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Digital Culture - Blog 6
Cultural lag - Does modern technology influence my way of reading and writing?
In his book "The Shallows", the author Nicholas Carr cites a correspondence between Nietzsche and a close friend who comments on the change in Nietsche’s ‘style of writing’ since his use of a typewriter: “You are right,” Nietzsche replied. “Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts.”1
Some text messages pop up on the mobile phone’s screen: “mom i’m gon stay barn tonight”,“cuz it’s new years”,“and we don’t rly barn much”. Wonderful teenage slang! Every generation of parents will most likely shake their heads and complain about the presumed language deteriorating of their off-spring. Every generation of parents will most likely blame something or someone for it. We have modern technology to do that. Really? Those complaints existed long before the advent of the internet, mobile phones and social media. My parents complained too!
“OMG 2 much txt!”
Have I not changed my style of writing when using WhatsApp or Messages? I used to text as if I would have written a letter especially when replying “quickly” to work colleagues. Way too many words were used when communicating with the children: “OMG 2 much txt!”. Over time the messages got shorter and shorter due to laziness but as well due to the style I picked up from others.
Communication is continuously evolving and adapting to technology. It is not only about saving time when information is kept short it is a new way of connecting with each other. Various social media use different expressions to communicate, such as photos with funny filters and endless emojis and so on. It can be bold, funny, hilarious or accented, instigating, inflammatory.
“Ninety per cent or so of the language you use in a text is standard English, or at leat your local dialect.”
In 2013, British linguist David Crystal is quoted to have claimed that, “Ninety per cent or so of the language you use in a text is standard English, or at leat your local dialect.”2 Would he still make the same claim today though?
What about reading then? In terms of reading, I noticed another change in my habits too. The internet converted me into an impatient reader. I browse, scroll and skim through online content to get the main points or hastily “jump” from headline to headline. No patience! No lingering moments! It seems as if I am not the only one. Nicholas Carr noticed a change in his “capacity of concentration and contemplation”3 when reading which was shared by friends. Online (newspaper) articles progressively feature an estimated reading time to increase content engagement. Some display word count and estimated reading time. Psychological conditioning techniques similar to “likes”, “hearts” or “streak counts”.
Reading used to be pleasure. When I have plenty of time, I still do prefer a printed book in my hands. It is so much more enjoyable. Musing about a specific style or a provocative thought, I can linger for a while! Having a printed newspaper to read, I can devote an entire weekend to reading through it. Well, when was the last time I had a printed newspaper in my hand?
1 ‘The Shallows’ - How the internet is changing the way we think, read and remember a correspondence, updated edition 2020 (p. 18/19)
2 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/booksblog/2017/dec/07/internet-online-news-social-media-changes-language
3 ‘The Shallows’ - How the internet is changing the way we think, read and remember a correspondence, updated edition 2020 (p.6)
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Digital Culture - Blog 5
Social media in crisis situation - How to get trusted information in times of crisis?
Last year, I found it difficult to comprehend why some people followed the most crude and obscure misleading information or conspiracy theories running wild in social media about a viral pandemic and mistrust reliable sources of science and (inter)national health authorities. Clear communication and political leadership was and still are paramount in complex circumstances like the current times as well as keeping calm in face of uncertainty. I always admired the stoic British ‘Keep calm and Carry on’ moral booster without actually knowing that it stems from 1939 when Britain prepared for a German air strike during WWII. Thankfully, I thought, we are not at war and such martial language would be of no benefit in dealing with a health crisis. Nowadays, it should say: ’Keep calm and Stay informed by Science’. The other day I saw a book written by Trinity College Prof. Luke O’Neill: “Keep Calm and Trust the Science”. The thought of cool-headed endurance still persists.
Conspiracy theories, deliberate falsehood stirred up for personal recognition, monetary or political power etc are old misleading techniques predating social media. ‘Unprecedented times’ have been quoted over and over again during the last two years. Besides the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic another unforeseeable event has been the far reaching mass of false information speeding through social media. At the beginning, I shook my head about corona myth antics which turned into bewilderment at the extent of the ‘denialism’ and false accusations especially when this surfaced in my own circle of friends which quite took me by surprise. Up to then I have only seen the risks that denial posed on public health.
