A Tech Dystopia. Fiction or Non Fiction?

As you walk down Broadway you bump into a stranger with their head buried in their smartphones, likewise, you yourself are holding onto an I phone as you both look up and give an unenthusiastic apology as you look back down and continue your walk. Without realizing, slowly but surely, society itself is entering a technological dystopia, one that George Orwell wrote about in his popular non-fiction titles.

As quoted from The Guardian’s article The Tech Insiders who fear a Smart Phone Dystopia: “I don’t know a more urgent problem than this,” Harris says. “It’s changing our democracy, and it’s changing our ability to have the conversations and relationships that we want with each other.” So are technological experts like Harris correct in foreseeing the future? In my opinion, I view the idea of a technological dystopia as a problem that will drastically change the outlook on future generations. It’s actually already begun, if we were to walk into a random middle school classroom almost everyone will be holding a smartphone whilst the teacher is writing on a smartboard. Like it or not, even educational institutes are beginning to rely more heavily on technology to carry out their lesson plans.

Is this an addiction that society has been diagnosed with and is there a way we can diverge from the inevitable path of a tech dystopia? Unlike other addictions, being addicted to your smart device and the internet affects almost everyone in the United States, as well as other countries with access to the internet. The problem is that our society today functions with a huge reliability on technology. If technology were to stop working, the world would be in a stagnant state, filled with confusion and chaos.

How I see it, a tech dystopia is ultimately inevitable. We as a society have developed a notion that technology advancements are a great thing, which they are. For example look at the improvements in medical technology. I believe the majority of us have failed to realize we have become slaves to the tech industry. Demand for tech is higher than ever. People are sleeping overnight on the streets in front of Apple stores for the latest release, and this will not change in the near future. It’s nothing to be too afraid of, but we need to be cognizant of the issues and think about what our options are to manage them.

Fake News Lost Trust

The term “Fake News” has become a popular phrase that many millennials are using in their modern day dictionary when they come across a headline on social media that screams click on me. The way news outlets in today’s western societies have begun gearing towards more entertaining, non-accurate news rather than factual and straightforward news is becoming a growing concern. How did society allow this to happen, why aren’t people becoming more attentive to how factual news stories are?

Infotainment, described as “material broadcast through media that is meant to simultaneously entertain and inform” as quoted from The Growing Public Mistrust Of Experts In A Digital Age. The increase in Infotainment among popular news sources who recognize that more people are gearing away towards real, factual news and are gearing towards news that satisfies short attention spans, is becoming a norm. In part this may be due to a widespread increase in media availability on the internet, such as YouTube or Netflix. Competition for viewers and readers is becoming fiercer as news outlets are trying to find out more ways to get their content to get more clicks.

Our societies increasing lack of trust in experts has becoming alarmingly disturbing. Youth is at the forefront of “Fake News” and a solution to regain their trust in “Real News” is necessary if we want to create better societal environments for future generations. How can we regain their trust and how can we create an everlasting change that will benefit our future generations?

I believe it starts with the government. Regulations and instilling new legislatures that puts limits on how media outlets can distribute their information is how we can create a change in how people view the news. By creating a regulation that forces media outlets to limit their publications of Infotainment, we can properly regulate how much “Fake News” is actually going out into the world. Of course, this solution will be met with disdain and controversy as media outlets may feel restricted on what they can publish. If we want to regain trust and bring peace to our digital society, it starts at the top.

Keeping up with Society

As technology firms such as Google, Tesla, and Apple advance into new uncharted territories, our youth is struggling to keep up with the ever-changing societal trends. The 4th industrial revolution means that society will continue to evolve and at a pace that our generations needs to keep up with. So how can our youth stay engaged and balanced in today’s society so that they can become successful and thrive by themselves?

Where do we start? Firstly, I believe creating achievable goals for our youth is important. As stated in UNESCO World Report, some ideas presented back in 2015 for global goals to influence our youth included “Achieving Universal Primary Education” and “Developing a global partnership for development”. I believe in 2018, society as a whole is still behind in achieving these goals, as the new industrial revolution starts we will have to reevaluate new goals. So how can we set new goals that can be reasonable to achieve and be impactful in changing the guidelines we expect for our youth?

