How Beneficial is Technology and the Internet? - Blog Group A

               In chapters one through three of the Digital Disconnect by Robert McChesney, there was a lot of information regarding how the internet and technology has changed the world. I found the sections about the Celebrants and the Skeptics extremely interesting.  They allowed the reader to see both sides of this enormous entity that has taken over our world.

                Now, the question is do you side with the celebrants or the skeptics about how beneficial technology and specifically the internet have been for society? Most people would quickly respond by saying that technology has transformed our world for the better, but I am a little hesitant when looking at the global picture. I completely agree that my life is so much better with technology and the internet in it; yet, there are many people and countries that do not have the same opinion.

                By 2020 there will be 22 billion devices around the world connected to the internet (p 2). That is truly astonishing that people around the world will be able to connect so easily. Information will be spread quicker, communication will be easier, and so many more amazing things, but the way information is spread today I cannot see how we will be more informed with more people able to access the internet. For example, the United States and Europe are both very well connected to the internet and relatively curious as to what is happening with each other. However, there are so many enormous things that we as Americans are not exposed to. For instance the former Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, was and still is a media tycoon in Italy where he owns roughly 75% of all media outlets. For the past 20 years he has been running the country to his liking to make him more money and give himself more power. He does this through his control over the media. Here is a great profile of Berlusconi detailing all of his media involvement, scandals, jail sentences, illegal activity, and much more.  McChesney states, “technology is as capable of being destructive as it is progressive” (p 10). This idea is crucial to the understanding of how powerful technology and the internet is, because depending on who has the control, it can get taken advantage of, and this is exactly what Silvio Berlusconi did.

                This idea of too much power is what the PEC tries to manage. Like the book says, “It evaluates media and communication systems by determining how they affect political and social power in society and whether they are, on balance, forces for or against democracy and successful self-government” (p64). This is definitely a great thing to have a check and balance system attached to technology, media, and the internet because without it, things could get out of control. That is why when asked if I think technology and the internet was beneficial I do agree that it is, but I hesitate because I think the only way it can be good is with some watching over and possibly restraint.

                Another interesting point of these chapters was how they discussed that social media cites have actually led to an increased amount of loneliness (p11). This is extremely interesting because I think most people would agree that Facebook seems to be used, especially nowadays, to make your life look amazing and that you have all of these friends and do all of these amazing and interesting things, but in reality most of the time you are at home looking at another person's glorified pictures on their Facebook. Thus, not everything is as great as it appears. Overall, I am truly amazed at what technology and the internet were able to accomplish, but I do think it is interesting how large the gap is between the internet being truly beneficial and still problematic.