The Evolution of Communication in the Technology-Focused World - Essay Example

The Evolution of Communication in the Technology-Focused World Abstract This paper outlines the evolution of communication as the world has become more technology-focused. It elaborates on how the changes brought about by technology have improved communication in various ways, though the development has not been without negative consequences. Various aspects of communication are examined, including how technological advances have affected the health care industry, the traditional business model, and the field of education. The essay will discuss how an increasingly networked world poses a number of challenges for current and future criminal justice professionals and other public sector officials to maintain the public’s trust in the integrity of existing systems of law and code enforcement. Current issues are discussed, such as how ‘sexting’ represents a dilemma for public officials, and why it’s important to select complex, hard-to-guess passwords for important online accounts. In all, the paper presents a concise look at a few of the many areas affected by the rapid adoption of technology as a means of communication, and what it will ultimately mean for the duties performed by public officials. Keywords: communication, technology, criminal justice, public sector The Evolution of Communication as the World Becomes More Technology-Focused ‘Communication,’ as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, is “the successful conveying or sharing of ideas and feelings.” The methods by which such conveyances are made have been widely divergent through time. Whereas in the distant past, the dominant mode of communication might have entailed making gestures combined with short words or phrases to make one’s intentions known, the advent of the modern technological era has spawned an entirely new set of paradigms. The rapid rise in the speed and breadth of global communications enabled by technology has given rise to a number of descriptive labels. Industry expert Manuel Castells, a professor and Wallis Annenberg Chair in Communication Technology and Society at the University of Southern California, has dubbed the era as, ‘the network society’ (Castells, 2010). He postulates, “I contend that around the end of the second millennium of the common era a number of major social, technological, economic and cultural came together to give rise to a new form of society” (p. xvii). The referred to paradigm shift in communication is cited by Castells as creating a “shift from traditional mass media to a system of horizontal communication networks organized around the Internet and wireless communication” (p. xviii). Adopting a cautionary tone, he notes that a fundamental cultural transformation has taken place, based on digital information processing, that has engendered a “generational divide” between persons born before 1969, which he marks as the ‘Internet Age’ and those thereafter. While wholesale changes to longstanding global societal structures have doubtlessly created a sense of disorientation among some, the ability to instantly communicate has brought about many improvements worldwide. In the critical area of health care, communication technology has enabled unprecedented levels of access to information on diseases and treatments, which are instantly accessible over Internet-based protocols. Innovations such as Web-based medical collaborations, wherein practitioners in different geographical locations can share data from a single clinical record, have become a vital part of the treatment process (Sands, 2008). Advances in communication technology have completely reorganized the traditional business model. Whereas once only the larger corporate structures had the wherewithal to distribute goods and services worldwide, global access is now easily accessible to even small proprietors. Indeed, the global marketplace would not exist in its current form without the enabling presence of the Web, and its capacity to allow instant communication between buyers and sellers, regardless of location. The effects of technology on communication include a profound levelling influence on the growth of national economies, especially those in the developing world. According to the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Information Technology Report (2011), the next decade will see emerging economies become predominant as more citizens in those countries gain Internet access, and enhancements in the speed and quality of broadband connectivity become more widely distributed. The noted developments have the potential to generate widespread business and social opportunities in places where they did not exist before, certainly a positive result. Education is among the diverse areas that have been fundamentally changed by the evolution of communication due to technological advances. More and more college students are availing themselves of the opportunity to attain higher degrees through an online education. ‘Distance learning’ represents a less expensive alternative than attending full-time classes on campus. The trend is also affecting much younger students. An estimated 1.03 million students at the K-12 level in the U.S. took an online course in the 2007-8 academic year, an increase of 47 percent from two years earlier. In addition, roughly 200,000 American students attend online schools full time, mainly in privately owned charter schools (Trip, 2011). Questions have been raised, however, as to the quality of education available through distance learning, as opposed to traditional face-to-face student-teacher interaction. In the social arena, a raging debate continues as to whether the explosion of online communication through online networking sites, such as Facebook, represents an advancement in communication or the hastening of its deterioration. One camp includes persons who feel empowered by the ability to keep in constant touch with family and friends all around the globe. In the other, there are those who are concerned over the excessive amounts of time spent such sites, especially among youngsters. A recent study referenced a poll showing that 22 percent of teenagers frequented their favourite social media site more than 10 times per day, and that better than 50 percent of adolescents use a social media site more than once a day (Fuller, 2011). There is no doubt that Internet communications will continue