“We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic.”
“We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic.” declared WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on 15 February 2020.1,2 He understood that it would take international efforts to manage the newly coined infodemic danger that put public health and societies at risk potentially destabilising countries. In April 2020, the Global Consultation on Managing the COVID-19 Infodemic was held bringing together international stakeholders from a wide field of health care/public health, academia/research, government representatives, NGOs and civil societies etc to discuss the current information crisis.3
The use of social media is regarded as one of several key aspects to disseminate trustworthy up-to-date information. The second task is to stay in touch with communities providing a platform for everybody to voice concerns about health measures, ask questions or make any new myth known. One example is the WHO Early AI-supported Response with Social Listening Covid-19 online conversation.
Social media is not only a tool of deception. It can be used to do the opposite too: delivering alerts (community, weather, traffic, police, health etc.) plus debunking myths, conspiracies and fake news.
1 https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/Health-systems/digital-health/news/news/2020/6/working-together-to-tackle-the-infodemic
2 https://www.who.int/news/item/23-09-2020-managing-the-covid-19-infodemic-promoting-healthy-behaviours-and-mitigating-the-harm-from-misinformation-and-disinformation
3 https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240010314
4 https://www.who-ears.com
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Digital Culture - Blog 4
Meta: a taste of the future of social media or a cup of hemlock?
In October 2021, Facebook was rebranded to Meta to emphasise the company’s vision of the future of social media. Zuckerberg tried to paint a picture that the ‘metaverse’ will be the next step of the internet: a combination of the physical and the digital world, a 3D version of the internet which will enable a new level to connect people for work, business, leisure and entertainment, and living. He presented a short animated video to explain how for instance a meeting could take place in the future with an avatar representing a user sitting with other work colleagues’ avatars in the “same” room.1,2
youtube
The future may very well take place in parts in a 3D virtual spaces whether I like it or not. And again, like the term ‘cyborg’ terms from literature, metaverse is a reference to the science fiction novel ‘Snow Crash’ by Neil Stephenson. Virtual reality is already applied in several fields, ie in medicine it is used to simulate emergency scenarios or therapeutic interventions to train and evaluate healthcare staff. Yet, I am looking at Mark Zuckerberg’s version of possible uses for the of sugar-sweet decorum of ‘we are all a happy and fun-loving family’ metaverse with a mix of scepticism and horror. In the dystrophic science fiction movie ‘Matrix’ the hero discovers that humankind is imprisoned and controlled unbeknownst to it in a virtual world. From this moment forward his life is in danger. In the film ‘The Truman Show’ Jim Carrey, again unknowingly, lives a life externally controlled by the producer of the show and everyone else in Truman’s world are actors. The show is financed by product placement.
These elements of one/more controlling and dangerous power(s), lacking of privacy and advertisement/merchandise pop into my mind when thinking of ‘Meta’.
Is this paranoia? Will Facebook be even willing and able to tackle these tricky problems in future when they are already failing to manage current platform problems caused by its own algorithms as shown by the Wall Street Journal ‘The Facebook Files’?3 When the company gives the impression, as Frances Haugen claimed, of putting “money before people”?4 Is Zuckerberg trying to distract from Facebook’s present problems and prematurely announces a new and more advanced social media future?
