Possible Theories of the Digital Nation - Essay Example

Possible Theories of the Digital Nation Technology has been proven to be truly dominant in the recent years as far as information dissemination, socialization and communication are concerned. As the PBS puts it into context and in a documentary film, there is an emerging Digital Nation that is conquering the world especially the youth population. Could this be a positive or a negative event in the society? Is this pivotal in the different aspects of not just technology but also of the economics, philosophy and sociology? Can there be any connection traced from the Frontline episode to the articles written by Marx, Weber and Durkheim? Are they also connected with the work of Marcuse? During the latter part of the 1980s, technology was starting to explore boundaries which used to be just a part of human imagination. There are links one way or another between PBS’s Digital Nation and the works of the 3 sociologists previously named. There can be a number of theories which can be related to this emerging Digital Nation. With the emergence of communication with the use of webcams, people from different locations can see the person they are talking to. They can give instructions as if the directive is being given to an employee at front. Taking for example is the theories and concepts proposed by Karl Marx. The German philosopher/sociologist among many others stated in his Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 that, “The capitalist can live longer without the worker than can the worker without the capitalist. Combination among the capitalists is customary and effective; workers’ combination is prohibited and painful in its consequences for them” (Marx, 3). With the emergence of technology as stated above, workers can perform the tasks presented onto him without being physically present at the workplace. Though technology lessen the need of the workers to travel from their home to the workplace, the interaction between workers and capitalists also lessen as technology usage enable the worker to perform the tasks at the vicinity of their home. As such already stated, interaction between workers also lessens therefore technology or the digital nation does not promote camaraderie. In a way, the technological advancements present in the society makes people some sort of anti-social. Fewer interactions also sometimes equates to lessening the opportunity for people to gain knowledge. This digital nation gives opportunity for those who are introvert while it demotes those who are extroverts. As Marx puts it into context: Division of labor and exchange are the two phenomena which lead the political economist to boast of the social character of his science, while in the same breath he gives unconscious expression to the contradiction in his science – the motivation of society by unsocial, particular interests. (58) The digital nation that PBS presented negates the theory or concept that Karl Marx has proposed more than a century ago. According Marx’s Wage Labour and Capital, “Their commodity, labor-power, the workers exchange for the commodity of the capitalist, for money, and, moreover, this exchange takes place at a certain ratio. So much money for so long a use of labor-power. (11)” Since workers does not need to go to the workplace to perform the tasks they were hired to do, is the digital nation favors the capitalists more rather than the workforce? Further analyzing the Frontline episode, one can conclude that a reason for companies to accept home-based workers is that they are getting the workforce number yet they do not necessarily give more benefits and wages since the worker does not need to travel to the workplace and stay there for 8 hours or more. In the Digital Nation documentary, the producers pointed out that there will always be gains and losses. Could the gain be directed to the companies who have introduced the technological gadgets and websites and losses would be put on the people who are using them? It is like the law of supply and demand. The more people use the digital gadget, the more companies will be producing them. One loss that should also be pointed out would be the more information being made available in the internet; the more people will read books. The lesser the demands for the books, the lesser will be published. It is quite scary to think that eventually books will seize existence since the information needed is just a few clicks away. Another loss could be is that since most modules and courses are made available online, there might be a lesser need for a university lecture hall or professors teaching and explaining theories and principles. The documentary film tackled more towards the addiction that the digital nation offers its users. Is the virtual world truly makes people anti-social? Or does it promote some other kind of connection that is deeper than the real world can offer? Does the real world need to understand what is happening to the virtual world in order for the two to coexist? As Max Weber proposes: Not every type of contact of human beings has a social character; this is rather confined to cases where the actor’s behavior is meaningfully oriented to that of others…On the other hand, their attempt to avoid hitting each other, or whatever insults, blows, or friendly discussion might follow the collision, would constitute “social action.” (23) As Weber expressed the statement, one can assume that the virtual world is in a way a form of a building block in the relationship process. Here, one does not need to be pleased with the other’s physical appearance as long as there is one thing that they can truly find connection. These people have found that connection in the virtual world. Though it is quite not feasible to trust people whom a person has not seen in his life rather than those who have been with the person almost his entire lifetime, there is a special bond or relationship that virtual friends find in the virtual world and is carried through to the real world. During the earlier discussion, it has been concluded that the present technology negates the