Good or Bad ?

There has been a lot of talk about technology, it’s use and moving it forward in many different applications to assist those living with Dementia.

I have long said there is good and bad to technology, and after hearing so much talk and opinions about the film “ The Social Dilemma”, I sat down and watched it, I thought about it, I watched it again, thought about it some more.
I have always said technology could be either used for good or bad, I believe in many ways it has been used in ways that are not good for people. Creating addictive behaviour, changing behaviours, using manipulation techniques is wrong always. For those responsible for much of this know stepping out and speaking about tells me that some of those have a conscience, it tells me that they know we are at a tipping point and we the general public need to direct whether technology will be used for good or bad.

Technology can bring so much to people lives, we have witnessed it during this pandemic, allowing people to stay connected, allowing business to carry on via using on line platforms like zoom and others. So much good there. On the other side of the spectrum, fear monger in by news media. There needs to be a balance, too much use of social media, can decrease a persons senses about how what they are saying and doing can do much harm to others. Additionally young people are particularly vulnerable, children are trusting, it can end in very bad ways when those who prefer to use good for evil come into play. Perhaps we need to rethink what age children are being given such freedom with technology. They can pick it up quickly, have the ability to figure out it’s uses faster than most adults, but often are not emotionally or cognitively able to decipher danger. In fact many adults fall prey to those using technology for evil.
What’s the answer, I think we all need to stop buying into and clicking on things that aren’t truly relevant to us, start using social media to put positive out into the world, in a sense hijack 5he very platforms that have tried to hijack how we think, how we act and react, what we watch. Time to turn the tables, instead of the machines feeding us we need to feed the machines. Take back control. When we stop looking at and reading the fear mongering stories, when we chose to see good, do good, evil can’t win.
I believe the people who build these platforms did it mostly thinking about the good, without putting thought into what could happen when money and greed turned the tables and started using them to take advantage of people.
much of what was said in the Social Dilemma, is scary in and of itself because the big question is do believe have enough will to take back control.

I believe technology does and can have its place, but it must never be allowed to take the place of human contact, communication with each other. There is many things we as people must wrestle with and decide how we move forward into the future, I believe covid 19 is bringing many of them to light.