The Yin and Yang of technology today

I have been pondering for a while on the global, societal changes that have accompanied the explosion of communication technology in the last few years. It's the harbinger of life in the 21st century. Technology has always forced humans to make societal changes. Usually we are running to keep our ethics up with our technology. I have sometimes posed the question to students about our love affair with the cell phone...even though we can't imagine NOT having a cell phone, what about the numbers of fatal accidents that have occurred because of our addictive use of the cellphone? This summer there was a tragic train accident related to an engineer text messaging while in control of a speeding train. There are literally thousands of vehicle accidents caused by inattention due to cell phone use. Teenagers are the worst culprits without the maturity to recognize the potential danger of inattention and with inexperience to successfully react when the danger presents itself.
Another societal problem that has attracted recent media coverage is cyber-bullying. With the anonymity of text messaging, instant messaging, e-mails and social networking sites, youngsters are not safe anywhere from the viciousness of their peers. "Sexting" has become every paerents nightmare and a minefield for legal action. Probably 99.9 % of my students have cell phones and even though they are not usually using them for nefarious purposes they are unable to wean themselves off the cell phones during the school day. For many, this results in lower attention, thus lower school performance not to mention the issue of academic honesty. One of my students this past year was hovering on the brink of passing or failing and needed at least a 70 on the final exam to pass the semester and thus avoid repeating the semester in summer school. During the exam I noticed the student repeatedly looking down and to the side away from me. Then I saw the cell phone flashing. The student got a zero for the exam and failed for the semester. Since this particular student often resorted to using the cell phone to snap pictures of notes and other material I could only assume that the cell phone was the 21st century version of the notes written on a student's hand under their sleeve.
Now, I'm not saying that cell phones are evil incarnate. Their usefulness has been proven over and over again to call in emergency services. I myself have felt some comfort in knowing that my teen-age children had a cell phone to use if they found themselves in an awkward or dangerous situation. The camera function has really been helpful in capturing everything from a potential purchase for a family member to spur-of-the-moment once in a lifetime snaps of my grand-daughter. However, even though cell phones have been around for at least a decade as an ubiquitous assessory I have yet to sit in a movie or meeting and not hear one ringing as an unwelcome disruption. Why can't we get our behaviours on a par with the wonderful technology we have achieved?
I used to think that YouTube was the height of self-admiration and the most useless collection of people doing stupid things, or their children doing stupid things, or their PETS doing stupid things. I stand corrected. I am glad to say that I discovered a plethora of superb short clips that I can use in my World History class and most are from very credible sources like the History Channel. However, I have also found some wonderful clips of Japanese drummers and Irish dancers. I have been delighted to find some informative clips of other teachers using techniques in class that I'd like to try. YouTube has also done it's part in allowing people to share poignant moments such as a child's first jump off the swimming pool diving board or their tribute to a fallen hero whether it be a soldier or Michael Jackson.
But this isn't all about the issues of cell phones in school. This summer when the election took place in Iran and the Iranian government tried to squash the voice of the irate Iranians who felt the election had been fraudulently skewed in favor of Ahmadinejad, Twitter and Facebook prevented the veil from falling over the events in Iran. Although the election results still stand I believe that the people of Iran have been empowered. They KNOW their own government tried to keep them from sharing the people's feelings amongst themselves and with the world. They will continue to agitate for democratic reform and personal liberty. In this age of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube we will never again have governments that can commit genocide in secret like Stalin or Pol Pot. Revolutions against oppression such as Tianenmen Square will be out there for the world to observe. Politicians need to be keenly aware of the cell phone camera when slipping off to Argentina to rendezvous with a mistress, and law enforcement officers should maintain professionalism when arresting a citizen in case a video camera held by a passer-by captures a brutal, unnecessary assault.
As always, our ethics and social conventions need to adjust to the ever increasing eye we have on the world.