ideas of Marx. This goes the other way for the thoughts of Weber. Socialization does not need physical interaction to be able to understand and mingle with other people. Actually, the virtual world promotes socialization more as one person can meet another person at the other side of the globe minus the hustle and bustle of expensive and tiring travels that can last for almost 24 hours. There is also an intimacy within the virtual interaction that are often being misunderstood or not understood at all by people who would rather go out on parties and have physical connection with other people. Another aspect that complements the idea of the existence of virtual world and its relationships supplementing the ideas of Weber is written in the book The Three Types of Legitimate Rule. The second rule proposed by Weber is the traditional authority. This however negates what is happening in the real world at recent years. Digital nation may not be as traditional like others yet still there is something that binds and unites people in this virtual nation. The ideas of Weber were expressed by Best to be: …argued that modern government inevitably means government by bureaucracy. This means that in any nation-state the politicians are seen to run the country; however, the implementation and interpretation of political decisions is carried out by the civil service. (12-3) A question that pops within the notion is that, should the government be regulating the usage of internet by its people? Or another proposed idea for this could be is that, will people be imposed with penalties when internet-usage is abused by people one way or another? So far, is there an absolute confirmation with Weber’s concepts regarding the digital nation? Does the digital nation affirm the concepts and ideas of Weber compared to Marx? Emile Durkheim however puts the facts straight; this is what the author proposes and does not necessarily mean that people should agree with the proposition. According to Durkheim: In the case of purely moral maxims, the public conscience exercises a check on every act which offends it by means of the surveillance it exercises over the conduct of citizens and the appropriate penalties at its disposal. In many cases the constraint is less violent, but nevertheless it always exists. (2) There was a statement given in the documentary that people became more active in school activities when internet-usage during classes. Another observation was that the juvenile crime rate declined after the youth population was introduced to the virtual world. Does this rationalize that the digital nation promotes peace and the betterment of the nation? Being involved in the virtual media lessens the interaction between people in real life. Lesser interaction means lesser personal socialization among people. This fact lessens the opportunity to meet other people in the real world. However, the more a person gets involved in the virtual world, the more people they meet even those who are living more than 12 time zones away. With the vast coverage of the virtual media, it is not feasible for governments and organizations to censor or regulate the information which are being disseminated in the internet. So how can the proposed “surveillance” of Durkheim are implemented with such the magnitude of covered area? It is also quite ridiculous how people can observe the way people would interact. Even in the real world, people’s interaction is hardly being monitored by an institution. If such surveillance is not possible in the real world, how can it be possible in the virtual world where the area of coverage is the whole world? There seems to be more questions rather than answers that Durkheim introduced with the statement. Marcuse also pointed out that freedom has been showcased by the proliferation of the internet. No boundary can serve as an obstacle to connect and redefine the concept of work. People gain more freedom especially in information exchange. In that state, it becomes hard for governments to put control on the flowing information. In addition, people are said to be conditioned regarding their needs as reflected by the current economy in the words of Marcuse: The intensity, the satisfaction and even the character of human needs, beyond the biological level, have always been preconditioned. Whether or not the possibility of doing or leaving, enjoying or destroying, possessing or rejecting something is seized as a need depends on whether or not it can be seen as desirable and necessary for the prevailing societal institutions and interests (4). Marcuse showed how the trend of needs can be changed despite of their needs being preset. In addition, the complicated nature of present situation does not allow a full control on the freedom gained by people virtually. Instead of clearing or straightening the facts, Durkheim even gave a very vague concept not just of the virtual world but also of the real world. Between Marx and Weber, it is the latter who gave a clearer view towards the acceptance of an unorthodox way of socializing. This is not on taking sides however this is more on putting up a concept which is acceptable then and now regardless of traditions and laws. Lastly, Marcuse stressed the point of having less control and more options provided to the users to promote their own development. Works Cited Best, Shaun. Introduction to Politics and Society. London, UK: SAGE Publications, Ltd. 2002. “Digital Nation.” Frontline. PBS. 2 February 2010. Television. Durkheim, Emile. The Rules of Sociological Method. Trans. Sarah A. Solovay and John H. Mueller. Ed. George E. G. Catlin. New York: The Free Press, 1964. Print. Marcuse, H. One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society. USA: Beacon Press, 1964. Print. Marx, Karl. Economic & Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844. Trans. Martin Milligan. Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1959. Print. ---. Wage Labour and Capital. Trans. Fredrick Engels. 1999. Retrieved from . Weber, Max. Basic Sociological Terms. Economy and Society. Berkley, CA: University of California Press, 1968. Print. Read More