Daily Times

The entire world was left shaken with the launch of a new app ‘Threads’ by the technology conglomerate, Meta, as millions took to the platform, which garnered around 100 million users within the first five days after its launch, overtaking its so-called rival ‘Twitter.’ Similar events include the release of ‘ChatGPT’ an artificial intelligence-based chat bot, patented by the firm OpenAI. With the outburst of such frequent forums, where the entire world can join heads together to discuss crucial and salient matters, it is, without doubt, true that the world has been transformed into a ‘Global Village,’ a term coined by the Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan. It is true to say that these gimmicks have monopolized our lives, being seen as gods reigning over the extensively long list of man-made novelties. On the one hand, technology has got an entire lot of advantages to its name. Firstly, such devices have greatly revolutionized our lifestyles, with machines bringing about ease in our daily chores. We stand at such a climax within this technological fable that the once bulky possessions like the television, with limited functionalities, are now able to save a record of our activities, only showing stuff according to our likes and dislikes, though the screens have enlarged with a vivid display and slimmer architecture.

Pigeons now spend their days on retirement, as magnificent apps have enabled the 8 billion inhabitants of this planet to easily get to know each other.

The functionalities of technological devices are not only limited to this. Utensils like these are now talented enough to easily connect us through a mere click of glass to the World Wide Web or the internet, innovated by the English computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee. Pigeons now spend their days on retirement, as magnificent apps like Facebook, WhatsApp or Instagram have enabled the 8 billion inhabitants of this planet to easily get to know each other and even develop eternal bonds of fraternity and friendships, even by sitting miles away from one another. Now instead of postmen dropping off bundles of newspapers, websites are there at our service to provide us with an hourly update of all that takes place around the world, with news travelling like a flash across the globe. With the advent of 5G, day-to-day chores have evolved, as smart appliances attempt to replace traditional button-operated gadgets. For companies, technologies has proved to be a blessing in disguise. It has not only improved their employees’ efficiency, rather they have also been enabled to explore various fields of life. At home, social media has taken the role of entertaining users through hilarious videos and ridiculous deeds, undertaken by numerous ‘bloggers,’ many of whom have undertaken this as a full-time lucrative occupation and are devoted to earning their bread from these platforms, based on their fan-following. This thus creates a sense of optimism within those present on these forums, as a population from all around the world unites together to find solutions to problems or discuss something novel. In contrast, the setting up of new firms day by day has led to more innovation and creativity being boosted within the people, as the majority struggle to begin their start-ups and companies or even chase remote jobs, decreasing hunger and surprising lack of money that characterized the people’s lives previously. Similarly, the internet has played a decisive role in easing things up during calamities, such as the introduction of online meeting platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic which aided in overcoming the halt within business and educational activities.

When the computer first came into being, it was seen as an innovation that would completely revolutionize the way we see the world, something that it has partially accomplished. However, with the growing number of screens we use each day, privacy has become a prevailing issue. By sharing our profiles on social media, we are technically handing over our private information to firms about which we know nothing or are unaware of the fact, how our information is processed and where it is misused, whether for political or other dark purposes. With the rise of the dark web, cyber crimes have exponentially increased, as hackers target public platforms to rob others of their information and misuse it to commit felonies such as mass robberies or illegal trafficking. Although platforms like WhatsApp assure that their messages have been encrypted, the fact remains that won’t the company be able to access crucial information. On the contrary, increasing verification measures to prevent account hacking have led to more and more data being collected by firms, something which users often feel uncomfortable with. Consequentially, some apps have been equipped with the potential to scrap off data lying within a user’s mobile phone or other devices, tracking down locations, bank account details, etc. Many fraudulent apps are also present online, which extort financial details from users to provide loans to those who need them, all the while selling this information on the black market or utilizing it to pickpocket their customers. It is thus high time for us to realize that although the internet web has got multiple perks to offer, it has got its risks. As a result, its usage requires us to stay on alert, all the while keeping an eye on children who may fall for traps and become targets for harassment or torture. Only through such measures we may be able to extract the sweetness out of this bitter-sour fruit.

The writer is a freelance columnist.