Information vs. Conscience: A battle within
We live in a fast-paced world where the planet has become a global village powered by technology. The development in the last three decades has been unlike any other period in the recorded history. From the first personal computers to self-driving cars, from snail mail to email & chat, the world has become more transparent and the INFORMATION is accessible by everyone.
Talking of information availability, today’s world is open to everyone with the internet and billions of bytes are transferred each day without us even noticing it. Information has become a very powerful and dangerous tool. It has come to the level where it gives control over the minds of the people and the thought processes of the modern generation. Social Media, Blogs, News Websites and many more types of information-sharing channels pave a pathway for people to share and know about the things they are interested in a very fast and easier way.
With the higher speed comes the risk of planned or unplanned false information spread. It has become a major problem in the present day due to which lots of people have gone astray and are heading down a dark path from where they do not recover. Social Media plays a major role in this by giving access to everyone the opportunity to express their views. As people use these platforms for a period of time and the accessibility it provides, they become vulnerable to attention-seeking tendencies and might begin to create interesting stories which can be false and shared without knowledge.
This combined with the lack of research and knowledge becomes a problem for numerous people where they are caught in scandals or unwanted gossips of which they are not aware. This causes a rift in their social life and leads to significant losses both mentally and physically. The impact of these kinds of incidents has become clear with the rapid rate of rumors and false news shared throughout the world on a daily basis. The results of this misinformation can be deadly and cause serious damage to the personal lives of many people. As part of the community and the digital world, we should make an attempt to minimize our contribution towards such attempts and use our CONSCIENCE when we are using the platforms.
First and foremost we should remember that we hold a responsibility towards others as a part of society and the human race. When we are open to the world of information, we should think about every byte of information we share through the platforms. When we see interesting articles we should think and ponder whether the information is credible or prone to doubt. If we are certain that the information is from a credible source, then sharing it with others can be beneficial and it can help a lot of people in a lot of ways.
If the information is prone to doubt, then we should cut the sharing chain and prevent any damage that would cause in the minds of the people when it reaches them. Furthermore, there are people, organizations, groups, or even political bodies who try to slay their opponents by changing the mindsets of the people by manipulating their minds through fake articles and manipulated images. This should be identifiable if you closely look at what you are getting on the contents. False or manipulative contents have loopholes that can be related to some personal gain to a specific group mentioned above.
Last but not least, we should learn to respect others’ privacy when we interact with them. When privacy is taken lightly and not respected it can create bitter experiences for the involved parties and create permanent scars with lots of losses. Let us be responsible and use our conscience at all times. The world is changing and let us be a part of making it a positive one rather than making people’s lives miserable.
