The Global Village

Abstract

Advances in computing and communications have created an information explosion. Information is now an important social and commercial commodity, as exemplified by expressions such as big data and data mining. Instant communications have created a global society in which Western culture is spreading worldwide, placing minority cultures at risk. Mass media have great influence on public opinion; by influencing the choice of what information we see, new media raise the prospect of even greater influence over people’s thoughts and opinions. Technology now enables monitoring of individuals to a degree approaching Orwell’s 1984, raising concerns over privacy and personal freedom.

The more the data banks record about each one of us, the less we exist.¹