to play an important role on the international stage. Case in point, the prominent part that social media sites have played in the tumultuous events taking place in North Africa and the Middle East, including Egypt, where long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February. Many of the anti-government demonstrations were planned online, drawing a nationwide Internet shutdown from a regime desperate to retain power. Wael Ghonim, a marketing manager for Google Inc., was widely credited as the administrator of a Facebook page that helped spark what he dubbed "the revolution of the youth of the Internet, and now the revolution of all Egyptians" (Sifry, 2011). The Internet, and its peripheral technologies, presents a particular challenge to current and prospective criminal justice professionals and public sector officials. The anonymity and geographical reach of the evolved communication mediums allow crimes to be committed without any physical contact with the target. New words, such as ‘phishing,’ have been added to the popular lexicon, as hackers residing half a world away can use malicious computer code to empty an unsuspecting individual’s bank account by committing identify fraud. In Great Britain, recently released information highlighted a worsening £400m-a-year problem with phishing, as many individuals were lured into cyber crimes involving money transfers (Bicknell, 2011). Among young persons ‘cyberbullying’ has become a grave concern (McKenna, 2011), with several high profile suicides occurring when teens who were bullied online felt they had no recourse but to take their own lives. Establishing better, more comprehensive controls over the Internet, for both broadband computer and cell phone networks, is therefore an essential step to maintain public trust in the integrity of a given system of law and code enforcement. In terms of standards, establishing more reliable methods of identifying online users represents a step that the courts have taken a tentative stab at. Several rulings have held that site owners and Internet Service Providers are responsible for online postings on Web properties that they control (Nolo, n.d.). Perhaps the most important solution, though, is to effectively communicate sufficient information to the public so that fewer individuals will fall prey to online schemers. For example, it was found that most Internet users tend to employ very simple passwords that are very easily hacked (Rizzo, 2011). If a larger number of persons utilized complex passwords, more online accounts would remain secure from would-be thieves. In efforts to protect the most vulnerable members of society, a critical area of concern for criminal justice professionals and public sector officials involves the identification, capture and prosecution of persons engaged in child pornography. This is an area of communication that has clearly been abetted by the ubiquity of the Web, giving paedophiles ready access to a global network of like-minded individuals. The same goes for human trafficking, as well as the relatively new phenomenon of ‘sexting’ (Hoffman, 2011). The latter is a particularly difficult issue to regulate because the perpetrators are usually minors themselves, and there are concerns that enacting tough statutes will make more of them subject to the legal system. In conclusion, the evolution of communication due to technological advances has evoked a significant number of changes in the ways that individuals and groups relate to one another. In the main, changes have been positive ones, though some observers claim that the lessening of face-to-face communication will ultimately cause the personal skill to deteriorate. Criminal justice professional and public sector officials are tasked with effectively monitoring and staying ahead of the aforesaid changes in order to maintain public trust in the integrity of local and national systems of government. In today’s increasingly inter-connected world, effective strategies must be employed so that the public feels as safe and secure in venturing online as they would going outside for a walk in a good neighbourhood. Those are the standards by which citizens will hold public officials to. While legal precedents are incomplete at this point, the trend in online communication is evolving in the direction of less anonymity and more transparency. References Bicknell, P. (2011, April 17). Cyber criminals target owners of smartphones. The Independent. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/money/spend-save/cyber-criminals-target-owners-of-smartphones-2268877.html. Castells, M. (2010). Rise of the Network Society (2nd ed., Vol. 1). West Sussex, U.K.: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Fuller, A., Hinton, J. (2011, April 17). Facebook can stress kids, especially if self-esteem already low. Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved from http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2011/apr/17/facebook-can-stress-kids-especially-if-self-esteem-ar-954799/ Gabriel, T. (2011, April 5). More Pupils Are Learning Online, Fueling Debate on Quality. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/education/06online.html. Hoffman, J. (2011, March 26). States Struggle With Minors’ Sexting. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/us/27sextinglaw.html. McKenna, C. (2011, April 18). 'Cyberbullying' a Fatal Reality in Schools and Homes. Ridgefield Patch. Retrieved from http://ridgefield.patch.com/articles/cyberbullying-a-fatal-reality-in-schools-and-homes. Rizzo, T. (2011, April 4). Perils of passwords exposed in Internet theft case. Kansas City Star. Retrieved from http://www.kansascity.com/2011/04/04/2776570/perils-of-passwords-exposed-in.html. Sands, D., M.D. (2008, February 6). Communications technology critical to healthcare improvement. WTN News. Retrieved from http://wistechnology.com/articles/4522/. Sifry, M. L. (2011, February 11). Did Facebook bring down Mubarak? CNN. Retrieved from http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-11/opinion/sifry.egypt.technology_1_egypt-internet-access-revolution. The Global Information Technology Report 2010-2011. (2011). World Economic Forum. Retrieved from http://reports.weforum.org/global-information-technology-report/. When Is an ISP Liable for the Acts of Its Subscribers? (n.d.). Nolo. Retrieved from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/isp-liability-subscriber-acts-29564.html. Read More