EDITORIAL: With use of technology comes huge responsibility

There is much to be said about the level of sensitivity (or lack thereof) that we are exhibiting to our fellow man in this day and age. In former years it was the norm for persons to care for their neighbours and their welfare. Our elders also observed that there might be occasion to become involved in some matters that included members of their community. At other times, it might be necessary to be discreet because respect for others’ space and privacy was also important. Now it seems that we live in an age where our hunger for information trumps decency and ultimately, common-sense. This is a trend that has gained much popularity and even increased support worldwide, and Barbados, sadly, is rushing headlong in that direction. There is a saying that “with knowledge comes power”, but what many fail to acknowledge is that responsibility should also be assumed or else that knowledge and power become destructive.

Lately the focus has been on an evolved scourge that has raised its ugly head among people of late in Barbados. Trolling, a form of cyber bullying, means to make a deliberately offensive or provocative online post with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them. High profile instances of this behaviour can be seen on social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook and are prohibited by those who run them. However, due to the immediate nature of this act, even when the posts are eventually taken down by the social media administrators, the damage to the victim is already publicly done.

Indeed the media, which include the Internet, have been revolutionised to the point that information can be received within seconds and anywhere. It is as easy as typing one word or a few in any search engine and all types of information in many forms will appear for the researcher of the moment to digest. What is disturbing, however, is that there seems to be a diminishing responsibility regarding information that is posted which can negatively affect others. However, some jurisdictions have been trying to combat this behaviour by monitoring the activity and then prosecuting those who commit crimes and post them in the form of photos, video or editorial on the Internet. In a recent example, a young comedian was arrested in Florida for recording video of himself going around giving random unsuspecting movie-goers ‘wedgies’ outside a theatre for entertainment.

There are lessons to be learnt from these situations, which, on a smaller scale, are occurring in our country. We too have access to the same information through our use of technology. The key to knowledge is responsibility and a sense of maturity. Without these values, knowledge stagnates and it festers. We do not want to follow in the footsteps of others where the absolute loss of control of information has the capacity to destroy what we in Barbados have come to enjoy up to this point. We are distinguished throughout the region and internationally as intelligent people, hence we need to rise to the occasion. Some are beginning to believe that somewhere our education of the youth is being lost in translation. We would all do well to remember that not everything is worthy of public scrutiny and we should also understand the danger and folly of publicizing every activity and resist the temptation.

Barbados Advocate

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