Digital privilege

 I met one of my mentors after several months. He has been one of the few gentlemen I have esteemed much for years now, primarily for the integrity of character and critical thinking. 

The latest meeting however was a kind of reversal of roles: he needed my help to figure out something about the internet and email. He was never good at tasks involving technical content. So I have lent him a helping hand very many times in the past as well. 

Now as a 'tutor' it occurred to me, how is it that he does not know such simple and easy things. But as an educator I am also aware that what I today consider 'simple and easy' was not what the older generation was born with. The digital playground has been the given-privilege of my era - greater still of the younger guys. 

A matter of trust

The whole idea of fake news and alternative facts is coming round to haunt the very notion of news and truth. While some blame it on the proliferation of social media and communication channels, others to the failure of authority to be true to their call for universal representation and fairplay.  Some blame it on our own long standing demand for authenticity, transparency and freedom.  Some blame it on postmodern thinkers who ushered in this sort of 'fringe-thinking'. 

Mere pieces of information without any perspective is not news.  And there is no news that is not biased or 'from a particular angle'.  And even if one has merely pieces of information, but no context or plan or perspective, they are all useless entities.  Just like lego pieces to a rat.  A cat may atleast play with them. A dog may perhaps chew them.  Even a child who has no clue of what they are, or never seen them before, will merely use them for throwing around.  No such child in the first instance is going to build a house or plane with them! 

The call for transparency, authenticity, accountability cannot be blamed for generating conflict and confusion.  The plethora of social media cannot be blamed for generating stuff.  (The fault of fake news is not the crime of the media but of individuals lacking accountability and authenticity.)  The worth and value of social media arose for lack of credibility of erstwhile institutions which were once held in esteem for being authentic.  Institutions like the leading newspapers, court judges, experienced academia, religious authorities.... Social media needs to keep these on their toes, not usurp their roles.  When these established institutions continue to repeatedly fail to live up to the trust people have in them, the general population is left at the mercy of any and every media.  Authority is so distributed that everyone believes everyone or no one believes anyone (both the same!). 

Accepting responsibility

Mark Zuckerberg is under heavy fire these days for letting personal data be harvested from facebook users without their consent.  Well, it seems a bit odd to me to blame him alone for all that!  Just a few years ago, facebook was the buzzword.  Everyone had a facebook account.  One who didn't was frowned upon as if he or she were a dinosaur.  People posted anything and everything on facebook.  From group photos to selfies of oneself in the privacy of one's room;  from picnic photos to private parties; anything... just anything! 

A couple of months ago a thief in Karnataka was arrested for looting clean a house, while the owners were away on a holiday.  On interrogation, the thief revealed that he emptied the house bit by bit.  Not only that he practically lived in that house for the whole duration that the family was away.  Packing up things during the day, cooking for himself, sleeping the night and leaving early in the morning with all things he had packed.  On asking if he was not frightened of the arrival of the owners, he said, he wasn't... because the family was religiously updating its facebook account with photos and quips about their holidays.  He had nothing to fear since he knew when exactly they would be returning!! 

So when people feel free to post anything they want on a public platform like the internet, even if they do not join any groups, they are still making themselves public.  So if an intelligent analyst builds up a profile of the individual from all that has been posted online, then one can only appreciate the analyst and not cry wolf! 

Facebook, like every other media, is a communication network or channel.  It can be used for good or for bad.  To engage with it, expecting what you share to be used for publicity but not for harvesting information, that what you yourself have posted - with great joy and pride - is being an ostrich. Zuckerberg, is to be blamed, but not solely! What Zuckerberg is being accused of, not taking responsibility for the information harvesting, everyone who feels 'aggrieved' too is guilty of.  He (or any other) would not have had it, if you had not offered it, sometime or other other, in some way or the other. 

