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Calling my world home sweet home
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Lately, the world has not seemed like such a pleasant place to live. There is violence, war, poverty, persecution and exploitation. How can we possibly fight this?
The Internet giant, Google, has added a new aspect to their mapping function. It is called Street View and it gives people the ability to see America with digital clarity from the comfort of their own homes.
While at first seeming like a great new innovation in Internet technology, with further thought this addition becomes troubling.
First of all, newer technologies keep giving people an excuse not to leave the home. Younger generations may not remember this, but we used to have to visit a different place in order to see it. Now all one must do is click on an icon, download the newest version of software and there they are, right on California Street in San Francisco, or looking at the Statue of Liberty in New York.
What ever happened to taking a vacation? We need to get away sometimes, to leave all the stress and expectations behind us in a cloud of dust on the freeway or 50,000 feet below us while riding a plane. There is no experience quite like first-hand experience.
Think about standing at the base of the Statue of Liberty and looking up, feeling the history behind what you are viewing, also think about the smells and the noises. Now think about simply looking at the Statue of Liberty through a computer screen – it is not the same. This is the reason why slide shows are only fun for the people putting them on.
Google probably is not thinking about how their new innovation might hold people down in this way. This is a possible avenue of thought while considering new technologies.
Furthermore, Street View also taps into the voyeuristic tendencies of people by photographing individuals and allowing people to view them.
Some are in compromising positions, such as one man who is picking his nose, while others are fun to look at, like two women sunbathing in their bikinis.
A few people have spoken out against this, and they call it exploitation. Google counters their claims with the ability to take your photograph off the network via a request process and its legal right to photograph in a public setting.
While this may be legal, is it moral? Did anyone even stop to consider whether or not this practice of photographing people might simply be wrong?
This issue is reminiscent of the television show “Cops.” For those of you who do not know the premise of “Cops,” a cameraman follows a police officer around during his shift and captures people participating in criminal activities from domestic disputes to DUI arrests to drug abuse, prostitution and theft.
The show has become intensely popular. To all the people who watch “Cops,” consider that others make mistakes and that we all find ourselves in one compromising position or another in life, but not everyone’s compromising position is broadcast all across America. This is exploitation, playing on the human need to watch debauchery and making a buck at the same time.
Another point of exploitation is apparent in the “Girls Gone Wild” videos. These videos present the question of why a self-respecting woman would decide to allow herself to be filmed while having sex with other women, men or while flashing the public.
People who watch such content are fantasizing about a contrived situation that has nothing to do with reality. In the real world, sex is not supposed to be easy. There is a process that people go through of getting to know one another. These people are real, flesh and blood human beings, not someone you can push a button and get turned on by.
It does not matter if it is legal, or even if they sign a waiver, it is just wrong.
“Girls Gone Wild” is not the exact same things as Google photographing people in compromising positions, but the underlying ideology behind why we can even point and click and see these kinds of things is the same.
We are being exploited by the technology and it is our job to resist this exploitation.
We need to take responsibility for this troubling trend. The next time you want to see California work hard, buy a plane ticket or tune up your car and go visit the place.
Turn the television off and take a look around at what is really happening in your community. Go out and find a real, flesh and blood man or woman and treat them like a king or queen and maybe you will find yourself in an actual healthy relationship.
Rise above the exploitation of technology and use it for what is morally right and good. Trust yourself and your own instincts. If everyone did this, the world might be a more palatable place to
call home.
BARRY FRANKLIN