Week 4

What I learnt from today’s lecture was how technology has grown so fast, yet the growth of it could possibly be dangerous. From what was discussed in the lecture it is actually hard to believe that we have came from seeing crazy futuristic devices that were shown in Thunderbirds, to now being able to do them with our phones. It is true that our generation don't really understand and don’t appreciate how it has grown, but it does make you think how fast technology has grown within the last 40 years and how it has changed people’s lives. Back then to talk to someone you actually had to speak to them face to face but now we can text, email, chat online, video call and fax them which shows you the amount of available choices we have now and how much progress has been made over the past 40 years. It is crazy to think what technology will be like when I'm older, like if the new I-phone 5 really does have a laser keyboard and hologram technology? What will the next 5 to 10 years bring? Holograms like in Star Wars? Will we be able to have video chat like in Star Wars when Obi Wan talks to the Jedi council? Technology is moving faster than we think. Even now something is happening or being developed or an idea is brewing. It is the speed at which it is growing at that is making past technology (that may only be a few years old and still useful), undated and incompatible with the new and faster developments being released. It's kind of like we’re always learning or catching up with both software and hardware technology.

Another issue that was brought up in the lecture was are the internet and social networks dangerous? and is it dangerous for us to be uploading so much information. Sometimes I do think people upload a bit too much, but then again, they have the power to take it down and edit what people can see. Saying that, Paul did bring up the issue of companies looking at your profile or anything else you have up on the web. Now unless that content has privacy settings, is this not a case of invasion of privacy? We have signed up to Facebook which is meant to be free, yet our information is being sold for profit. The development of technology makes it easier for our data to be found and sold. For example any I- phone or smart phone that synchronises with your address book and Facebook means that companies which are able to retrieve this information are also able to get all your friends in your address book if their phone is synced too. Is this an invasion of privacy? Is the speed of technology helping this invasion or is it stopping it? Will be interesting to hear what else has to be said about this in the next lecture and hopefully I can come up with better theories to improve these comments.