Cave paintings and emojis

Mankind took centuries and ages of painstaking effort to evolve communication and language from the earliest animalistic grunts and cave paintings.  Years of study and research has seen the development of syntax, grammar, spelling, dictionaries, translations and what not... all to polish language and make it more sophisticated.  In such a context it is amazing to see the use of language on social media, especially the ones most in use (twitter, facebook, whatsapp...).  Grammar has gone for a toss.  So have spellings. Words are shortened and abbreviated (euphemism for murdered and butchered!).  And most often there are hardly any words or letters... only emoji.  So much so, the word 'emoji' was announced as the word of the year in 2015 by Oxford dictionary!  Back to the age of cave paintings! But I guess pictures have always been a more powerful means of communication than words.

Generation iKids

Here are extracts from an article which was featured in the complimentary magazine of The Times (25.03.2017).  Written by Ben Machell, it is titled 'Addicted! Generation iKids'

The world to a baby is pretty unpredictable, but these devices are so well crafted and intuitive that they deliver something to a baby that is reasonably predictable. It makes them feel like they have command over an environment that they generally don't have much control over... (emphasis added) (p. 22)

Adam Alter, a psychologist:

The problem with modern technology, he says, is not that it changes so quickly, but rather that it changes just slowly enough for us to not really notice the effect it's having (p. 23).  

Technology today has widened the possibility of 'probability'. Earlier, one had to be at home, in front of a TV set to watch a cartoon. Not anymore.  Moreover there were barriers built into the TV viewing. The cartoon programmes were interspersed with news, "stopping rules".

Only, these stopping rules are being deliberately, systematically destroyed by Zuckerberg and friends. Everything is now designed to be endless... a sort of auto-binge option that prevents you from having to make the decision to watch another (p. 23). 

Alter adds

The biggest issue with interaction is that you get feedback. And feedback is the engine of addiction.... if you have a device that gives them instant feedback all the time, that means they don't have to try very hard to get feedback from the world (p. 23).  

Perhaps the most serious danger:

...phones and tablets allow children to pass the time in a kind of mental holding pattern: not bored, but not engaged with the world around them either (p. 23).  

The article rightly places the onus of the responsibility on the parents.  If parents are all the time facing the phone, they're not going to be far behind.  One of the serious suggestions of the psychologists: avoid using phones and digital devices when with children.  The main reason: they deserve your time and full attention.  Do not keep yourselves or them distracted with phones and tablets!

The article also lists the opposing view, namely that research shows not much of a damage is done to the child's learning skill or mental functioning.  However, I personally see the sacrifice of the actual world for a virtual world, a huge threat to human civilization. 

Personalised greetings

Most people think that with an advancement in the means of communication, communion grows. That's not always true.  At times the danger is that instead of bring people together, the means of communication, distances people from one another or makes relationship superfluous.

I'm reminded of days, not too long ago, when b'day cards were sent out to loved ones to greet them on the occasion of their birthday.  Now these cards had to be timed in order to reach the person just before the day. That meant thinking about the person much before the actual day itself.  So there was a list of people close to us and their dates and addresses.  This list or diary was regularly looked at and invariably people remembered.  The greeting itself meant writing something worthwhile and good for the person.  Taking the trouble of going to the postoffice to get a stamp and then post it. Then came b'day cards which replaced the letter. But even then, one had to think of the person, in advance (and till the actual day).

With the internet, the e-mails made things "easier". One had to think of the person just the previous day or on the day itself.  Today, most people merely remember on the day and send a whatsapp message or a facebook post.  Gone are the personalised greetings. Wishes are now broadcasted not conveyed! What's more one need not even remember any date, they are all digitally recorded and reminded!

Online Trolls

Reading news online has been a habit since long.  Earlier I used to read also the comments that would be posted below the news article. This was a continued habit from reading the 'letters to the editor' which appeared in the print version.  However, I stopped reading the comments a few years since.  Purely for the venom they spit and for the hatred with which they utter words.  I've long been convinced that these comments were purposely posted by appointed people, just to tarnish the image of anything worthwhile.  Most often there would not be any rhyme or reason for their hateful tirade.

