by Cygne Sauvage
There was a time when a newspaper was a ubiquitous feature on every breakfast table whether that of a wealthy tycoon’s or a cash strapped farmer’s. The only variation was in the quality of paper, the number of pages as well as the size. Though the highlights or focus of the printed materials as well as the style of writing differed, still all daily publications featured the same reality events that rocked the local scenes or the global arena. These were the only authoritative sources of current information, a blow by blow account of newsworthy circumstances that appealed to human interests. A sensational incidence usually graced the headlines for days transformed into a human drama series followed by a huge throng of curious readers.
In those days, rarely the veracity of the facts written on gazettes were met with skepticism. Narratives from seasoned journalists were embraced as gospel truths, as genuine as the accompanying morning coffee and cereals, or fried rice and tea if the reader were from the Orient. News articles were even clipped, collected, annotated and even quoted as references.
As progress in communications technology paved the way to various forms of media, access to information became more convenient and outreach of news circles much wider. Broadcast reports supplemented and made more elaborate, easier to understand ongoing local and national situations. Live coverages further enhanced quality of audience perception as they witnessed developments of real phenomena even though these were multi kilometers away from home.
We are now into the Fourth Industrial Revolution where everybody is interconnected to a common world wide web, wired to countless data sources. Ironically, quality information or reliable facts turned elusive as well. Data platforms, algorithms invade gadgets deemed inseparable and indispensable from their human proprietors. Reading is done on a standard cold screen, now a fundamental necessity under the new normal set by the pandemic. Newspapers, books, magazines have lost dimensions and are now published and digested online. Even a four-year old toddler knows what buttons to push to watch the bushfires in Australia or bull race in Pamplona. At this peak of intelligence and knowledge network we expected our lives to be less chaotic, less unsure. On the contrary, we are falling gradually into the realm of uncertainty which somehow governs the universe.
The ease in data access opens the floodgates wide to what Bruce Wayne, the alter ego of Batman terms as “people whose sole aim is to spread chaos and destroy the world.” They infiltrate the web with creative scams and fake news. With their sophisticated technologies they could thwart truth to mislead and capture innocent minds. That their evil deeds have deeply penetrated and pose danger to the world can be gleaned from the proliferation of warnings on social media of their demonic traps. There have been myriad pointers issued on how to detect fake news, reminders to parents on not leaving their children to their own devices whenever they use their gadgets. Weird crimes that years ago were the domain of sci-fi movies ceased to be fictional.
With the current pandemic paranoia is further accentuated by generated doubts on the probity of published advice from health experts, that not a few netizens just opted to shut themselves out not only from the physical world but also from the virtual sphere. Quarantine for both body and mind.
With remote learning as the new norm how do we fend off the many ways these diabolic fiends could ambush our children’s education?
The Well-Read Company 