Facebook Whistleblower, Frances Haugen leaked documents when she came to the conclusion that Facebook was not taken the appropriate measures to mitigate mental health issues, to act on misinformation, and counteract actually or potentially violent content. She called for more transparency of algorithms and strong regulation of the social media corporation.5
“The decisions they make and the priorities they have is something that affects everybody even if you don’t use the platform. And so even if you aren’t on Facebook ever, you’re still living in Facebook’s world.” Jeff Horwitz
Jeff Horwitz from the Wall Street Journal commented on the power of Facebook: “The decisions they make and the priorities they have is something that affects everybody even if you don’t use the platform. And so even if you aren’t on Facebook ever, you’re still living in Facebook’s world.”6
1 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/oct/28/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-meta-metaverse
2 www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAL2JZxpoGY
3 https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/the-journal/the-facebook-files-part-1-the-whitelist/aa216713-15af-474e-9fd4-5070ccaa774c
4 https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2021/10/05/facebook-will-likely-resume-work-on-instagram-for-kids-whistleblower-tells-congress/
5 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/live/2021/oct/05/facebook-hearing-whistleblower-frances-haugen-testifies-us-senate-latest-news
6 https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/the-journal/the-facebook-files-part-1-the-whitelist/72a1e8f5-a187-4a91-bedb-b0b0d39f5cce
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Digital Culture - Blog 3
Cybercrime or how to protect ourselves
Imagine the following scenario. You receive a call by a bank administrator. From your bank institute! A genuine call! You are asked whether you had recently visited a particular country which you deny. Following that statement, the polite and friendly voice asks you to sit down and explains to you the extend of the fraud that had happened with your credit card details. A very daunting experience. I do remember that shivering sensation very clearly.
In October 2021, An Garda Síochána started an initiative as part of the European Cyber Security Month to raise the awareness of cybercrime amongst the community and business. An Garda emphasised the risk of ransomware which has increased over the last two years of the Corona pandemic.1
According to the cyber security company Check Point Software Ireland has been subjected to an 413% increase in malicious cyber attacks since 2020. Ransomware alone accounted for 149%.2 High profile examples of this year are the extortion attacks on the HSE, May 2021, and recently The Coombe Women and Infants University hospital in December 2021. Months before being hit, the HSE had been warned by UK’s National Cyber Security Centre about the risks involved with the continuous use of outdated software technology which was no longer supported by Microsoft.3 With upgrading systems being expensive and taking a while, an attack was only a matter of time. And it was launched by clicking on an email link in March 2021 to take affect in May.4 Stolen sensitive data of 520 patients and documents were leaked on the dark web few days after the initial attack.5 After months of tracking, the Garda National Cybercrime Bureau finally found the stolen data on a commercially available server.6 It has the feel of a fictional crime movie à la Netflix ending well: the key to decrypt the computer system received within days by the malicious actors, the data retrieved and handed back to the HSE and the affirmation that there has been so far “…no evidence of inappropriate use of stolen or copied data…”, but there is no guarantee there will not be a ransom to be paid in the future.7,8 Rebuilding and securing the HSE network costing millions, identifying and informing the patients impacted by the stolen data may result in anxiety and stress, and all patients suffering whose medical condition could not be identified or treated in time - we all pay a high price.
If large corporates fail to safeguard sensitive data what can I to do to protect mine? The Garda advises to keep the following in mind:9
Back-up should be up to date and kept separate from the network or computer system to retrieve data quickly in case they are stolen and encrypted. Never been good with back-ups but that is an easy thing to do.
Updates of antivirus software and computer software bug fixes should come from official sources. Ok.
Attachments or links pose the risk of phishing which should only be open or used when the source is trusted. I cannot count any more how many emails I have received in the last years which has intensified since Brexit. More than once they looked so real.
Don’t mix data from your work and personal online activity. That might be tricky for people working remotely and have not been given a company computer
Be careful when using remote access methods to your company network.
I would like to think that we all need regular cyber safety training as there are more threats than just ransomware.
1 https://www.garda.ie/en/crime/cyber-crime/increase-in-the-number-of-ransomware-attacks-in-2021.html
2 https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40317581.html
3 https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/windows-7-support-ends-hse-upgrade
4 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/timeline-to-a-cyberattack-the-signs-missed-before-state-s-health-service-crippled-1.4752451
5 https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/sensitive-data-of-520-patients-has-been-put-online-by-hackers-hse-reveals-40480323.html
6 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/garda-specialists-tracked-stolen-hse-data-to-commercial-server-in-us-1.4761457
7 https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/hse-given-stolen-data-including-medical-records-taken-by-criminals-during-cyber-attack-in-may-41167881.html
8 https://www.rte.ie/news/2021/0520/1222857-hse-weekly-briefing/
9 https://www.garda.ie/en/crime/cyber-crime/cyber-crime-awareness-campaign-2021.html
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Digital Culture - Blog 2
White Hat Ethical Heroes - We should include Whistleblowers!