I propose the goal of creating a free online community that educates students on the current cultural trends and connects them with other students around the world. By sharing and exchanging cultural ideas, information, and art, this can become an important learning tool in generating better mutual understandings between cultures. By creating a global community that can bridge cultural differences and rifts, being stagnant with current trends may become a thing of the past.

Furthermore, by instilling the idea of cultural appreciation for our youth, they can change the norm of society that emphasizes traditional views. How many times did we as children learn about other cultures, about what other countries’ current affairs and trends are? It’s never too late to learn but I believe it’s more beneficial to learn at an earlier age than at a later one. By expanding the scope for how our youth sees other cultures and traditions, we can be more confident that they will keep up with the 4th industrial revolution and become more balanced and engaged in their future endeavors.

Our Earth, Our Choice

Not a day goes by as more species living in the Arctic Poles are becoming more and more endangered, shifting closer towards extinction. As temperatures continue to rise, ice caps are melting at a higher rate, forcing species such as polar bears to travel further in order to find their prey. This does not bode well for the future of these endangered species; we need more public interest in climate change if it means saving our wildlife from inevitable extinction. The Natural Conservancy also gives us 10 facts about Climate change and global warming that millennials can become more aware about.

A revolution in climate change starts with us, the millennials, however time may be against us but taking action for what is needed for the earth’s future is undeniable. How can we start? How can further advances into renewable energy sources help reduce the drastic climate changes caused by greenhouse gasses?

With increases in global awareness for climate change, we can enable more action to be taken, such as advocating for a new type of energy source called “Nuclear Fusion Energy” which is created in power plants. This energy source will not emit greenhouse gases, and it will require less resources than other renewable energy sources. With the guarantee of Canadian company “General Fusion”, there is a 0% chance of a meltdown crisis. The World Economic Forum also lists 4 other technological innovations that can help us fight climate change.

So why are we hesitant on this? Why has the media been complacent in shining a bigger light to this innovative idea? With change comes worry, and understandably so; with the history of various nuclear power plant catastrophes, being able to convince the public that this will be 100% safe is going to be a challenge. However, I do believe that this innovative idea will advance the world past traditional energy sources that are detrimental to our environment. A much needed change to this new energy source might be the answer to solving climate change.

What more can we do from our local communities? Education is key, educating the youth and future generations on why protecting the Earth’s environment is going to be beneficial in the long run. With new, innovative ideas coming out about how to reduce emissions, we need to teach the youth about the importance of their choices and how they can create an everlasting impact for the Earth’s future.

Keeping Hope Alive.

As world renowned figure skater Kim Yuna hoists the Olympic torch above PyeongChang, South Korea, the crowd goes wild and the athletes down below cheer. It’s an enormous moment for Kim Yuna and the country of South Korea as the Winter Olympics is off to a hot start. For women around the world, seeing a female figure raise the Olympic torch in front of millions watching from home, it means so much more.

However, around the world today, in countries where gender equality is disturbingly unbalanced, many young women are struggling to find education. Ranging from Ethiopia to India and many more countries, it’s becoming a stagnant problem for young women being the victims of human trafficking, as well as being forced to marry at a young age. With not many options, there’s not many resources that these young women can turn to.

That’s why the time is now, it’s time for change before it’s too late for our future generations. How can we empower young women in troubling situations around the world? The answer is education. Education is the key to unlocking an abundance of endless opportunities, education is more than just books and information, it’s a means for the less privileged to seek better opportunities for themselves. Empowering our young women in societies where the social norm is favored towards men is a priority that global leaders should not neglect any further. Without change, future generations of young women in these countries may never have the opportunity to learn, to explore, or to live their own lives without the discrimination and restriction of their societies.

I believe we can bring about this change by empowering more women to become global leaders. But it starts with our generation, the millennials. Hope is not something that young women in less fortunate situations around the world have much of.  It’s time to make them believe in a future where they are safe from harm and have easy access to education. Hope is something that no one should have to ever give up on, not today and not tomorrow.