doing the world more harm than good, I wouldn't say I'm the only one that noticed this recently Elon Musk voiced out his concern about the need to implement watchdog operatives to supervise AI companies in other to ensure it doesn't pose a threat to humanity, this are some of the issues brought to our door step due to technological inventions.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled "Killing not helping" in hive learners community.
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