In 2014, Keren Elazi acknowledges in her Ted talk “Hacker: The internet’s immune system” 1 that while there are undoubtably criminal hackers committing cybercrime, ie fraud, identity theft, and espionage etc. there are ethical hackers as well whose ethos and standing is vital for today’s societal survival similar to an immune system fighting or eliminating invasive pathogens that cause harm to the body. These IT Robin Hoods either raise awareness of weaknesses of corporal or governmental IT systems that leave a door open for hacker attacks or they may attack themselves in the quest to fight for freedom of the web, against power abuse and corruption. She claims that these white hats should not be prosecuted but their skills should rather be used to defend cyber freedom. In the UK, talented hackers, albeit convicted, had already been on the radar of the newly created Joint Forces Cyber Group in 2013. Since then some may have been offered to change sides and use their skills in the cyber defence forces. 2
Like ethical hackers whistleblowers, too, risk a lot for their ideals. When caught both hackers and whistleblowers get prosecuted and the charges may vary according to the jurisdiction and whether national security interests are affected. After releasing classified files to Wikileaks in 2010, former US whistleblower turned activist Chelsea Manning was sentenced to 35 years for treason which were subsequently commuted. Her freedom has remained fragile ever since. In 2019, she was prosecuted again for contempt of court refusing to testify over WikiLeaks. 3 Put under enormous pressure, Chelsea attempted to take her own live twice. 4
In 2013, Edward Snowden, then NSA agent, leaked information of wide spread secret surveillance programs by the National Security Agency involving millions of civilians as well as foreign governments. 5 Evading US prosecution he fled via Asia to Russia where he was granted permanent residency in 2020. Snowden still is an active force criticising worldwide governmental authorities attempts to observe their citizens by help of spyware, ie ’Pegasus Project’. 6
Facebook whistleblower, Frances Haugen, did not uncover power abuse by a national authority but instead brought to light that Facebook management was aware of the dangers the company’s employed algorithms pose on society and did too little to counteract on this. She referred to behavioural science demonstrating that human beings are manipulated into believing information when repeatedly subjected to them and stated that the ‘engagement-based ranking’ or ‘the algorithm’ was precisely doing that: exposing the user time and again to similar content in their feeds which, she claimed, will then negatively impact on behaviour leading to harm and violence. Ms Haugen further pointed out that though Facebook was aware of the problem it “prioritised growth over the safety of its users.” 7
Being aware that Facebook may potentially take legal actions against her she choose to file for whistleblower-protection with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) prior going public with the information she possessed encouraging other whistleblowers to do the same. 8
1 https://www.ted.com/talks/keren_elazari_hackers_the_internet_s_immune_system
2 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-24613376
3 amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/12/chelsea-manning-jail-release-virginia
4 www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/11/chelsea-manning-suicide-attempt-hospital
5 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance
6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5WjTTi67BE
7 https://time.com/6121931/frances-haugen-facebook-whistleblower-profile/
8 https://www.politico.eu/article/facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-brussels-facebook/
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Digital Culture - Blog 1
My Digital Self
My digital self! An intriguing concept! So far, I have actually not been referring to myself as a ‘split’ persona into an ‘analogue’ and a ‘digital’ one. Rather, I have viewed myself as a ‘customer’ of the internet which has enabled me to connect to vocational or governmental bodies, allowed me to organise leisure activities. I appreciated the practical aspect of ‘getting things done’ with the ease of clicking a couple of keys thus sparing me the time-wasting travel of having to attend in person. I spent a lot of time online to search for information or to read online newspapers, to see a movie etc. I use the internet in the same perceived way as getting on a bus to transfer me from one point to the other. My smartphone is my library in the pocket otherwise my pockets would be pretty heavy. Does this turn me into a ‘cyborg’ now?
How did my social media experience start? And am I a social media person?
