There’s no doubt that technology has changed our society… How is technology affecting our awareness as a society ? Our awareness of our surroundings and others ?

You know that long list of complicated sentences no one bothers to read before clicking “accept” ? The Terms and Conditions… Of an agreement that is. We generally come across this long list when connecting to free WiFi. A recent article depicts an experiment taken place by F-Secure, a Helsinki-based company. The company squeezed various terms into the Terms and Conditions agreement at various free WiFi providers in London. Six locals, through ignorantly accepting the agreement, ended up “voluntarily” signing away their rights to their pets or their first-born child.

Of course the company won’t hold the WiFi users to actions and take their kids… However, imagine how shocked the users must have felt when they found out how ignorant they had been ! Technology has made a lot of positive change to our society, especially with regards to rapid communication. However, the people’s constant obsession with their cellphones and other technological devices has rendered them ignorant. I remember very distinctly one incident that occurred whilst my parents and I were out for dinner. While waiting for our meals, we were relaxing, visiting and enjoying each other’s company. Meanwhile, some members of the family at the table next to us had there backs turned to each other. I, nine at the time, remember thinking how ridiculous the scene looked. One was talking on the phone, another was playing their GameBoy, another texting and the last staring off into space, seemingly unaffected by their family’s lack of interest in each other.

There are many examples linking ignorance in our society to technology, the experiment conducted in London being a clear one. As a society, we have been and need to continue reflecting on how this affects us as humans, our values and how we interact with and treat each other.