Yesterday there was an article in The Times (UK) by a person describing the online (malign) campaign of the ruling party BJP in India.  A similar one appeared in The Guardian on Dec. 27, 2016. Firstpost (dated Dec. 28, 2016) begins thus

It's something that will eventually catch up with you. From disparaging and vituperative remarks to disgusting sexual innuendos, rape and death threats, hateful memes and an unapologetic and arrogant attitude, trolling is a routine affair these days. There is hardly any originality in it anymore. 

But when the ruling government of a democracy carefully constructs, contrives and calibrates a social media culture where dissent towards a leader or an ideology or even a party is reciprocated in the worst possible manner, it is a matter of extreme worry and it becomes obligatory to initiate a dialogue and debate and especially when it becomes part of our daily existence.

It confirms my view that there is a systematic hijacking of the social media and the internet open polls by political parties for backing their sinister motives and worse, silencing the democratic voice of dissent. A clever move indeed but a very dangerous one.  No opinion contrary to the ruling party is spared.  If the person speaking against any policy or decision of the party is a woman, the text is at times very nasty.  Every news or incident, political or not, is somehow commented upon to praise the party of choice and shower abuses on anyone dissenting.

People of India are still very gullible when it comes to having convictions and forming opinions. They'd rather go with the majority than stand alone or take a stand against.  In such a context to sway one's opinion in someone's favour, such smear campaigns work extremely well.

Pelli Choopulu

Last night watched the telugu movie Pelli Choopulu directed by Tharun Bascker (his debut directorial venture).  A nice movie about matchmaking in the Telugu context.  No celebrities. No big banners. No mega budget. No action dhamaka. Just plain 'slice of life'.  Of course, targeted for an upscale urban market. Nonetheless, decently portrayed and very realistically presented. It also challenges some of the superstitions and traditional values that have stereotyped men and women into certain moulds and roles.  

I'd heard of this movie long time ago when it was released.  There was no big release or publicity done. It was basically through social media that this movie was announced and advertised. Good creative youtube snippets.  

A perfect mix of what media can (be made to) do and be: value-based, cheap, highly creative, offer opportunities to enthusiastic talent, humourous, new avenues of advertising on existing free platforms...

Digital story of the Nativity

Couldn't help but insert this digital narration of the nativity... remember it very vividly from over the years, since I first saw it on youtube.

Good ol' days

Hurrah!

I always wanted to do this, but never really did it till this day.  Yes! I did it... I didn't check my e-mails for the past one week!!! The only hick is that I did it without intending it!  It was not that I was away, just that I was too caught up with things to be done and I never really found time to check out the mails!  As simple and plain as that... Whew!

I am still wondering how I can got this far (it is just the beginning of the year!)... juggling renovation work of the dormitories, preparing lists and schedules of and for the Brothers, getting the place ready for their arrival, the various initial programmes upon their arrival and to top it all, my own MA exams. Just couldn't ask for more!

Thank God for the graces and gift of everything that you've blessed me with! Couldn't ask for more!

Silence in Communication

Here's perhaps the crux of the Message of the Holy Father, Benedict XVI on the occasion of the 46th World Communication day (Jan. 24, the feast of Francis de Sales):

The process of communication nowadays is largely fuelled by questions in search of answers. Search engines and social networks have become the starting point of communication for many people who are seeking advice, ideas, information and answers. ... Indeed, people today are frequently bombarded with answers to questions they have never asked and to needs of which they were unaware. If we are to recognise and focus upon the truly important questions, then silence is a precious commodity that enables us to exercise proper discernment in the face of the surcharge of stimuli and data that we receive.

[Read the full text here: Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization]

Christmas story, digital narration... literally

Here's a lovely narration of the nativity story... digitally, literally!! Great!

Digital Resurrection

Today in my reading of some text, I came across this phrase 'born digital'... it was about young people today who are born and grow up playing with the latest of media technology and gadgets. By the time they start speaking and reasoning, they are experts in the use of these media, much much better than some elders who may still be stuggling to know or find out the very idea of them. This has special significance for us Salesians since the younger generations that are coming up are only progressive - though not all - and if we are to make an impact in their lives, we too need to be familiar with their world. Therefore, if not born digital, we need to at least have a digital resurrection!!

