Taking offence has become no less than an industry nowadays. It generates responses on social media which transform into earnings. In turn, these aggravate the situation on the ground for further incidents that offend! It serves as entertainment for those who in the new world find validation only in the virtual world – separate from lived reality. Unfortunately, the repercussions on the ground can be quite serious, as ‘make-believe’ fails to play out in the real world. Reel makers, for instance, forget the laws of nature and end up as statistics in hospital casualty lists. Social media ‘warriors’, in turn, discover the unpleasantness of politics on the ground. Morality is being shaped by internet games and AI, leading to a confused understanding of the world, be it children or young adults.
There are attempts being made to bring sanity to the situation, with some countries going so far as to ban the use of smartphones by children below a certain age. Internet providers are being asked to manage content and use at their level. The courts are coming down harder on deliberate misuse of algorithms and other means of persuasion. Even so, it is a situation that remains out of control. India is one of the hardest hit countries simply because it has a multiplicity of issues open to aggravation. Fact checking by government and other agencies has increased but it is nowhere at the level required.
As such, it is necessary for the general public to be trained in the use of the new media as much as possible, beginning with children at home and in school. The manner in which people are becoming victim to cybercrimes shows how mere possession of high-technology means of communication does not prepare one to face the inherent dangers. When people get taken in by obvious lies during ‘digital arrest’, how much more difficult it would be to avoid technical traps such as links and QR codes.
Misuse of this technology is also being encouraged by political ideologies. In an environment where lies are already established currency, the boost provided by the internet is almost limitless. The lack of imagination among internet hacks is the only constraint, otherwise everything has become legit. Fake news, altered content, disinformation, etc., are what people are having to deal with, making it difficult to discern between truth and falsehood. Unless ways are found to break through this ‘chakravyuh’, the problem is going to get worse by the day. The impact on elections and politics will be increasingly negative.
