PUBLIC: The image of the public in the Enlightenment was an ideal image of enlightened citizens gathered in an audience that discussed – or 'deliberated' – to arrive at the best solution. But what happens when early hair loss, premature ejaculation and simulated disability become therapy texts for the endless frustration of living in one of the world's supposedly richest and best countries?
INTERNET: Johann Hari points out in the book that the 'focus crisis' is directly dangerous for democracy and can contribute to forming totalitarian regimes.
PUBLIC: Precht and Welzer want more "well-intentioned disputes" about points of view – not social media's definition, person-orientation and excitement production. Their book has been met with everything from total rejection and hesitant acceptance to detailed criticism.
Social Media: While the public is a place where free individuals have the right, and perhaps also the duty, to participate in a free exchange of opinions, the social is more about herd and control. Are we now faced with a social control that does not invite disagreement and diversity, but only obedience or exclusion? The rise of the social can threaten both freedom and individuality. MODERN TIMES prints here an extract from Einar Øverenget's new book, Intoleransens intog.
INTERNET: In 2017, two-thirds of Americans received large portions of their daily news dose via social media. The coincidence of financial capitalism and information technologies creates, according to Joseph Vogl, "resentment-driven echo chambers."
FACEBOOK: Where is the limit of social media use of freedom of expression if they deliberately ignore systematic and global abuses in the form of hate speech and undemocratic methods such as fake news and hate speech?
CAPTURE: The authorities in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico are now investing in start-ups, incubators and training programs. But at the same time, Colombia can confiscate protesters' phones; in Ecuador, the authorities block the same access to servers; and in Nicaragua and Venezuela, governments have routinely restricted access to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The United States and China are on aggressive courtship trips to countries throughout the region.
SYMBIOSIS: We must think differently about both man and computer. Their being is more entangled than we think, and both change and adapt to each other.
"SHARE THINGS" : Parents share a snapshot of photos and information about their children in social media without considering the long-term consequences, and without the children's consent.
DISCRIMINATION: Jill Abramson gives the unmasked truth about how female journalists are subjected to sexism in some of America's largest newspaper houses.