The Church, Scandal and Communication!

Faced with scandal, a mainstream culture that rejects Catholic values, and a slow-working internal Church structure that struggles to keep up with the 24/7 news cycle, how should Church communicators approach their tasks?

Father José María La Porte, a professor of Social Communications at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, organized a major conference for Church communicators on the theme "Identity and Dialogue," which was held earlier this month in Rome. His distinction between "fast food news" and "slow food news" is very enriching; so is the whole concept of communication, criticism and the Church.

ZENIT asked him about his opening presentation at the conference, in which he pitched several proposals for a new communications strategy. Here's the interview!

Regarding websites...

The Salesian International Website now has a new look... here it is! Trust it will lead the way in inspiring us all to see how best we can "man" our Province websites and make them truly efficacious means of communication in this modern world.

I fully agree with Fr PT, when he raises this question: What is it that we want people to visit our websites for? When they visit the site, do they get what they really need?

Now this is a question that needs to be answered constantly. Looking at the progress we in the Province have made with regard to the Province website, I really feel happy. But am also scared if I'd be able to continually keep appropriately answering the demanding question!

Salesians 2010

Salesians 2010

That's the link to the Salesian Magazine (digital form) 2010. It's a great initiative showcasing the Salesian apostolate around the world and a short of chronicle too. Looks great and I am more interested in the digitalisation process and distribution process of it. I'm sure Fr Julian Fox is pushing for this in his own way.

Online/blogging advertising!

Perhaps the first concrete fruits of what I intended the blog on the upcoming school to be was materialised when Mr Chaitanya (Mugda village, Gandipet area) walked into my office this morning seeking information about the school. I was thrilled to know that he came to know more of the school from the blog!! He told me that he 'googled' the title and then came across this blog which he and his wife read in its entirety!

I look forward to the day when the school blog would be run by some of the students of the school and so will the whole 'net'-work related to the school. For the immense possibilities the net offers, children could very well make the most of it for growth and development, not just of their own self but make a significant contribution to the world... that's my dream for each school kid walking into the campus!

Showcasing myself for a cause!

For long this battle between appearing in the limelight and staying away from it has been raging on in me. Today as I listened to Jose and Syamala narrate incidents where children, coolies and innocent tribals are being exploited beyond human imagination and to a point of insanity for any sensible person to merely listen to, made me see another perspective of how I can get involved in this struggle. I don't think I have in me, all that it takes to be an activist on par with these people or those whom I know... Fr Koshy, Fr Palli, Fr TD, Syamala, Jose, and so many others. But that zeal to do something is always there.

So I'm thinking to myself, why not make use of my knowledge and zeal for media to bring to light such incidents and bring the attention of the world to matters which otherwise get lost in the glamorous side of events. Of course, this would just be a drop in the ocean, but (as Mother Teresa said) the ocean would be less by one drop, if not for my contribution! For this to happen, I need to get networking, get people to see what and who I stand for. I need to build an edifice, not for myself but to highlight those for whom I have committed myself to, on behalf of God.

Politics and goodness

There is much talk and paper-ink (read Rajdeep Sardesai's blog) about YSR, the CM of Andhra Pradesh who was killed in a helicopter crash two days ago (along with four others). What surprised me and shocked me - besides the tragic death - was the response of quite a few on the internet. Most of the comments and responses to the internet news were all so abusive and spiteful, that I had to reread the news item if it really was that of the death of YSR. YSR was no big saint. Far from it, he was a seasoned politician who came up the hard way - even using muscle power. As someone stated, he was indeed a bandit ... but a benevolent bandit. Whatever be the case, to speak ill of a dead person, that too is such derogatory terms, speaks ill not of the deceased but of the one penning those few lines. In my understanding, no politician is above corruption and scandal. All have their share of past or present to hide. But perhaps good to see if those who benefit from his/her administration outnumber those to whom he has caused pain. If that is a rather good surplus then s/he has done well.