Critiques of Computing and Cyberspace
1.The Digital Divide: (see p.372 / 386)
Information Haves and Have-NotsUnited:- Declining costs for hardware, software, and connectivity
contribute to greater access.- Gender gap has vanished.- Age gap is narrowing.
Divided:- Non-white households trail in access.- Rural, isolated, or remote regions often have limited access.
Critiques of Computing and Cyberspace
2. The Neo-Luddite View (see p. 379)
Criticisms of Computer Technology:
- Deskilling of jobs.- Causes social inequality.- Separates humans from nature and destroys the environment.- Benefits big business and big government.- Thwarts development of social skills in children.- We use them because they are there.
Critiques of Computing and Cyberspace
3. The Problem with Prediction (see p. 389, also Chp 4, Risks)
Guessing at the Consequences of Technology:
- How will people use the new technology?- How will people benefit from the new technology?- Will people like the new technology?- How much will people pay for the new technology?- What problems will the technology cause?
Critiques of Computing and Cyberspace
3. Slouka – War of the Worlds
The Road to Unreality:
- Do people live in “unreal” worlds?- How do new technologies alter our perception of reality?- How is the world “re-presented” to us through media?- Will we opt for the digitized world over the real one?- Will we become one hive mind ever accessible through the ‘Net?