As Eric Scmidt and Jared Cohen indicate in their article The Digital Disruption: Connectivity and the Diffusion of Power, technology has now brought society to a place where even at the height or depths of society, every man and woman has a chance to voice their opinion. At first one might think this is wondrful. Our country has come so far that every citizen has the opportunity to speak their mind and be heard by many. This is wonderful, if the person with this access intends it for good. This brings me to my headline, “The Interconnected Estate”….for good or for evil?
It is amazing to think that over 50% of the world’s population uses some form of technology to connect to others. This means that those people with mal intent now have a large audience, some of who will agree and others who might be impressionable. For example, online hate groups now exist. There have been entire clans of people formed around a hatred because of this connection. People across the world can now ban together to then invoke hateful actions all becuase of this link.
On the other hand, we have the ability to create change. For good. As Schmidt and Cohen say, “For the world’s most powerful states, the rise of the interconnected estate will create new opportunities for growth and development..”. Being so connected with eachother can manifest a canvas for beautiful positivity. We can now be a part of support groups with the touch of a finger. I have focused mostly on the internet, because of its communication power, but cell phones have also been used as a channel. According to Schmidt and Cohen, approximately five billion people use cell phones. My aunt, who has cancer in most her organs and lives in North Carolina, can now text and call me every day.
Whether “The Interconnected Estate” is for good or for evil, I feel it is up to the user to determine what will dominate their lives. As a result, both good and evil.