The WWW was invented during my first year in college to which I was completely ignorant. Other things were far more exciting in first year. By the time of the advent of social media, I had long finished college. The initial sense of disappointment of having missed out on this type of networking while still being a student was great but it quickly changed into disinterest. I understood the deep rooted need of people to meet and connect to one another, to share and exchange ideas and information. I needed that as much as everybody else. The networking idea was quickly misapplied: social media turned into ‘personal billboarding’ offering insights into the daily banalities of other people’s life. Business opportunities ensured quickly and a lucrative ‘digital voyeurism’ started.
This was all too boring. It had the same taste as daily TV soap operas. Bewildered, I observed people at work discussing the dramas unfolding to them on a daily consumed basis as if these were human beings they actually knew. In the same way that I just could not comprehend the fascination about taking part into a fictional TV character’s scripted life I lacked the interest in the social media personalities’s or celebrities’s ‘bread and circuses’ PR - God forbid, to ‘like’ or even to ‘follow’ them! Why on earth would I? Yet, Influencers are only one facet of social media. More and more developed.
Stay-in-touch digital-self
Over time, and with kids growing up, my view on social media mellowed to some extend. The ‘boomer’ gave in! No, I am still not ‘following’ anybody. But there are a lot of, at times heated, discussions at home about various online contents the children or parents watch, including social media. The pros and cons are a common themes. Social media has become but one of many possibilities in my tool kit of human connection. I regularly use social media now to catch up with family abroad. I enjoy to have online video family chats with multiple participants or I check in with friends in order to meet later in the real world.
Coming back to the question: am I a cyborg? No, I do not regard myself as such: being simplified and labeled by random definitions derived from a 1965 graphic novel.
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Why I chose the poem Blackberry-Picking
I chose the poem Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney as it reminded me of our family garden with all sorts of fruit trees, vegetables, herbs and flowers. The long garden path was seamed with a blackberry hedgerow with its wild growth and rich crop. Reading the poem I instantly had the memory of my grandfather who walked through the garden with his arms behind his back after all the work was done telling me stories about his own childhood in the countryside. I loved listening to his stories. As sentimental as I am when thinking of my grandfather I am less so with the blackberries. They were indeed sweet, unless you picked the wrong ones, but you paid a high price: not just the “...hands were peppered.”, but the arms were scratched and trousers torn too. Yet, the jam, the pudding and the juice made from them was worth it.
The poem was taken from Seamus Heaney 100 Poems published by Faber & Faber Ltd in 2018
The stock photos originate from the websites unsplash.com and pixabay.com. The music had been downloaded from pixabay.com. The voice over was done by myself.
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Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney
Late August, given heavy rain and sun
for a full week, the blackberries would ripen.
At first, just one, a glossy purple clot
Among others, red, green, hard as a knot.
You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet
Like thickened wine: summer’s blood was in it
Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust for
Picking. Then red ones inked up and that hunger
Sent us out with milk cans, pea tins, jam pots
Where briars scratched and wet grass bleached out boots.
Round hayfields, cornfields and potato drills
We trekked and picked until the cans were full,
Until the tinkling bottom had been covered
With green ones, and on top big dark blobs burned
Like a plate of eyes. Our hands were peppered
With thorn pricks, our palms sticky as Bluebeard’s.
We hoarded the fresh berries in the byre.
But when the bath was filled we found a fur,
A rat-grey fungus, glutting on our cache.
The juice was stinking too. Once off the bush
The fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour.
I always felt like crying. It wasn’t fair
That all the lovely canfuls smelt of rot.
Each year I hoped they’d keep, knew they would not.
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The following Mood Board Photos were downloaded from unsplash.com
Burning Shoe - Dan Carlson
Heart of Hands - Tim Marshall
Clown - Dawin Rizzo
Sparkling Heart - Jamie Street
The others - my own photos
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What it is - Erich Fried
It is nonsense
says reason
It is what it is
says love
It is calamity
says calculation
It is nothing but pain
says fear
It is hopeless
says insight
It is what it is
says love
It is ludicrous
says pride
It is foolish
says caution
It is impossible
says experience
it is what it is
says love
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