Power to the Children
In the1920’s the evolution of printing lithography and the birth of the Leica gave birth to Photojournalism and the concept of the illustrated newspaper. This new technology resulted in the most important persuasive visual medium (before television) and subsequently changed the way humans viewed the world around them. From the 1930’s onwards, magazines such as the British "Picture Post" and the American "Life" publications had enormous status and were able to mould public opinion and the way they shaped society. Behold the power of the visual image!
Nowadays of course, the web is similarly changing human behaviour at a fundamental level. Humans spend large amounts of time online, reading, accessing, researching and assessing information. Then they use what they learn to collaborate with each other, refine the information, and use it to shape their own opinion as to the way the world works. Consequently they are learning vastly different thought processes and ways of viewing information and society than the older pre-internet people grew up with.
Our kids are now “the net generation” and because they are learning in a different way to the methods by which Rich and I learned, they are effectively re-wiring their brains with different software. In the book “Wikinomics”, Don Tapscott calls them the “integrity generation,” because they are learning to demand integrity from the institutions they deal with, whether they be governments, companies, or educational institutions.
Growing up with a constant source of information on the internet means that our children now take transparency for granted. If they hear something on the news on T.V., and they think it sounds suspicious, they check it online. They collaborate, they look for the truth, they gather all information, and they find the real answer for themselves.
Although it is possible to lie online, because of the vast network of millions of people, such falsehoods can be discovered and disproved very quickly. It is much harder for governments to cover up scandal and spread misinformation than it was before the birth of the internet. Nowadays, people do not automatically believe everything they are told by authority. In the words of the X Files, “the truth is out there,” and it is a heck of a lot easier to find than it ever used to be.
If I find out my local council is going to build crappy houses in a beautiful and hitherto protected area of outstanding beauty, I can go online, help form a protest group, organise meetings, raise funds, publicise and gather support, and through this collective gathering of minds, we can put a stop to the development. Which is exactly what has happened several times in our local community inside the last year.
Do you realise what immense power this is?
The power to the people to think differently, to discover the truth about the world, and to change it into something better. This is the power that our kids are learning. They will use this new technology to shape a society which will be a very different place from the one Rich and I grew up in.
And the most wonderful thing about this power is that it seems to be overwhelmingly a force for good.
This is Kate, from last year.
Nowadays of course, the web is similarly changing human behaviour at a fundamental level. Humans spend large amounts of time online, reading, accessing, researching and assessing information. Then they use what they learn to collaborate with each other, refine the information, and use it to shape their own opinion as to the way the world works. Consequently they are learning vastly different thought processes and ways of viewing information and society than the older pre-internet people grew up with.
Our kids are now “the net generation” and because they are learning in a different way to the methods by which Rich and I learned, they are effectively re-wiring their brains with different software. In the book “Wikinomics”, Don Tapscott calls them the “integrity generation,” because they are learning to demand integrity from the institutions they deal with, whether they be governments, companies, or educational institutions.
Growing up with a constant source of information on the internet means that our children now take transparency for granted. If they hear something on the news on T.V., and they think it sounds suspicious, they check it online. They collaborate, they look for the truth, they gather all information, and they find the real answer for themselves.
Although it is possible to lie online, because of the vast network of millions of people, such falsehoods can be discovered and disproved very quickly. It is much harder for governments to cover up scandal and spread misinformation than it was before the birth of the internet. Nowadays, people do not automatically believe everything they are told by authority. In the words of the X Files, “the truth is out there,” and it is a heck of a lot easier to find than it ever used to be.
If I find out my local council is going to build crappy houses in a beautiful and hitherto protected area of outstanding beauty, I can go online, help form a protest group, organise meetings, raise funds, publicise and gather support, and through this collective gathering of minds, we can put a stop to the development. Which is exactly what has happened several times in our local community inside the last year.
Do you realise what immense power this is?
The power to the people to think differently, to discover the truth about the world, and to change it into something better. This is the power that our kids are learning. They will use this new technology to shape a society which will be a very different place from the one Rich and I grew up in.
And the most wonderful thing about this power is that it seems to be overwhelmingly a force for good.
This is Kate, from last year.
Labels: Kate, Philosophy, politics
posted by Lin at 4:52 PM
3 Comments:
Power to you, Lin!!! I'm glad I made the click to Fluffytek today. What you say is so true and so needed-to-be-said.
Thank you!
There is however a flip side too, in that rumour can overtake genuine attempts at truth telling.
Your kids may be very good at finding sources and cross referencing. But they are particularly smart, as I suspect may be many of their friends. However, the average school kid just does a quick google search and copies and pastes the first thing they find into their assignments. They specifically don't cross check sources and I know this from first hand research in my work. 2/3 of UK kids are not able to distinguish between reputable sources of information and rumour factories and just grab the first thing they find. It is a constant source of irritation to teachers. Remember your lovely children are probably in the top 2% of ability or higher.
Most kids, like their non net literate parents, lack the skill at assessing the quality of the information source they find, and as a result are vulnerable to serious attempts at information tampering. Teaching that quality assessment skill is something that schools are trying to bring in as they are aware of the problem.
I agree, the power of the net is immense and probably the most important world changing invention since the printing press. What's fascinating me at the moment is the way that the old sources of power are realising this and are making inroads into the art of spreading rumours through the net so that it passes off as truth. I pay close attention to the whole climate change debate and the foul-play taking place over how information is spread on that topic has been amazing.
So, while I share your amazement, I am cautious as to painting too rosy a picture. The rules have all changed, but those who wield power are perfectly capable of adapting to the new game. I am cautiously optimistic, but the game is not over yet.
I agree !!! Bravo.
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