1) Why was Google Glass controversial?
Privacy can be exploited since people could use this device to film others who are unaware of the situation without permission. It can also allow the user to identify an individual which means that there is a possibility of finding someone who's in front of them, online and can result in internet stalking. As a result of this, Google have had to make recordings visible to, in an attempt to provide resolution, prevent this issue from occurring and have introduced a red light that would show every time something or someone is being recorded using Google Glass. Another issue is that Google itself could use this software to datamine and keep track of what each individual Google Glass user is doing on a day-to-day basis which also exploits the user's privacy at their own discretion. This information could also be used to be sold to marketing companies for example stores to see customers' buying habits, without permission or informed consent.
2) What are the positive elements to Globalisation that the article highlights?
One positive is that it allows for change which is something that the majority of consumers enjoy, particularly within the world of technology. It also provides consumers with a wider variety of choice and opportunities. Therefore, this can improve efficiency of day to day activities since, for example, Google Glass is an extremely portable and user-friendly device. It has also been suggested that people, with this device, are able to encounter technological determinism since users can interact in new ways with their surrounding environment.
3) What are potential negatives to Globalisation?
Globalisation has meant that the minority of producers, as per Pareto's Law is serving the majority of consumers which brings to light the intensity of power that larger MNCs have, not only in their own native country but worldwide. This means that people all over the world are, as in hegemony, essentially handing over some of their rights e.g. privacy to the same American companies, as if they are asking to be controlled. Therefore, as a result of this, the so called "choice" that globalisation can contribute to can often, in itself, be limited removing one of the benefits of this process in the first place. This can also lead to an unequal distribution of income therefore even inhabitants of the host country are missing out on higher incomes since the labour used is international due to the cheap wage prices that MNCs have to pay. As a result, each economy is less well off since the profits are predominantly being shared across the firms and their shareholders as opposed to the rest of the population. This therefore demonstrates the intense levels of control that the minority producers have over the world in comparison to the minute amount provided to consumers worldwide. The fact that 8 of the top 10 countries in FT500's 2013 figures are American shows that this nation has a huge amount of control and power over the masses from every other country as well as its own. Technological determinism also means that technologoy can dictate society as a whole which could make us seem as though we are walking talking zombies who pride ourselves on using man made creation as opposed to interacting with the real world as a whole.
4) What is a techno-panic? How does it link to moral panics?
A techno-panic (Marwick 2008) can occur as a result of new modern technology being able to transform a society's current state and possibly having a negative impact of the inhabitants of each country. This is linked to a moral panic as it suggests that there may be some kind of revolution that will be of a threat to either individual consumers or rival firms of the firm in question. An example of this is the process of people becoming anti-social as a result of prioritising a virtual, online and digital world over the people who are actually in our day to day lives. This would normally panic older generations as they may fear the lack of sanity and security felt by their descendants since people lose touch of what's real and important in comparison to the world of internet.
5) What is your opinion on the privacy debate and major corporations being able to access large quantities of personal data?
I personally find it to be quite unfair for consumers because, although there are alternatives, these firms usually have the same principles as larger firms. For example, Bing's search engine perhaps isn't so different from Google's regarding its privacy terms and conditions. Most people use the internet and may even require it for work purposes but may feel discouraged due to the lack of privacy there is regarding personal data. Therefore, generally even if a person was to use a smaller company, they might not be benefitting as much from their switch in service. Others may view privacy as a small price to pay online if they don't feel that their data would be of any use to onlookers from either the corporation itself or the government. People will, despite being suspicious, still tend to use these services since they know that their income is not being used up on it therefore their privacy is the sacrifice they make in order to use the service.
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