The Danger Of apparent understanding ,
Key issues:
1-Inaccuracy of information.
2-Cross cultural misunderstanding.
I enjoyed watching Ted talk by Doug Pitt, He had a very good critique of western culture: we want to fix the world and we have a superior sense of understanding of what is wrong with the world. We more than often end up hurting the people we want to help. There is no worse example than the war in Iraq that destroyed and is still destroying a country that we thought we could turn into a democracy overnight.
I am very conscious of people mistaking information for understanding. In the age of google it is very easy to read a few pages and think we understand a situation. I heard a long NPR show about non profit organizations in Haiti (20,000 nonprofits) during the last 20 years and how little effect they have had on the poor country. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/02/28/172875646/what-happened-to-the-aid-meant-to-rebuild-haiti
As Mr. Pitt explained, technology can amplify information whether it is good or bad. So in the age of immediate global and accessible information, we need to develop a a slow reality based on checks and balances before we rush into action.
I also read Changing Citizenship in the Digital Age, which ties very well to Networked Public. I am alarmed by the youth's lack of participation in public life. "A big decline in interest in the news and public affairs, accompanied by falling trust in the press—both of which occurred before the rise of the Internet. (I would blame the press, rather than youth, for this trend.)"(Bennett page 5)
This along with confusing information could be dangerous for the future of democracies and humankind.
Our education systems and our way of life are removed from many realities, for example, most of our schooling does not cover agriculture as it is practiced in America today. Our schools make farming into some Disney-like fantasy. Our children or adults have never been to a mega farm and/or seen the chemicals that go into farming, or worse have never seen a slaughterhouse. Yet our politicians want to pass a farm bill most of us have no understanding of or interest in. This may explain why young people don't vote or watch the news.
Some tools and techniques that can help:
1-Young people creating their own media as in Indymedia.
"Sometimes those technologies enable large and more sustained political networks, as in the formation of Indymedia, a global political information network. Indymedia was created through the distribution of open source software enabling the production and sharing of information by young activists under the motto: Be the Media" (Bennett page 9)
2- Young people using alternative communication as in Twitter.I just saw this report on Al Jazeera America. About Twitter use among young African American which indicated a higher rate than Whites I think this may be a sign of independence from main stream media .http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/01/06/african-americans-and-technology-use/
For human beings to be informed in a deep and visceral way we need to have full experiences. Also before we start another war it may be good to visit a hospital and ask injured veterans what is war like before we think it is another computer game or heroic Hollywood movie. Statistics and information don't compare to personal and emotional experiences.
Finally, I still think the digital age is still too young to judge. We still have to go to a physical space to vote! May be if voting becomes digital, from an operational perspective, then our younger people will participate from a place of comfort.
refrences:
Doug Pitt's video "Technology, nonprofits, and the emerging world"
Changing Citizenship in the Digital Age W. Lance Bennett
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/02/28/172875646/what-happened-to-the-aid-meant-to-rebuild-haiti
Key issues:
1-Inaccuracy of information.
2-Cross cultural misunderstanding.
I enjoyed watching Ted talk by Doug Pitt, He had a very good critique of western culture: we want to fix the world and we have a superior sense of understanding of what is wrong with the world. We more than often end up hurting the people we want to help. There is no worse example than the war in Iraq that destroyed and is still destroying a country that we thought we could turn into a democracy overnight.
I am very conscious of people mistaking information for understanding. In the age of google it is very easy to read a few pages and think we understand a situation. I heard a long NPR show about non profit organizations in Haiti (20,000 nonprofits) during the last 20 years and how little effect they have had on the poor country. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/02/28/172875646/what-happened-to-the-aid-meant-to-rebuild-haiti
As Mr. Pitt explained, technology can amplify information whether it is good or bad. So in the age of immediate global and accessible information, we need to develop a a slow reality based on checks and balances before we rush into action.
I also read Changing Citizenship in the Digital Age, which ties very well to Networked Public. I am alarmed by the youth's lack of participation in public life. "A big decline in interest in the news and public affairs, accompanied by falling trust in the press—both of which occurred before the rise of the Internet. (I would blame the press, rather than youth, for this trend.)"(Bennett page 5)
This along with confusing information could be dangerous for the future of democracies and humankind.
Our education systems and our way of life are removed from many realities, for example, most of our schooling does not cover agriculture as it is practiced in America today. Our schools make farming into some Disney-like fantasy. Our children or adults have never been to a mega farm and/or seen the chemicals that go into farming, or worse have never seen a slaughterhouse. Yet our politicians want to pass a farm bill most of us have no understanding of or interest in. This may explain why young people don't vote or watch the news.
Some tools and techniques that can help:
1-Young people creating their own media as in Indymedia.
"Sometimes those technologies enable large and more sustained political networks, as in the formation of Indymedia, a global political information network. Indymedia was created through the distribution of open source software enabling the production and sharing of information by young activists under the motto: Be the Media" (Bennett page 9)
2- Young people using alternative communication as in Twitter.I just saw this report on Al Jazeera America. About Twitter use among young African American which indicated a higher rate than Whites I think this may be a sign of independence from main stream media .http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/01/06/african-americans-and-technology-use/
For human beings to be informed in a deep and visceral way we need to have full experiences. Also before we start another war it may be good to visit a hospital and ask injured veterans what is war like before we think it is another computer game or heroic Hollywood movie. Statistics and information don't compare to personal and emotional experiences.
Finally, I still think the digital age is still too young to judge. We still have to go to a physical space to vote! May be if voting becomes digital, from an operational perspective, then our younger people will participate from a place of comfort.
refrences:
Doug Pitt's video "Technology, nonprofits, and the emerging world"
Changing Citizenship in the Digital Age W. Lance Bennett
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/02/28/172875646/what-happened-to-the-aid-meant-to-rebuild-haiti
" For human beings to be informed in a deep and visceral way we need to have full experiences. Also before we start another war it may be good to visit a hospital and ask injured veterans what is war like before we think it is another computer game or heroic Hollywood movie. Statistics and information don't compare to personal and emotional experiences."
ReplyDeleteI'm totally with you on this one. I think we "amputate " (Marshall Mcluhan) our innate abilities, sense of flow, listening, empathy and sense of space by not being in the world physically.Kids ESPECIALLY need to experience the world on all levels...touch not being a screen.