Advancements in Information Technology
In today's push-button world, the expression "the world is getting smaller everyday" could not be truer. Technology has shrunk distances and differences, and even brought down many a cultural barrier. Lift your handset and dial, and you are connected to the other side of the world. Change the channel on your TV, and alien nations and notions come to life in your living room. Log on, and a whole new world of weird and wonderful communications is only a mouse click away. It is not only our high-tech appliances that are becoming more compact and pocket-sized. It is the very planet on which we live.
Information technology is not simply alluring, but all-essential in a world which expects you to be up-to-date and well-informed to be credible. But amidst the dazzle of such easily accessible knowledge comes the question of personal identity and culture, which are at serious risk of being dispersed as more people receive greater exposure to conflicting values.
This image was selected as a picture of the week o...
World map depicting Africa Esperanto: Mondmapo bil...
WSIS Forum 2013 - Information Technology Industry ...Two sides of the same coin. So while exposure to events and lifestyles of people in the western part of the hemisphere could be informative and intellectually stimulating, yet the gaps could be quite alarming to those in the less developed countries. Watching people die in Africa of famines and wars on one channel on your dish, and witnessing, on the next channel, animal rights campaigns, luxurious cars' ads and fashion shows could be quite provocative. Using the 'Internet' as a truly extended web of information wealth on one hand, and on the other to break security codes of financial transactions indicates that there will always be two edges to the same weapon.
Thus, there is no easy straightforward answer to the dilemma indicated above. Local traditions and values will always remain a function...