Trapped in a digital world
Nomophobia is defined as the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. It’s a phobia that has existed since smartphones were in their infancy and has become more prevalent as their sophistication has developed. As seemingly ‘omnipurpose’ devices [account required], smartphones have made our lives a lot easier. But, just as smartphones have evolved, so have the implications of living in a digital society.
The price of convenience
Surrendering convenience is one of the four dimensions of nomophobia. People fear reverting to the undigitized ways of life that existed long ago. The idea of entering a physical bank branch? Terrifying. However, nomophobia is just one implication of living in a digital society. Should we feel as anxious about existing in a digital world, as we do about disconnecting from one?
Data drives convenience. For every convenience afforded by digital interactions, companies accumulate more of our data.
Do we really know where our data is being used? And, as digital citizens, are we responsible for our own data?
We often blindly agree to lengthy privacy policies and inherently believe we are protected by them. However, what happens when those conditions are breached? Data breaches occur through the improper disclosure of information, or via malicious cyberattacks, which are unlikely to be caused by our end-user actions. Nonetheless, as digital citizens, we have a responsibility to take precautionary measures to better protect our data. This means keeping on top of password management and being vigilant fraud detectors.
Who bears the consequences if it all goes wrong?
From start-ups to multinational corporations, companies have to implement security features to protect the data we provide them. Failure to prevent incidents can have disastrous consequences for the firm, but will likely impact victims far more. For example, in 2016, an anonymous hacker infiltrated a Californian hospital’s security and held the hospital to a $17,000 ransom. During this time, essential data was inaccessible and patient care was compromised.
Whilst digitisation has the power to improve diagnosis and transform patient experience in hospitals, they (and other companies) become increasingly vulnerable to threats from across the globe. These vulnerabilities have a direct impact on digital citizens, as our privacy could be exploited and services may become unavailable. How inconvenient!
Are privacy breaches always a bad thing?
An anonymous contribution activity regarding the Panama papers leak illustrated the controversy of data leakages for the discovery of other crimes:
“Privacy is very important and invasion of privacy should be a serious crime.” — Anon1
“Stealing data is definitely a crime but I think that if you can bring another crime to light it can be justified…” — Anon2
This makes me question the very existence of online privacy. Are we being spied on?
Being monitored by governmental bodies or law enforcement is one thing, but perhaps we should also consider how tailored ads appear. Our online movements are increasingly being tracked for use in behavioural advertisements unique to our browsing history and shopping habits.
Some studies have shown that targeted ads aren’t just using your information to personalise ads, but they are in fact changing the way you think about yourself. Results concluded that behaviourally targeted advertisements encouraged consumers to adjust their self-perceptions to match the sentiment expressed in an ad. If it is this easy for companies to manipulate our self-perceptions, then will we lose a sense of our identity? Is it ethical for companies to do so?
Be your authentic self, but be like everybody else
Social media platforms, such as Instagram, provide a space for digital citizens to express their identity through pictures and stories. However, the popularity of the platforms has led to an influx of users seeking validation from their networks. It’s no wonder ‘connectedness’ is a dimension of nomophobia.
Users face an overwhelming pressure to ‘fit in’ online.
How best to stay connected? Copy what everyone else does.
“scroll fast enough, and everything looks the same” — Jarod A. Brock, Better Marketing
Not only are we losing sight of who we are, but studies show we’re miserable. The Royal Society of Public Health monitored 1,500 young people’s moods whilst using social media and found that Instagram, amongst others, provoked feelings of inadequacy and low self-worth. Are we squashing our self-esteem to become digital clones of the influencers who inspire us? To survive, we must recognise the filtered lifestyles we see as unattainable and embrace authenticity. (Easier said than done!)
Could we leave the digital world?
The drawbacks to a digital society are stacking up, but when considering life without digital, I am sure that many digital citizens would relate to at least one of the dimensions of Nomophobia:
- not being able to communicate
- losing connectedness
- not being able to access information
- giving up convenience
And this is just considering life without mobiles.
Even if we can switch off our mobile phones for a few hours (or even days), technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), are making it increasingly harder to go ‘offline’.
The introduction of everyday digital objects to our lives has blurred the lines between digital and analogue. IoT is expected to infiltrate every sector, from ‘smart trolleys’ in retail to attendance sensors in schools. Furthermore, the emergence of smart cities, where traditional infrastructures become interconnected digitally, is on the horizon. Our lives will be digitally transformed once again, providing more convenience than ever before.
“The digital society that exists today, is not like the one I am going to be living in a decade from now” — lizardly
The question of whether you could live without a mobile phone may become redundant. Nomophobia may soon cease to exist, as our digital society becomes all-consuming and inescapable.
(Unless Elon Musk succeeds with his mission to colonise Mars).
Personal reflection
During this module, I have reflected on my existence within the digital world. Through the contribution activities and the Digisoc assignments, I have considered how I communicate digitally, the technologies that I will likely use in the future and I have discovered the many drawbacks and rewards of living in a digital society. This was particularly evident in Digisoc 2 when I explored the opportunities of digitising the healthcare sector. It seemed that every advantage (such as the convenience of at-home appointments) was met with a consequence (widening the digital divide).
Am I happy with my
digital citizenship?
At the start of this module, when I learned about digital engagement, and the ways companies use my data, I thought about how my data was being used and by whom. Most importantly, I queried whether I was OK with all of it.
My answer: I’m not really sure I have a choice.
So, I deleted the app which I used most: Instagram.
I felt liberated for 3 months without it. I didn’t see a single targeted ad, and I actually felt my self-esteem improve. I spent my time more productively and still talked to friends…
But I couldn’t sustain it. I crumbled when lockdown eased, and I could see my friends in person. I instantly felt out of the loop and distant from them. I realised how much my connections were tied to digital interactions, and the shared content we are exposed to. It sounds superficial, but during a pandemic, there isn’t much else to catch up on.
More than ever, I have wondered what life was like before the internet. I have always glorified the way my parents grew up. I imagined being a teenager in the 80s, without the pressures of keeping up appearances on social media, where nothing was tracked, or monitored, and your private life really could be private.
Nevertheless, reflecting on the benefits of living in a digital society, has also allowed me to reconsider how living digital-free would be.
I’d love to experience it for a short period, but after living in a digital society for most of my life, I’m not sure I could survive without video calls and the ability to stream music from anywhere.
I think in the future, I will embrace the new technologies that appear. However, I’m also going to be mindful of the data that I share, and limit who has access to it where possible.
I have learnt a lot about the implications of living in a digital world, but I have also improved my writing skills throughout the module. Using a blog style has been extremely refreshing and has challenged me creatively. Furthermore, I think (or hope) that my critical analysis has improved. I think that the ability to write in an engaging tone will provide useful in my graduate role and is something I hope to refine further in my career.
