Next Phase of Technology

Before reading The New Digital Age, I did not realize how much technology played a role on serious situations in the world. I never looked at social media as an outlet to start revolutions, did not expect the virtual world to progress on the same level as the physical world, and did not think of terrorism happening virtually. The book makes some great points about how much power technology holds, and what it can be used for. I believe the most interesting topics were the future of revolutions, future of terrorism and reconstruction. These are both distinctive concepts that have a completely different meaning from the original definition when using technology to execute them. The thought of a social media revolution is new due to the vast awareness that it causes. It is great for getting information out quickly, keeping those people who do not watch the news in the loop about serious and far situations, and causing picture movements. However, will technology develop to the point where social media is actually used as an outlet to solve problems and not just bring awareness to them?

            As far as virtually causing terrorism and virtually kidnapping people’s identity, will these problems start to occur on a regular basis? I remember when cyber bullying started to take place, and became such a huge ordeal because it drastically affected people’s lives. Will cyber terrorism and virtual kidnapping be held to a higher standard of crime, or will it be even harder to prove? We discussed in class which would be more terrifying, being kidnapped in the physical or in the virtual. The virtual causes more complications when dealing a person’s identity and can cause long term damage. Have we given too much power to the use of technology? But what about RFID chips? If we put chips in everything like humans, weapons, and eventually be able to track someone’s use of the internet, can virtual kidnaps be minimized.  What will be the next phase of technology?